New York Times

...The conservatives Ross Douthat and Reihan Salam, both with The Atlantic Monthly, neither hard-core party activists nor longtime political operatives, want to provide a road map to get the party to brighter and more long-lasting sunshine.

The core thesis of their book “Grand New Party” is that the working class in America — the non-college-educated half of the electorate — continues to ping-pong between the parties and is there for the taking by any group that can seriously and directly address its concerns. The authors note: “Since 1968,… more

...The Commonwealth study also underscores the need to address the rising cost of health care, which is starting to leave even those in the middle class vulnerable to financial stress, said Len Nichols, a health economist who directs the Health Policy Program for the New America Foundation, a nonprofit group that advocates universal health care.

“Cost is central,” he said. He noted that a national debate is already under way about how best to control medical expenses, through changes in the payment process and better information technology... more

...The Commonwealth study also underscores the need to address the rising cost of health care, which is starting to leave even those in the middle class vulnerable to financial stress, said Len Nichols, a health economist who directs the health policy program for the New America Foundation, a nonprofit group that advocates universal health care. “Cost is central,” he said. He noted that a national debate is already under way about how best to control medical expenses, through changes… more

New York Times | Teaching Boys and Girls Separately

. . . More recently, in what Sara Mead, an education expert at the New America Foundation, calls a “man bites dog” sensation, public and parental concerns have shifted to boys. Boys are currently behind their sisters in high-school and college graduation rates. School, the boy-crisis argument goes, is shaped by females to match the abilities of girls (or, as Sax puts it, is taught “by soft-spoken women who bore”… more

Wal-Mart: The New Washington (New York Times)

“Wal-Mart is trying to assume the responsibility that their size confers on them,” said Len Nichols, health economist at the New America Foundation, which supports universal health coverage. “It’s a challenge to the government to step up to the plate.”