Though many in the US are disoriented and disheartened by the lack of an effective federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, American thinker John Dewey would not have been surprised.
A former congressional staffer says withholding damning evidence from Congress and using civilians to carry out presidential or intelligence agency agendas links the Ukraine crisis to other scandals.
The conflict between Congress and President Trump over his dealings with Ukraine’s president is just the latest version of a long-running struggle for power between the two branches of government.
The Apportionment Clause forbids a direct tax on wealth. Expanding the 16th Amendment would not only allow such a tax but abolish slavery’s last remnant in the US Constitution as well.
After the recent government shutdown and breakdowns in functioning within all three branches, it looks like the separation of powers system is broken or unbalanced. It is – and it isn’t.
The shutdown is highlighting the crucial role government plays in the lives of citizens and businesses, offering a reminder of its fundamental value to the economy.
Trump, Schumer and Pelosi have fallen into a classic negotiation trap that often prevents deals from getting made, which has led to the shutdown stalemate.
The initial aim of the 1937 Foreign Agents Registration Act was long forgotten: the prosecution of Nazis for interfering with American democracy. But that law is startlingly relevant to the US now.
Ian Anson, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Russian meddling has shaken Americans’ faith in democracy. But public discontent after a scandal is hardly new. Trust in government began to erode under Nixon, and it’s mostly worsened since then.
Professor of Management & Organizations; Professor of Environment & Sustainability; Professor of Sustainable Enterprise at the Ross School of Business and School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan
William R Kenan, Jr Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science; Co-director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions., Vanderbilt University