Benjamin Byron

Bio

Ben is a policy analyst interested in national and foreign affairs. Ben's focus is on international security issues, but he is also very interested in national issues, such as government reform, economic policy, education reform, and technology policy. Ben received a B.A. from Dickinson College in International Studies and a Master's Degree in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh. Recently, Ben has been particularly interested in media and technology, specifically with regard to how media and technology affect the relationship between the state and society.
Nearly every article on PolicyMic this week concerning the future of the GOP and how it can win over millennials is based on abandoning (to some degree) its social platforms and identifying with a strong, principled libertarian philosophy. While I…
­ On the heels of the announcement that the U.S. economy shrank in the last quarter of 2012, largely due to reduced government spending, questions remain about the strength of our economic recovery. What is to blame for our persistently feeble…
There still seems to be much confusion about the fiscal cliff (or, as I prefer, austerity crisis), which prevents us from properly organizing our thoughts about the ways to overcome the crisis and ultimately to move beyond this fiscal impasse. There…
Today’s big economic news is the coming announcement from the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve on whether it will take further action to stimulate economic growth. Low trends in recent jobs numbers combined with signalling…
In a recent piece for PolicyMic, Cameron English argues that science education, while critical, won’t be improved by merely increasing science standards in our schools. I don’t disagree, though this isn’t his main point.  “Americans, especially…
Much of what we know or believe about politics is flawed. Every one of us suffers from the same basic cognitive flaws, the same limits to knowledge and understanding. (Indeed, it appears that what we believe and the strength of our conviction in…
Mitt Romney appears to have been a smart and effective leader in both business and government. Much of his political history suggests he is more centrist and moderate than the conservative candidate he has campaigned as recently. One of the big…
The 2012 election will be a referendum on how to reshape the federal government in order to engineer stronger economic recovery. The left-of-center argument is that expansionary fiscal and monetary policies should be utilized to promote growth,…
The growing income inequality in America is a significant issue and requires serious discussion, not so much to identify where to place blame, but rather to identify how to respond to this growing divide and its consequences. Here are a few notes to…
In my previous articles on PolicyMic, I introduced the idea that there are three myths of the conservative economic examination, and that these constitute the main ideas of conservative arguments for policy action. This piece argues that low demand,…
In my previous post, I introduced the idea that there are three myths of the conservative economic imagination that require examination. These "pillars" constitute the main ideas of conservative arguments for policy action. Today, I will tackle the…
There are three pillars of the conservative economic thought concerning the economic environment that I believe must be addressed in order for us to reconceptualize how we discuss the current economic situation, and especially how we assess the…
Now that the debt deal is done, congressional leaders have pledged to return from their recess to the really important stuff — jobs, jobs, jobs. Employment indicators, once relatively strong in the first quarter of this year, have soured in recent…
This could be the beginning of the end of the serious threat posed by the Global Islamist Terrorism Movement (GITM). The death of Osama bin Laden is just one of several critical setbacks for GITM. Over the first quarter of this year, we have seen…
Note: The following article is a feature in PolicyMic's new 20-Something Series, in which we highlight topics with particular relevance to young people. The article is also part of a debate and in response to PolicyMic Contributing Writer Matthew…
Note: This article is part of a continuing debate on this topic. For an alternative perspective, see PolicyMic Contributing Writer Rajiv Lalla's article. In his article on the Afghan War, my PolicyMic colleague Rajiv Lalla illustrates that the U.S.…
Note: This article is part of a continuing debate on this topic. For an alternative perspective, see PolicyMic Contributing Writer Adam Hudson's article. Also see PolicyMic Contributing Writer Gaby Kohan's original piece. While I agree with my…
Note: This article is part of a debate with PolicyMic Contributing Writer Sagar Doshi. For an opposing view, see Doshi's piece here. My PolicyMic colleague Sagar Doshi brings up several interesting points in his article about Wikileaks and makes it…