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.
A More Libertarian Republican Party Would Be a Wrong Turn For the GOP
By Benjamin Byron
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…
5 Reasons Our Obsession With U.S. Debt is Crippling Economic Recovery
By Benjamin Byron
­ 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…
Fiscal Cliff Solutions: Are We About to See European-Style Austerity?
By Benjamin Byron
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…
QE3 Fed Announcement: Things to Consider Before a New Round of Quantitative Easing Happens
By Benjamin Byron
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…
How Conservatives Have Demonized Science Learning in America
By Benjamin Byron
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…
American Idiots: Our Own Political Ignorance is Destroying Our Political System
By Benjamin Byron
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’s Greatest Liability in 2012? The Republican Party
By Benjamin Byron
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…
Barack Obama Debt Plan Reduces Deficit While All Other Republican Candidates Increase Deficit
By Benjamin Byron
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,…
How the Government Can Save the Middle Class and Reverse Income Inequality
By Benjamin Byron
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…
Slow Job Growth Unrelated to Government Policies
By Benjamin Byron
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,…
Austerity Programs Will Not Solve U.S. Economic Woes
By Benjamin Byron
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…
Did the Economic Stimulus Really Help Ease the Great Recession?
By Benjamin Byron
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…
Congress Can Create Jobs by Creating Demand
By Benjamin Byron
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…
The Beginning of the End for Global Islamist Terrorism
By Benjamin Byron
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…
Byron v. Hutchinson: The Real Charade of Nonparticipation
By Benjamin Byron
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…
Byron v. Lalla: Winning the Afghan War, But Losing the Region
By Benjamin Byron
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.…
Byron v. Hudson: Let's Inform, Not Inflame, on Israel and Iran
By Benjamin Byron
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…
Byron v. Doshi: Should the U.S. Prosecute Wikileaks?
By Benjamin Byron
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…