Andrés Martinez: All Publications, Events and Press

Andrés Martinez to Direct New America Foundation’s Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program

Communications — Wed, 07 May 2008 06:05:00 -0400

Washington, D.C. – The New America Foundation today announced that Andrés Martinez, former editorial page editor of the Los Angeles Times, will become director of the Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program, which seeks to identify and support the next generation of American public policy scholars and writers.

New America provides financial, professional and institutional support for up to 35 fellows each year. Its fellows program seeks out individuals whose research and ideas promise to bring forward exceptionally promising new thinking about the most pressing issues facing the United States.

Mr. Martinez was the editorial page editor of the Los Angeles… more

Ballots and Wallets

Ron Tang — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Which detergent do you use? Procter & Gamble spent $3.3 billion on media in 2006 to get customers to buy its products. Which beer will you opt for at the end of a long day's work? Beer marketers spent $1.2 billion during that same year to influence your choice. Who will you pick to be your next president? That's another costly decision: The two major parties are expected to blow a combined $1 billion during this election cycle in their quest to land the $400,000-a-year gig.

Most civic-minded folks who care about politics wince when they hear about the amounts of… more

California's Wimps in D.C.

Ron Tang — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Free trade's benefit to the country as a whole may be open to debate, but there is no doubt that California stands to gain from it. So why are the state's political leaders so squeamish about standing up for free trade in Washington?

California has twin engines of ingenuity -- Hollywood and the Silicon Valley -- and continued trade liberalization is crucial to keep both running. These industries face more daunting market barriers -- the absurdly low number of foreign films allowed in China's cinemas is a good example -- than do traditional industrial manufacturers, which already have benefited from many… more

The Missing Innovators

Articles — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 15:52:00 -0500

On the same week last month that the European Union unveiled its new, no-hassle "blue card" program to attract highly skilled migrant workers, the U.S. Senate voted to hike employer fees for H1-B visas to $5,000. H1-Bs allow U.S. employers to bring foreign talent into the American workforce. It was a telling coincidence, demonstrating that as the rest of the world is becoming more welcoming of skilled immigrants who fuel innovation, the United States, mired in its know-nothing Lou Dobbesian nativism, is turning its back on one of its great competitive advantages -- its historic knack for playing the role… more

Soccer Versus Futbol

adminn — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 12:44:00 -0400

Renowned metrosexual megastar David Beckham is earning some street cred. When the $250-million man first arrived in Los Angeles last month, he seemed too famous and too fragile to deign to take the pitch at Carson's Home Depot Center.

But that was then; this is now. On Wednesday, he suffered a knee injury when he didn't flinch from a rough collision. The week before, in the "super clasico" matchup between Los Angeles' two teams -- Beckham's Galaxy and Chivas USA -- the Englishman stoically played all 90 minutes despite having played an international match against Germany the day before -- in… more