The Century Foundation - Taking Note

What's in a Name?

Jonathan Kolieb, The Century Foundation, 8/18/2008
I was flipping through the cable news channels the other night, and there were several segments on developments in Iraq. I found myself getting irritated, then angry: Why, five years after occupying a country, do we still not know how to pronounce its name?

Liberian Poster-Child in Peril

Jeffrey Laurenti, The Century Foundation, 8/15/2008
Emerson Sykes, till recently a Century Foundation researcher, has spent the summer assessing the scene from Liberia's justice ministry, and sends these observations deserving of wider note:

Monrovia, Liberia

Liberians love George W. Bush. As Americans of every political persuasion eagerly anticipate the end of the Bush era, Liberians credit the �very powerful� American president with ending their 14-year civil war with a single speech calling for the resignation of Charles Taylor. As a show of gratitude and affection Bush received a most exuberant reception in Monrovia during his farewell tour of Africa last year.

Happy Sweet 73

Bernard Wasow, The Century Foundation, 8/14/2008
Social Security has survived another year. In at least one important policy area, good sense has triumphed over ideology. We have not shredded the safety net in a celebration of rugged individualism. We have not promised to transfer resources from the poor to the rich, from women to men, from the old to the young.

Make the Money and Run

Niko Karvounis, The Century Foundation, 8/13/2008
Politics is not a game for the weak of heart--nor the light of wallet. By most accounts, it costs at least $100 million to be seen as a viable presidential candidate, no small sum. And big spending isn't limited to national campaigns: Current New Jersey governor Jon Corzine spent $63 million in his 2000 Senate race, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City spent $68,968,185 on his 2001 mayoral campaign.

The Geriatrician Shortage

Niko Karvounis, The Century Foundation, 8/12/2008
In a 2006 New York Times article, Dr. Amit Shah, a physician at Johns Hopkins, recalled how other doctors looked down on him during his residency because of his chosen field. "The most memorable discouragement came during his residency, from a pulmonologist," notes the Times. 'When I passed him in the hall, [the pulmonologist] would shake his head and mutter, 'waste of a mind,'" Shah said.