Economy

“Inflation Soared in June, Pinching Consumers and Challenging Policymakers,” read a New York Times headline about the June 2022 inflation report.The report revealed an annual inflation rate of 9.1 percent, the highest level since the intense period of economic crisis in the 1970s and early 1980s. One of the policymakers faced with the enormous challenge of dealing with the inflation problem was President Biden. Biden’s approval rating on the economy hit its lowest level in June 2022. In a poll conducted by the Associated Press and NORC that month, only 28 percent of respondents approved of Biden’s handling of the economy while 69 percent disapproved.

In his State of the Union address President Obama called for tax increases for the wealthiest Americans. Does the public support such a tax increase, and how do their attitudes fit into larger perceptions about wealth?

Why do some democracies remain so highly unequal? Existing political science literature equips us with surprisingly little theoretical tools to understand, much less answer, this incredibly important question. Existing foundational theories suggest that given a certain period of time, democracies should eventually redistribute income or wealth and become more egalitarian. Yet, there are a substantial number of countries that have experienced democratic rule for decades and remain virtually as unequal as they did before they democratized. Furthermore, current global trends suggest, generally speaking, inequality is on the rise in many democracies throughout the world.

Recent news on the federal budget deficit has been unusually positive: the deficit is shrinking.

Public Perspective, March April 2003. The UBS Index of Investor Optimism -  The world is full of financial information ...

Public Perspective, January/February 2002. The immeasurable tragedy of September 11, 2001, and the events that followed, mean that everything has ...

Public Perspective, December/January 1998. Politicians, economists and journalists alike rave about the economy recovery the U.S. has enjoyed in the ...