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Begin New Search Publishing Institution American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research Publication Year within 25 Years

461. As Good As It Gets

Author:
John H. Makin
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Old habits die hard. Often, criticism leveled at policymakers is well founded. I certainly have offered up my share. But as 2003 ends and 2004 begins, we find ourselves at a point where the performance of the U.S. economy is about as good as it gets. The stock market is up 20 percent this year, inflation and interest rates are low, productivity growth is high, and U.S. exports are rising strongly. The biggest danger going forward arises from ill-founded criticism aimed at policy measures employed to achieve this excellent outcome and the (fortunately low) chance that policymakers will heed such criticism.
Topic:
Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States

462. An Economic Theory of Censorship

Author:
J. Gregory Sidak
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Legal criticism of broadcast regulation typically starts by demonstrating the paradoxically disparate treatment of print media and broadcast media under the First Amendment. In contrast, economic criticism typically starts by demonstrating that the scarcity of the electromagnetic spectrum, to the questionable extent that it exists, does not distinguish broadcasting from any other medium of communications for which the essential factors of production are privately owned and ordered. Each line of criticism is powerful. And each continues to the current day to appear again and again in court challenges to broadcast regulation. It is more useful, however, to model broadcast regulation in terms of the creation and dissipation of rent.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
United States

463. Taking Stock of Business: Public Opinion After the Corporate Scandals

Author:
Karlyn H. Bowman and Todd J. Weiner
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
More than a dozen corporate scandals have unfolded since December 2001. How have ordinary Americans reacted? One answer can be provided by the performance of the stock market. Another indicator is public opinion. As some of the key trials get underway, it's worth examining the polls to see how the scandals have affected perceptions of business. The results should provide some warning flags for Congress as that institution takes a closer look at the mutual fund industry.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
United States and America

464. The Politics of the Environment

Author:
Karlyn H. Bowman
Publication Date:
08-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Democrats lead Republicans by a substantial margin nationally as the party best able to handle environmental issues, as the first table in this collection shows. The second table looks at the power of the issue on Election Day. In 2000, for example, 9 percent of voters nationwide told exit pollsters from the Los Angeles Times that the environment was one of the top two issues for them in casting their vote. These voters pulled the lever for Gore over Bush, by 76 to 12 percent. As in elections past, other issues were more important to larger numbers of voters. In the 2000 Los Angeles Times exit poll, almost four times as many voters (35 percent) checked morals/ethical values as the top issue for them on the exit poll ballot.
Topic:
Environment, Government, Science and Technology, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Los Angeles

465. America after 9/11: Public Opinion on the War on Terrorism and the War with Iraq

Author:
Karlyn H. Bowman
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Polls should not be used to make policy whether the issue is sending troops into battle or shoring up Social Security. They are too crude for that purpose. That said, policy makers need to be aware of what the public is thinking. That is what this collection is designed to do. We are very grateful for the cooperation the pollsters have given us in making this collection possible. The document is a work in progress. We began putting it together in late September 2001, and we have updated it weekly, adding new sections as new issues have arisen. With 14 national pollsters in the field on a regular basis, the polling environment has become very competitive. The different ways that pollsters approach a topic and the responses they receive are often useful in understanding what Americans are thinking.
Topic:
Security, Government, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and Palestine

466. The Patriot Act Under Fire

Author:
John Yoo and Eric Posner
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Criticisms of the Patriot Act as unconstitutional and as a danger to individual rights are unfounded. Any marginal reduction in peacetime liberties entailed by the act seems to be a reasonable price to pay for an important weapon in fighting al Qaeda and other terrorists.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics

467. U.S. Steel Tariffs Give Safeguards a Bad Name

Author:
Claude E. Barfield
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
President Bush's decision to revoke tariffs on imported steel products may lead the European Union to challenge other U.S. trade policies. Any such steps are likely to meet with stiff U.S. resistance, however, because the mechanism for resolving such disputes in the World Trade Organization is widely seen in the United States as lacking legitimacy.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States

468. The Case for Being Mean

Author:
Frederick M. Hess
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Performance-based accountability promises to ensure that every student, regardless of background, masters crucial knowledge and skills. But to realize that promise, accountability needs to be coercive, that is, it must confront failure with real consequences for both educators and students.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States

469. Out of the Asylum, into the Cell

Author:
Sally Satel
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Prisons have become default mental-health treatment centers to the severe detriment of those experiencing genuine mental illness. Properly treating—rather than criminalizing—mental illness requires reforming our fragmented mental healthcare system and relaxing regulations to encourage patients to seek treatment.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics

470. The Long, Hard Slog

Author:
Reuel Marc Gerecht
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Real progress has been made in the war on terror-al Qaeda no longer enjoys state-sponsorship, and Iraq is moving toward democracy. But because neither the rogue regimes nor the "holy warriors" in the region can afford to allow the United States to successfully introduce democracy into Iraq, we must expect them to ratchet up the level of violence to prevent that from happening.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and Middle East