Non-Academic Writing. Wherein I try to write good...
Research Publications
"Ups and Downs: Does the American Economy Still Promote Upward Mobility?" (with Stephen J. Rose), June, 2009. The Economic Mobility Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
This report shows that the risk of a fall in income has not risen over the past s. Nor has the likelihood or extent of recovery from such drops in the ensuing years. While not indicating that all is well economically, the evidence does contradict claims of a "Great Risk Shift".
Magazine Articles and Op-Eds
"The Leaner Welfare State: New Citizen Benefits Could Help Restore American Competitiveness," with Reihan Salam. National Review, August, 2010.
I'm not sure how big the club is of people who have been published in both National Review and The American Prospect. I have layers, donkey!
"America the Polarized," The New Republic (online edition), November, 2008.
My argument that 2008 was a repeat of 2004 until the financial crisis hit never caught on, but I think it looked pretty good by 2010.
“Don't Ignore the Moderates!” The Democratic Strategist, October, 2006.
My response to Tom Schaller's "&*^% the South!" argument.
“No End of Ideology.” The American Prospect (online edition), August 2, 2006.
"No End of Ideology – Round 2." The American Prospect (online edition), August 8, 2006.
Is the progressive blogosphere uniformly liberal? Yes (not that there's anything wro--wait, nevermind).
“Welfare Redux,” with Christopher Jencks and Joseph Swingle. The American Prospect, March 10, 2006.
Summary of our research showing that welfare reform did more good than harm, with the caveat that the reauthorized program was likely to have worse effects.
"Understanding welfare reform: The critics of welfare reform were wrong. That doesn't mean we should get even tougher on poor families," with Christopher Jencks. Harvard Magazine 107(2). November-December 2004.
Summary of our research, published pre-reauthorization with the caveat that we shouldn't make the reauthorized program as tough as it was eventually made.
“Welfare reform worked – don’t fix it,” with Christopher Jencks. Christian Science Monitor. Wednesday, July 21, 2004.
Ditto.
"Compromising Politics," InTheFray.org, August 1, 2004.
My first attempt to publicly argue that we live in a right-leaning nation. Which I still believe--it's just the right has gotten less pragmatic than the left....
FYI, I have also published op-eds in the Globe of Joplin, Missouri (population 48,000) and the Morning Sentinel of Waterville, Maine (population 16,000) on campaign finance reform and LGBQT rights, respectively! I also had a letter published in PCWorld magazine once (on Quicken's failure to upgrade my financial software).
Blogging
The Daily Strategist blog column, August 2006 through April 2007 [click link for listing of posts]
My semi-regular blogging for The Democratic Strategist, on politics, public opinion, and political strategy.
TPMCafe.com [click link for listing of posts]
Special Features guest blogging, week of January 19, 2009, on "Obama's America"; Table for One guest blogging, week of May 28, 2007, on empiricism and progressivism; Book Club guest blogging, week of October 15, 2007, on Daniel Brook's The Trap.
"Guest Post: Third Way Responds ," TAPPED (The American Prospect)
This was a response (with Jim Kessler and Anne Kim) to criticism by Tom Schaller and Mark Schmitt of a Third Way analysis of the 2006 elections (I worked at Third Way at the time, though the analysis came out before I joined).
Foresight, the blog of New Vision, February, 2006 to July, 2006 [click link for listing of posts]
New Vision was a grad-student think tank I founded and then left due to...artistic differences....It now appears the website (and the organization) is gone, but archive.org still has it!
Donkey Rising, the blog of EmergingDemocraticMajority.com, February, 2006 [click link for listing of two posts]
Remember Ruy's pioneering and influential (especially to me) blog? I did a couple of posts on some empirical claims about American values by the firm American Environics. I have since confirmed at least one of their findings in another dataset, so I'm not sure I'd totally stand behind these posts now. I've also since gotten to know Garance Franke-Ruta a bit, whose writing I respect and enjoy a lot. By the way, that last link is worth a click for my retelling of a mischievous "survey" I "conducted" among a bunch of state legislators at a national conference. Not sure what I was thinking....
pulse, the blog of InTheFray.org, July, 2004 [click link for listing of posts]
InTheFray.org is an ezine started by a friend and classmate of mine. I blogged the 2004 Democratic National Convention for them, along with other writers. My first foray into blogging--thanks Vic!
"Ups and Downs: Does the American Economy Still Promote Upward Mobility?" (with Stephen J. Rose), June, 2009. The Economic Mobility Project of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
This report shows that the risk of a fall in income has not risen over the past s. Nor has the likelihood or extent of recovery from such drops in the ensuing years. While not indicating that all is well economically, the evidence does contradict claims of a "Great Risk Shift".
Magazine Articles and Op-Eds
"The Leaner Welfare State: New Citizen Benefits Could Help Restore American Competitiveness," with Reihan Salam. National Review, August, 2010.
I'm not sure how big the club is of people who have been published in both National Review and The American Prospect. I have layers, donkey!
"America the Polarized," The New Republic (online edition), November, 2008.
My argument that 2008 was a repeat of 2004 until the financial crisis hit never caught on, but I think it looked pretty good by 2010.
“Don't Ignore the Moderates!” The Democratic Strategist, October, 2006.
My response to Tom Schaller's "&*^% the South!" argument.
“No End of Ideology.” The American Prospect (online edition), August 2, 2006.
"No End of Ideology – Round 2." The American Prospect (online edition), August 8, 2006.
Is the progressive blogosphere uniformly liberal? Yes (not that there's anything wro--wait, nevermind).
“Welfare Redux,” with Christopher Jencks and Joseph Swingle. The American Prospect, March 10, 2006.
Summary of our research showing that welfare reform did more good than harm, with the caveat that the reauthorized program was likely to have worse effects.
"Understanding welfare reform: The critics of welfare reform were wrong. That doesn't mean we should get even tougher on poor families," with Christopher Jencks. Harvard Magazine 107(2). November-December 2004.
Summary of our research, published pre-reauthorization with the caveat that we shouldn't make the reauthorized program as tough as it was eventually made.
“Welfare reform worked – don’t fix it,” with Christopher Jencks. Christian Science Monitor. Wednesday, July 21, 2004.
Ditto.
"Compromising Politics," InTheFray.org, August 1, 2004.
My first attempt to publicly argue that we live in a right-leaning nation. Which I still believe--it's just the right has gotten less pragmatic than the left....
FYI, I have also published op-eds in the Globe of Joplin, Missouri (population 48,000) and the Morning Sentinel of Waterville, Maine (population 16,000) on campaign finance reform and LGBQT rights, respectively! I also had a letter published in PCWorld magazine once (on Quicken's failure to upgrade my financial software).
Blogging
The Daily Strategist blog column, August 2006 through April 2007 [click link for listing of posts]
My semi-regular blogging for The Democratic Strategist, on politics, public opinion, and political strategy.
TPMCafe.com [click link for listing of posts]
Special Features guest blogging, week of January 19, 2009, on "Obama's America"; Table for One guest blogging, week of May 28, 2007, on empiricism and progressivism; Book Club guest blogging, week of October 15, 2007, on Daniel Brook's The Trap.
"Guest Post: Third Way Responds ," TAPPED (The American Prospect)
This was a response (with Jim Kessler and Anne Kim) to criticism by Tom Schaller and Mark Schmitt of a Third Way analysis of the 2006 elections (I worked at Third Way at the time, though the analysis came out before I joined).
Foresight, the blog of New Vision, February, 2006 to July, 2006 [click link for listing of posts]
New Vision was a grad-student think tank I founded and then left due to...artistic differences....It now appears the website (and the organization) is gone, but archive.org still has it!
Donkey Rising, the blog of EmergingDemocraticMajority.com, February, 2006 [click link for listing of two posts]
Remember Ruy's pioneering and influential (especially to me) blog? I did a couple of posts on some empirical claims about American values by the firm American Environics. I have since confirmed at least one of their findings in another dataset, so I'm not sure I'd totally stand behind these posts now. I've also since gotten to know Garance Franke-Ruta a bit, whose writing I respect and enjoy a lot. By the way, that last link is worth a click for my retelling of a mischievous "survey" I "conducted" among a bunch of state legislators at a national conference. Not sure what I was thinking....
pulse, the blog of InTheFray.org, July, 2004 [click link for listing of posts]
InTheFray.org is an ezine started by a friend and classmate of mine. I blogged the 2004 Democratic National Convention for them, along with other writers. My first foray into blogging--thanks Vic!
