All New America Events for 2007

Monday, Jan. 8, marks the fifth anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and the beginning of a comprehensive congressional examination of standards-based school reform. How has it succeeded? How has it not? Why? And how can it be improved?

While the most significant accomplishment of the standards-based school reform movement that began in the 1980s is improved national student achievement in mathematics, international comparisons of mathematics and science achievement continue to indicate sub-par American student performance. Reports… more

Our current experience of capitalism -- corporate, short-term and globalized -- is rapidly squandering our shared inheritances. Peter Barnes, Co-Founder and Former President of Working Assets Long Distance, a wireless, long distance and credit card company that links its products with donations to nonprofit groups, examines the dynamics of the market place in Capitalism 3.0: A Guide to Reclaiming the Commons. Barnes argues that capitalism in its current form gives too much power to profit-maximizing corporations that deplete the public… more

Professor Michael Sherraden will discuss his work on policies and programs that can help poor people build assets in developing nations. His talk will be followed by comments about how the successes of asset-building policies can be applied to microfinance where, as the new CGAP Focus Note finds, institutions struggle to mobilize deposits and help their clients build assets.

Commentators will include Ray Boshara, Director of the Asset Building Program at the New America Foundation, Allyn Moushey, Poverty Analysis &… more

Dr. Werner Hoyer, a Member of the German Bundestag and Vice Chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) Caucus, argued in a recently published piece that the West is losing the battle for the hearts and minds of the Islamic world. Because it is damaging our fundamental interests of preserving peace, prosperity, and our way of life based on freedom, tolerance and reason, Dr. Hoyer contends that this downward slope warrants an internal dialogue to accompany the trans-Atlantic dialogue.In his… more

The recent turnover in Congress, combined with a wide open presidential election cycle, creates a rare opportunity to bring new ideas into the political process. The spirit of this new era will be captured by those -- from either party or no party -- who embrace innovative yet pragmatic solutions to the foremost challenges facing our nation.

At this event, the New America Foundation released a major new report outlining Ten Big Ideas for a New America, and… more

President Bush will send his FY 2008 budget to Congress February 5th. It is widely expected that he will call for a balanced budget by 2012. Will this goal be a realistic one? What new policies will be included in the President’s budget? (And which should be?) How will war costs be treated? What assumptions will be used concerning spending, revenue, and economic growth? Will this be a budget the Democratic Congress declares “dead on arrival” or will… more

Mr. Backfisch contends that in dealing with the combustibile situation in Iraq, the German government places much weight on the recommendations of Jim Baker and The Iraq Study Group Report. Top diplomats in Berlin believe Syria and Iran should be courted to tailor a package solution for the whole region, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While nobody in Europe wants to contradict the Bush administration openly, nearly everybody is pushing for softer approaches and a new relevance for the Middle… more

With unfolding developments pointing toward a possible thaw in U.S.-Cuban relations, the question—whither Cuba after Castro?—has already begun to be mined by journalists and scholars. Award-winning journalist Ann Louise Bardach has been at the forefront of these debates, with unique insight into the politics and culture of Cuba. Bardach recently published the first-ever English edition of The Prison Letters of Fidel Castro. The work, originally edited by Luis Conte Aguero, is a collection of letters regarded as the single most… more

American politics is in a time of upheaval, as old ideological lines dissolve and the changing economy demands a rethinking of the social contract. Recently, several prominent thinkers have proposed new policy and political syntheses that marry approaches usually favored by the right with solutions from the left. In a December 2005 article in The Weekly Standard entitled "The Party of Sam's Club," Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam suggested that the Republican Party pay attention to the … more

From the days of the 1970s OPEC oil embargo to the recent spikes in gas prices, and the constantly evolving and volatile situation in the Middle East, it seems everyone has “oil on the brain.” Yet, despite the fact that our daily lives are inextricable from oil -- the U.S. alone burns through 10,000 gallons of gasoline a second, or three gallons per person per day -- many of us have only limited knowledge of the substance often referred to… more

This full-day conference on the future of U.S.-Iran relations, co-sponsored by the National Iranian American Council, was held as scheduled on Wednesday, despite the inclement weather and delayed opening of federal government offices.

Video of this event is available at right, while an MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

This event was supported by the Pluralism Fund, Kenbe Foundation, Ploughshares Fund and Open Society Institute.

Has the war in Iraq diminished or increased the threat of jihadist terrorism worldwide? Although widely debated, there has been no systematic empirical analysis to determine the answer -- until now.

At this New America Event, Peter Bergen and Paul Cruickshank discussed their groundbreaking new report, which shows that terrorism has dramatically increased worldwide following the onset of the Iraq war. Based on an analysis of the MIPT-RAND terrorism database, Bergen and Cruickshank conclude that the incidence of terrorism… more

With U.S. broadband penetration still lagging far behind other advanced economies—and rural and low-income areas in particular being left on the wrong side of the digital divide—a variety of emerging wireless technologies offer the potential to quickly and cost-effectively bring affordable and ubiquitous broadband access to all Americans. While these wireless solutions offer great promise, they all suffer from a lack of adequate access to the public airwaves (spectrum)—either on an exclusive licensed or shared, unlicensed basis. Recently,… more

The conference, which was co-sponsored by  the New America Foundation and CommonSense California, explored the emerging field of deliberative democracy, which uses tools such as citizen dialogues, deliberative polling and citizen's assemblies to engage regular citizens in policy issues. Deliberative democracy methods seek to break through partisan gridlock, overcome special interest domination, and rekindle a sense of civic ownership in the conduct of government.

The conference brought together leading policy makers and opinion leaders, provided a space to meet with… more

Edward Luttwak, an internationally recognized authority in the area of military strategy, recently contended in testimony before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Foreign Relations that, "only with the United States’ disengagement can Iraqis find their own equilibrium." He underscores the futility of trying to micromanage an Iraqi reality which lacks sustainability and merely prolongs failure. Dr. Luttwak sees disengagement, not withdrawal, as the only reasonable plan that still safeguards Iraq’s borders and doesn’t needlessly abandon Iraq to chaos.

Simultaneously Luttwak… more

Beyond Bioethics, a new report by Dr. Francis Fukuyama and Dr. Franco Furger, provides the most comprehensive examination to date of legislative and/or regulatory answers to the challenges raised by human biotechnologies in the United States. The report's premise is that reaping the benefits of medical progress offered by biotechnology while preventing possible abuses requires that we create a new regulatory agency. Dr. Fukuyama and Dr. Furger discussed legislative developments at the national and international level and explore public attitudes… more

UPDATE:  Unfortunately, a last minute change to the Ambassador's schedule means that we must postpone this event until further notice.

The strategic importance of Afghanistan as a base for jihadist terrorists is increasingly evident. Taliban officials warn that they are gearing up for a major "spring offensive" against NATO forces in the coming months ('Spring Offensive' ABC News, 3/4/07). Senior Taliban official Mullah Dadullah has recently announced that Taliban and al Qaeda operatives, including bin Laden, are… more

As broadband data communication moves into the mobile, wireless world, should basic concepts of “network neutrality” that exist in the wireline world be applied to the wireless industry? On February 21, Voice-over-IP provider Skype filed a petition requesting that the FCC affirm the right of consumers to attach any legal device (such as a VoIP-enabled cell phone) to cellular networks, as embodied in the Commission’s Carterfone rules that are currently observed in the wireline telephone world. more

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget's 2007 board meeting, conference and dinner discussion were held March 13 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill. This event brought together many of the nation's foremost fiscal policy experts from both parties to discuss the budgetary challenges facing the nation, and the prospects for addressing them before they turn into full-blown crises.

A detailed recap of day's conversations -- including the afternoon round table, OMB Director Robert Portman's spech,… more

In his book, Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle with Militant Islam, author Zahid Hussain wrestles with the contradictions and complexities of arguably one of the most critical alliances in America’s declared “global war on terror.” Hussain’s fundamental contention is that Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, put himself in an untenable position since allying himself with the United States after September 11, 2001. By vowing to fight extremism inside his own country, Musharref effectively pit Pakistan at war with itself. Meanwhile the… more

Many liberals as well as conservatives supported the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. In his provocative new book A Pact with the Devil: Washington’s Bid for World Supremacy, Tony Smith, professor of political science at Tufts University, criticizes liberal hawks as well as neocons for sharing a common project of American world supremacy. In a recent article in The Washington Post (3/11/2007), Smith warns that "the danger lies in believing that our power is beyond… more

California, the most diverse and entrepreneurial state in America, is poised for a big step onto the national stage this year. Its presidential primary is moving to the front end of the 2008 campaign season. Its native daughter, Nancy Pelosi, is serving her historic first year as Speaker of the House. And the nation is taking notice as a series of major bipartisan policy agreements take place in Sacramento.

Within this… more

Social investment policies – policies that pursue both economic and social development – are increasingly shaping strategies for growth in both developed and developing nations. In January 2007, the Republic of Korea implemented a series of innovative policies, with a particular emphasis on investments in children. Informed by similar policies in the UK, the US and Canada, the Korean Minister of Health and Welfare, His Excellency Simin Rhyu, has now established a Child Development Accounts (CDAs) policy. These… more

Russia is often considered an energy superpower because it has the largest known natural gas reserves in the world, the second largest coal reserves, and the eighth largest oil reserves. Its energy superpower status has recently become a hot topic in the European Union and the United States. Both, the EU and the US have accused Russia of using its natural resources as a policy tool to wield power against offending states such as Georgia, the… more

Americans consume 10,000 gallons of gasoline a second: three gallons per person per day. New America Irvine Fellow Lisa Margonelli spent three years tracing the path that petroleum takes from oil fields far away to the gas tanks of California drivers. In her book Oil On the Brain she examines the history, chemistry, economics, politics and culture of oil to look at where our relationship to petroleum is taking us.

At this Sacramento event, Margonelli described her travels and discuss… more

The annual release of the Child Well-Being Index (CWI) provides a research-based look at the status of children in the United States over 30 years. The CWI is commissioned by the Foundation for Child Development and provides policymakers and the public with a tool to monitor the well-being of children nationwide.

The data cut through the headlines and conventional wisdom to offer a multi-faceted portrait of the quality of life of our children. The index addresses questions such as… more

In this web cast, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget members brief the United States Association of Former Members of Congress (USAFMC) on the current status of the budget process.

Please note that viewing the panel requires the download of special software available at the USAFMC web site.

Once you've downloaded the software, please download the file to your desktop and then open the file using this software. http://www.usafmc.org/data/4.18webcast.ssr

 This is third party software, which New America does not… more

The New America Foundation launched its 21st Century US-Cuba Policy Initiative at an event headlined by former State Department Chief of Staff Lawrence Wilkerson and Congressman Jeff Flake (R-AZ). The event was moderated by U.S. foreign policy expert Steven Clemons, who directs the American Strategy Program at New America. The event follows the return of Colonel Wilkerson and Mr. Clemons from a trip to Cuba.

Colonel Wilkerson expressed dissatisfaction with the current U.S. policy toward the island, which he… more

For quite some time, conventional wisdom held that Iraq was the central front in the war on terror. But as studies like the National Intelligence Estimate of April 2006 reveal our efforts in Iraq to have actually caused a rise in threats to our security, prevailing thinking on the issue of terrorism warrants further scrutiny.In the provocative report, Terrorism: A Brief for Americans, Juniper Financial Corp. CEO Richard W. Vague spells out in clear terms a… more

Given the challenging situation in Iraq, Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the transatlantic partners share the belief that only a regional approach will be successful in creating a sustainable peace. Americans and Europeans, however, pursue different strategies towards the common goal.Should the Americans engage in a bilateral dialogue with states like Syria and Iran or should Europeans facilitate a new “trialogue”? Are there strategies that have worked in the past in other regions and… more

Because of the Middle East's critical role in global energy markets, the Iraq War raises important questions about the shifting distribution of economic and financial power around the world. This in turn raises important implications for America's international standing.

Oystein Noreng is Norway's leading energy economist and a profoundly insightful commentator on the geopolitical factors affecting global energy markets. Since 1990, Noreng has been Professor and FINA Chair in petroleum economics and management at the Norwegian… more

The Alternative Voting Systems forum will look at a range of voting system methods, including the current numbered seat system used by Pasadena Unified School District as well as the geographic districts used by Pasadena City Council. Speakers will present information about alternatives such as instant runoff voting and choice voting, systems which allow voters to rank their candidates in order of preference (1,2,3). Attendees are encouraged to fill out and bring a copy of The Pasadena Weekly's more

Whether the objective is to promote retirement security, improve educational attainment, provide a financial cushion for life transitions, or increase national savings, the need to increase household savings is vitally clear. As is well known, the personal savings rate in the United States has been falling for nearly two decades and became negative two years ago, a level not seen since the Great Depression.

In an environment of large budget deficits and bulging entitlement obligations, little revenue can be sacrificed… more

Recent headlines about Walter Reed Army Medical Center have brought the military health care system under scrutiny. Yet despite problems with access, The Department of Veteran Affairs’ system of care, (which doesn’t run Walter Reed) turns out, in study after study, to outperform the rest of the American health care system by virtually all measures. These include patient satisfaction, patient safety, prevention, disease management, use of evidence-based medicine, information technology, and cost effectiveness.

What lessons does the VA’s performance offer… more

The Israeli Winograd Committee investigating last summer’s Lebanon War has just published its interim report, and it is nothing short of a political earthquake in Israel that could have implications for the region and U.S. foreign policy.

At this New America event, our resident Israeli and expert, Daniel Levy, and American Strategy Program Director Steven Clemons, analyzed both the report and the political fall-out. Levy, who worked in the Prime Minister's Office under the Barak government, was a… more

Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, have killed more than 1,150 U.S. troops and 10,897 Iraqis since the war began. Focusing on this ever-present deadly device of war, Discovery Times Channel presents MISSION OPS: ASSIGNMENT IEDs, an investigative look at the use of homemade bombs in terrorism and the stunningly innovative techniques used to thwart them.

Please join New America Foundation, Discovery Times Channel, and Story House Productions for a special advance screening of this timely documentary.

MISSON… more

This national policy forum on the future of both the American and global economies was hosted by New America's American Strategy Program and The New School's Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis. Video is available at right, while the agenda and participants are listed below.

While the public gaze is fixated on the reasons for and success of the Iraq war, few policy analysts, commentators, and journalists are paying attention to the largest refugee problem in the Middle East since 1948. New America Foundation Fellow Nir Rosen -- internationally recognized for his groundbreaking journalism on Iraq since the beginning of the war in April of 2003 -- presented his piece, titled "The Flight from Iraq," which was the cover story in the May… more

Richard Verma serves as Senior National Security Advisor to Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D-NV). Prior to his service on Capitol Hill, Verma was an attorney at the law firm of Steptoe and Johnson. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and previously served on the staff of Congressman John P. Murtha (D-PA). Verma also worked overseas for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and holds degrees from Lehigh, American and Georgetown Universities. … more

Are investment bubbles a competitive advantage for the U.S. economy, or are they simply examples of the private sector run amok? What role does the visible hand of government and public policy play in the creation of a bubble by helping channel investments into hot new areas? Is there an upside to the rapidly deflating real estate bubble?

Daniel Gross, a columnist for Slate and the New York Times, explored these and other questions while discussing his new book,… more

Over the past decade, improving the development and governance in oil-producing countries has become an international project encompassing everything from the NGO-lead Publish What You Pay campaign, to transparency and anti-corruption initiatives, "future generations" accounts for oil royalties, the World Bank's model project in Chad, and even Hugo Chavez's attempt at refocussing Venezuela's national oil company on local development projects. While a consensus has evolved around the problems that oil poses for development, the solutions are still… more

In an era of increasingly high oil and gas prices, concerns about CO2 emissions, and uncertainty about the security of supply, energy policy has come to dominate political discourse around the world. To date, the energy debate has centered largely on how to secure future energy supply and how to finance research into alternative sources of fuel. While these concerns are important, no energy policy will succeed without first mining our immense energy efficiency opportunities. After all, what's the point… more

The upcoming reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) presents an opportunity for the federal government to expand access to high-quality, early education programs. At present, quality standards vary widely among federal, state, local, and private early care and education programs, and relatively few programs align their curricular and teacher standards with early elementary school grades. There is a role for the federal government to play in both expanding access and harmonizing decentralized early education programs horizontally across… more

There is a widening breach between most of the 35 million people residing in California and the fewer than 9 million who actually vote. Seven million Californians are eligible to vote but for one reason or another don’t bother. A small group of frequent voters, who are richer, whiter, older and hold different opinions on education, social spending, Prop.13, and more compared to their nonvoting neighbors -- form the majority that decides which candidates win and which ballot measures pass.… more

Increasing troubles in the sub-prime mortgage market, growing concerns about student debt loads, and two new movies and an awareness campaign highlighting the burden of credit card debt are focusing attention on the fact that debt is causing major disruptions in the lives of many families. And yet, it’s the rare family that can build assets—buy a home, start and grow a business, go to college, buy the car that is essential for getting to work—without credit. … more

In the coming weeks, the FCC will set the bidding and service rules for the auction of the 700MHz channels being freed up by the DTV transition—“beachfront” airwaves ideal for the provision of high-speed wireless broadband services. This last big sale of prime spectrum is expected to raise $10 to $20 billion in federal revenue. But far more important to the economy and to consumers is whether this auction promotes broadband deployment and price competition in every part of the… more

When it comes to the economy, it's often said that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Yet most economists have been confounded by the failure of recent productivity gains to significantly raise the incomes for the majority of American workers.

At this special event, a presentation of the Next Social Contract Initiative at the New America Foundation, MIT economists Frank Levy and Peter Temin presented their new paper “Inequality and Institutions in 20th Century America,” which… more

Hailed by many as the greatest business opportunity of the 21st Century, "clean tech" may offer more than just an economic engine; it offers an opportunity to benefit people around the world. Applied Materials CEO Michael Splinter will discuss the importance of solar power as a meaningful part of a comprehensive American energy strategy.

Michael Splinter is President and CEO of Applied Materials, Inc. Splinter, a 30-year veteran of the semiconductor industry, previously served as an… more

Is America ready for the next September 11 or Hurricane Katrina? Is our nation really safer now than it was when Al Qaeda attacked the World Trade Center towers? Have the billions of dollars we spent on Homeland Security prepared our industrial and financial systems for real shocks? Have we even managed to identify what the real threats to our society actually are?

Charles Perrow is one of America’s preeminent experts on disasters and disaster preparedness, and… more

The death of Taliban commander Mullah Dudallah has scored a major victory for US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, while the House Committee on Foreign Affairs approved H.R. 2446, the Afghanistan Freedom and Security Support Act (AFSSA), authorizing $1.6 billion per year over the next three years for development, economic and security assistance programs in Afghanistan. However, these successes are set against the backdrop of a deteriorating political and security environment -- with the steady rise of suicide attacks… more

At this New America event, Dr. John Harvey addressed plans for the future of the U.S. nuclear weapons program including efforts to "transform" the stockpile and supporting infrastructure proceeding from the premise that the United States will need a safe, secure, and reliable nuclear deterrent for the foreseeable future.

While today’s stockpile -- comprised of legacy warheads left over from the Cold War -- is safe and reliable, some contend that, absent nuclear testing, the United States… more

In his new book Security First, Amitai Etzioni calls for a complete reorientation of American foreign policy. In order to minimize the threat to both American citizens and the global community at large, basic security for all—not democracy— must be America's primary foreign policy goal. Basic security, Etzioni explains, is freedom from deadly violence, maiming, and torture.

Etizioni posits that Democracy may follow basic security, but without security first, democracy inevitably fails. Many citizens and leaders who oppose… more

American social policy, and the debate about poverty and inequality, are constrained by assumptions about politics: That only universal programs will win political acceptance and programs targeted toward the poor will always be poor programs. That the modest American welfare state was built in two great waves, The New Deal and The Great Society, the likes of which we'll never see again. That tax credits and incentives are a subtler and more effective way of delivering benefits than direct… more

Almost a year ago, Condoleeza Rice announced the new strategy to press Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities. Since then Iran has continued its path, leading some in the Administration to call for military action. Reinhold Bütikofer, President of the German Green Party, agrees with Rice's direction and calls for a more proactive, triple prong approach: continuous diplomatic efforts, U.N. sanctions, and a unified "coalition of the willing." Bütikofer contends that military action would not prevent Iran… more

The 21st century will be the century of the faith line -- a line that does not divide Christians and Muslims or Hindus and Jews, but religious pluralists and religious totalitarians. America faces an emerging conflict within its family and its foreign policy between those who seek common ground and those who seek to divide.

In his new book, Acts of Faith, Muslim-American writer Eboo Patel, the Executive Director of the Interfaith Youth Core, offers a compelling theory of… more

Iraq had never been a central front in the war on terror before the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 made it so. Now, four years later, a critical question weighs heavily on the minds of scholars and practitioners alike: how has the Iraq War affected the global jihadist movement? In order to define and counter Iraq’s terrorism legacy, Stephanie Kaplan offers a new framework for understanding the jihad effect, or war’s impact on the trajectory of terrorist movements. According… more

New America senior fellows Peter Bergen and Anatol Lieven recently returned from Pakistan, having met with leading figures from the government, the military, the opposition, the radical Islamist groups, and the administration of the North West Frontier Province and Tribal Areas. They have each authored several pieces on their findings and will publicly discuss them -- along with the present political and security situation in Pakistan and the relationship between Pakistani developments and the war in Afghanistan. … more

All too often the foreign policy debate is divided between “realists” who favor power politics and “idealists” who want the United States to act as a missionary nation exporting democracy or human rights. In his ground-breaking and controversial new book Bounding Power, Daniel Deudney, one of America’s leading students of international relations, transcends this stale debate and shatters the categories in which we think about U.S. foreign policy. Deudney revives and modernizes republican security theory, a way of thinking about… more

The Legislature, Governor Schwarzenegger and key health care stakeholders are deep in discussions on how to reform California’s broken health care system, including how to reduce the number of uninsured Californians. At this event, New America Foundation Health Policy Program Director Len Nichols and Peter Harbage discussed how to use the principles of seamless coverage and shared responsibility to create a process to ensure all Californians have health coverage, including what we can learn from recent successful experiments in… more

Please join us on Wednesday, July 11th on Capitol Hill for an enlightening discussion with Brigadier General (Ret.) Ilan Paz, former head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank (2002-2005) and Talia Sasson, who served as legal advisor to Prime Minister Sharon on settlements, outposts, and the rule of law in the territories. She was also the author of the definitive and far-reaching “Sasson Report”-- an official governmental paper which included an extensive set of… more

Joseph Cirincione is one of America’s best known weapons experts. His new book, Bomb Scare, begins with the first atomic discoveries of the 1930s and covers the history of their growth all the way to the current crisis with Iran. Cirincione unravels the science, strategy, and politics that have fueled the development of nuclear stockpiles and increased the chance of a nuclear attack. He also explains why many nations choose not to pursue nuclear weapons and pulls from this… more

In their just-released special report, "Iraqi Insurgent Media: The War of Images and Ideas," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty regional analysts Daniel Kimmage and Kathleen Ridolfo take an in-depth look at the multi-layered media efforts of Sunni insurgents, who are responsible for the majority of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq.

Insurgents and their supporters communicate with the world through daily press releases, weekly and monthly magazines, books, video clips, full-length films, countless websites, and even television… more

In August of 1994, with the prospects of health reform all but vanishing, Sen. Robert Bennett (R-UT) stood on the Senate floor and asked three fair questions: Why have we talked so much about insurance and health care instead of better health? Why have we not adequately explored what role markets can and cannot play in health care reform? And why do we fail to recognize that when employers or governments spend money on health care it is… more

America’s continuing growing demand for energy is facing an upward climb of oil and gas prices, competition for energy from countries like China and India, and concerns about CO2 emissions, global warming and its impacts. We are now engaged in heightened discussions about energy use and alternative and renewable sources of energy in the U.S. political landscape. Unfortunately, the space for broad and honest debate is often clouded by political ideologies, difficulty in understanding the data that is… more

The Foundation for Child Development Child Well-Being Index (CWI) provides a research-based look at the status of children in the United States over the last 30 years. Now, for the first time, the CWI examines the status of American children in relation to that of children in other countries. The CWI uses English-speaking democracies with strong market-based systems to provide a more meaningful “apples to apples” portrait of the relative well-being of American children. The study contrasts the well-being… more

Spectrum has become one of the most valuable natural resources of the Information Age. Unlike other comparably valuable natural resources such as land and oil, it is owned by the public and allocated exclusively by the federal government. Also, unlike those resources, it is invisible both literally and figuratively: the general public does not understand—and consequently does not care about—its allocation. This combination of huge amounts of money at stake and public ignorance creates the classic conditions for special interest… more

America's social contract -- the complex, largely unwritten deal between workers, employers, and government that gives individuals the security they need to navigate a dynamic economy -- is eroding. The arrangements of our existing social contract no longer make sense in an economy characterized by global labor markets, shortened job tenure, heightened capital mobility, rapid technological change, and increased pressure for short-term profits. Ensuring that every American can access the goods and services necessary to enjoy a productive… more

This event is co-hosted by AARP, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, CFED, National Disability Institute, The Retirement Security Project, Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, and World Institute on Disabilities.

As more and more Americans are expected to save for their own futures, millions of low-income individuals get conflicting messages from their government: Save, and don't save. Over the last decade a consensus has been emerging among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners about the importance of… more

At this New America event, Juan Cole discussed his new book, Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East and the relevance and lessons of Napoleon’s expedition in Egypt to the current American occupation of Iraq. New America Foundation/American Strategy Program Director Steve Clemons offered introductory comments and moderated the robust discussion that followed Cole's presentation.

Juan Cole is a professor of Middle Eastern and South Asian history at the University of Michigan, the President of the Global Americana… more

In association with Assemblymembers Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Ted Gaines (R-Roseville), New America in California hosted this dynamic policy discussion on how public policy can encourage saving and wealth building for all Californians.

Heather McCulloch, a leader on asset-building policy issues, provided an overview on the history and evolution of policy ideas, in the United States and aboard, for expanding saving by families and individuals. Ms. McCulloch is the founder of Asset Building Strategies, a nationally recognized consulting group that provides… more

As California searches for market-based incentives for energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions, white certificates -- tradable certificates representing one megawatt of verified electrical savings --are emerging as a promising policy option.

In this one-day seminar, nationally known experts will discuss the benefits and complications of white certificates as well as the ways in which white certificate programs affect incentives for energy efficiency. Following the presentations, Bill Prindle of the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy… more

Americans know from their own lives the stress of balancing work and family obligations. Extensive rhetoric from the media and academic worlds is difficult to disentangle, sometimes pointing to seemingly different conclusions regarding the state of work and family balance, the time parents are spending with their children, and the impacts such conflicts have on individual and family health.

The New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative and Workforce and Family Program seek to cut through the rhetoric with… more

The current -- and predicted future -- turmoil in the mortgage market highlights an important challenge to the American dream of homeownership: how to make certain that those who enter into homeownership are able to sustain that status, protecting family stability and building equity in a critical asset. Thirty years ago, those who owned homes had fixed rate mortgages and substantial equity, and foreclosure was a rare event. However, many Americans were denied the opportunity to… more

Richard D. Kahlenberg's latest book, Tough Liberal, is the first book-length treatment of the life of Albert Shanker, one of the most influential figures in American education in recent history. Shanker was the father of teacher unionism and a leading voice in nearly every major education and labor debate for nearly four decades.

Richard D. Kahlenberg is a Senior Fellow at The Century Foundation, where he writes about education, equal opportunity, and civil rights. Previously, Kahlenberg was a Fellow… more

In the recently published Spying Blind, Amy Zegart argues that after the Cold War ended, the CIA and FBI failed to adapt to the rise of terrorism. She makes the case by conducting painstaking analysis of more than three hundred intelligence reform recommendations and tracing the history of CIA and FBI counterterrorism efforts from 1991 to 2001. Zegart finds that political leaders were well aware of the emerging terrorist danger and the urgent need for intelligence reform, but failed… more

On Sept. 27, scholar Philip H. Gordon of The Brookings Institution discussed his new book, Winning the Right War: the Path to Security for America and the World (Times Books, 2007), and entertained questions from an audience at the New America Foundation. After a brief introduction by Peter Bergen, terrorism analyst and senior fellow at New America, Dr. Gordon asserted that six years into the war on terror, “we are not doing as well as we could be.” He proposed… more

Iran is still several years away from developing a nuclear weapons option, but the Western diplomatic strategy of threatening sanctions and offering multilateral negotiations to force Iran to suspend its enrichment program does not appear to be effective. Unless significantly greater sanctions are applied, Iran is likely to continue to work on overcoming technical problems and installing greater enrichment capacity under international inspections. If the current trajectory is not changed, we will eventually face a choice between… more

In Merchant of Death, Douglas Farah and Stephan Braun tell the true story of Viktor Bout, a young Russian intelligence officer who, since the end of the Cold War, has redefined how wars are fought in much of the developing world. By gaining access to unguarded weapons arsenals and a fleet of several dozen aircraft, Bout became a one-stop shopping service for all sides in many wars, from Afghanistan, where he armed the Norther Alliance and the Taliban, to… more

There is an increase in national attention being paid to inequality in America. While U.S. government programs help the poor and politicians on both sides raise funds from the fortunate, the “Missing Class,” those making between $20,000 to $40,000 dollars a year for a family of four, is largely ignored.

Through their experiences with nine families, Princeton professor Katherine Newman and Inthefray magazine editor Victor Tan Chen trace the unique challenges faced by this growing demographic in their new… more

When the transition to digital TV is completed in February 2009, broadcasters will retain channels 2 to 51, but will actually be using less than half of that spectrum to broadcast over-the-air DTV signals. Local TV stations will be separated by empty channels, known as "white space" -- underutilized spectrum that new “smart radio” technologies can use for productive activities, including wireless broadband, without interfering with television reception. DARPA and other wireless innovators have already developed far… more

In late 2004 when it was announced that National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice would assume the role of Secretary of State, many hoped she would be able to convert her influence garnered from her closeness to the President into a constructive rebalancing of U.S. foreign policy. Veteran diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler in his book The Confidante, chronicles in intimate detail the successes and failures of Secretary Rice's first two years to reorient U.S. foreign policy to contain and… more

An unlikely group of legislators, spanning the full political spectrum, is proposing a fresh, long-term response to the challenges of saving, financial education, and retirement security: KIDS Accounts.

By providing every newborn child a savings account at birth, with matching deposits for lower-income children, KIDS Accounts will create a national culture of savings and investing, promote financial education, and encourage life-long asset accumulation-especially higher education, homeownership, and a nest-egg for retirement.

There could not be… more

There is no greater problem facing America’s children than the epidemic of overweight and obesity. The Foundation for Child Development’s Child Well Being Index has concluded that the increase is obesity and overweight among children since 1975 has decreased the overall well being of children by more than 30%.

Researchers at the Center for Human Nutrition at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released a study this summer predicting that unless behaviors change, by 2015, 75%… more

The White House and Congress are engaged in a major budget debate that threatens a government shutdown and could markedly influence federal education funding. Congressional Democrats have proposed significant increases in education spending for Fiscal Year 2008, while the President has proposed to cut Education Department funding and threatened to veto relevant spending bills.

The panelists at this New America event discussed the current budget debate and its implications for federal education funding; lessons from past budget… more

In the coming months, the U.S. Congress will vote up or down on trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, Peru, and Korea. These elected officials will not examine these agreements solely on their commercial or foreign policy benefits to the American people. They will also weigh whether or not each agreement advances particular human rights abroad. However, these Representatives proceed with little information about how trade agreements, and even trade per se, affect human rights at home or abroad. Although… more

The New America Foundation and the Asset Policy Initiative of California, in association with Assemblymembers Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Ted Gaines (R-Roseville), recently launched the Bipartisan Asset Policy Forum, including a luncheon speaker series designed to educate policymakers, legislative staff and advocates on asset-building issues affecting Californians.

The next installment of this luncheon series will feature Jennifer Brooks, Policy Director at the Corporation For Enterprise Development (CFED). Ms. Brooks will discuss the state of asset building policy in California and its… more

**THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.  WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE THIS MAY CAUSE YOU.** 

In April 2004, the Abu Ghraib photographs set off an international scandal. Author Tara McKelvy—the first journalist to speak with female prisoners of Abu Ghraib—traveled to the Middle East and across the United States to unearth the full story. Join us for a lively discussion of her book, Monstering: Inside America's Policy of Secret Interrogations and Torture in the Terror War, and to examine… more

Polls indicate the great majority of Americans now see our 47-year old Cuba policy for the utter failure it is. Even the Cuban-American community, heretofore solidly behind the policy, is moving rapidly in the other direction. Polls taken in the congressional districts of Lincoln Diaz-Balart and Mario Diaz-Balart, two of the policy's most iron-clad advocates, show even the majority of their constituents to disagree -- 66% expressing disagreement in Lincoln Diaz-Balart's district and 69% in Mario Diaz-Balart's. Truly a… more

**THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.**

American health care is reaching a tipping point. Costs are rising at an unsustainable rate while the number of uninsured Americans persists, and the quality of care remains astonishingly poor. Health care now tops the domestic political agenda, and there are several proposals for reforming the system so that we can simultaneously cover the entire population, improve quality and bring down costs. Improving quality will… more

On Oct. 19, New America's American Strategy Program hosted an intriguing roundtable discussion on reframing and rethinking the inappropriately named "war on terror." Video of the event is available at right, while an MP3 audio recording can be downloaded below.

On Oct. 23, 2007, the New America Foundation co-hosted a forum entitled The Unavoidable Challenge: Confronting Our Nation’s Fiscal Crisis with the Heritage Foundation and the Public Policy Institute. The event consisted of speeches by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and two panel discussions on policy options and political opportunities for reform.

Maya MacGuineas, director of the Fiscal Policy Program at New America and president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, kicked… more

The No Child Left Behind Act, the major federal law supporting elementary and secondary education, is due for reauthorization by Congress. Teachers unions, business groups, civil rights leaders and researchers have all weighed in with recommendations to change the law’s provisions. But what do the people most impacted by NCLB -- educators working with kids on a day-to-day basis -- think about it?

Former Washington Post education writer Linda Perlstein spent a year with educators and students at… more

In the recently published, Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans, and Vagabonds, Gregory Rodriguez takes an in-depth look at the largest immigrant group in American history. Rodriguez examines the complexities of the heritage and the racial and cultural synthesis--mestizaje--that has defined the Mexican people since the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. Vis-a-vis the present era of Mexican American confidence, Rodriguez argues that the rapidly expanding Mexican American integration in to the mainstream is changing not only how Americans think about race… more

On October 30, Steve Clemons and the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation hosted Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative and MP of the Palestinian Legislative Council Mustafa Barghouti in a conversation with Rita Hauser, president of the Hauser Foundation and Israeli/Palestinian affairs expert, and Daniel Levy, director of the Middle East Policy Initiative at New America and publisher of www.ProspectsForPeace.com. The panelists came together to discuss the landscape of events in the run-up to… more

Gregory Rodriguez's recently published book, Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans, and Vagabonds, is a seminal work on the history of the Mexican American experience and their long term cultural and political influence in the United States. Rodriguez examines the complexities of the Mexican American heritage and how its racial and cultural synthesis, its mestizaje, is continually changing the manner in which Americans think about race and their identity as a nation.

Gregory Rodriguez is an Irvine Senior Fellow and Director of the California… more

As our nation works to address our struggling health care system, no issue is more important or controversial than what should be included in a minimum, basic, or required benefit package. Following the release of her paper, “Balancing Act: Creating a Sustainable Health Care Benefits Package,” Marjorie Ginsburg joined Celia Wcislo of the Massachusetts Connector Board and SEIU, Cori Uccello of the American Academy of Actuaries, and the New America Foundation for a discussion about how and… more

On November 2, Daniel Levy and the American Strategy Program hosted Dan Rothem of the Center for Middle East Peace & Economic Cooperation in the second in a series of briefings in the run-up to the Annapolis peace conference. Mr. Rothem came to the New America Foundation to look at and present the current realities and options on all the territorial issues and ideas raised in previous negotiations, and he has developed the most extensive and up-to-date map database on… more

In the recently published Mongrels, Bastards, Orphans, and Vagabonds, Gregory Rodriguez takes an in-depth look at the largest immigrant group in American history. Rodriguez examines the complexities of the heritage and the racial and cultural synthesis -- mestizaje -- that has defined the Mexican people since the Spanish conquest in the sixteenth century. Vis-a-vis the present era of Mexican American confidence, Rodriguez argues that the rapidly expanding Mexican American integration in to the mainstream is changing not only how… more

On Nov. 13, 2007, Maya MacGuineas, director of the Fiscal Policy Program at the New America Foundation and President of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, hosted an event featuring Dr. Peter Orszag, director of the Congressional Budget Office. At the event, Orszag released a CBO paper entitled “The Long-Term Outlook for Health Care Spending.” This paper precedes the regular release of the long-term budget outlook, of which health care is a major component.

Introducing Orszag, MacGuineas… more

On November 13, Patrick Doherty and the American Strategy Program hosted the Hon. Gary Hart and Daniel Levy in the third of a series of briefings on the run-up to the upcoming Middle East peace conference in Annapolis, MD. Gary Hart represented Colorado in the United States Senate from 1975 to 1987, where he served on the Armed Services Committee and specialized in nuclear arms control, among many other topics. Sen. Hart is a distinguished fellow at the New America… more