A brief survey of signals, forecasts, and perspectives — We live in an age of increasing interconnectedness juxtaposed against the exclusionist logic of nation-states; of individual burdens and agency taking precedence over the influence of systems or responsibility to the many; of 19th- century production logic in a 21st-century service-based society. It is clear that what once worked for…

Much debate has raged over the last several years about what policing should look like. Officers should reflect the community they serve. There should be a focus on relationship building. There should be an emphasis on options that are not simply arrest-prosecute-punish. There needs to be more cultural and contextual…

Enhanced Agency Edition: Decoupling benefits from W-2 work — Work status determines the version of the US in which you live. It shouldn’t. The coronavirus pandemic has shone light on a wide swath of vulnerabilities, accelerated workplace and technology trends, exacerbated inequities, and demonstrated the staggering precarity with which millions of US residents struggle. There are a lot of…

Police aren’t the source of the problem — but they certainly have one. — The current protests are proximally a response to police abuses, but they are about much more than formal policing. It is not an issue of the people vs the police, but an issue of black people being overpoliced and undervalued by the larger society. The police are often the face…

In brief: where we are, how we got here, and what’s next — Lest we forget, in the midst of pandemic pandemonium, that it is still an election year and that many of the extraordinary measures taken to date have roots in old policy proposals… Consider the following: Technology has fueled unparalleled prosperity, created global experiences, and blurred lines of tribal demarcation. The…

Or, why the economy looks great but feels terrible. — Hollow Victories The stock market, trade war notwithstanding, has overall been booming. Unemployment is at record lows. Nominal wages are growing at their fastest in years. The official poverty rate is 11.8%. The classic signs of economic health are robust, but the people aren’t exactly cheering. Why not, one might ask? Isn’t…