Sean McElwee

Even though the evidence doesn't necessarily show it, many people continue to believe that young Americans are less prone to racist attitudes than the generations that came before them. "Most young Americans see their generation as part of a slow…

The political power of the donor class is well established, and could be exacerbated by recent Supreme Court decisions and abysmal voter turnout. This donor class is disproportionately white, male and old. But as millennials become more politically…

As the 2016 campaign heats up, one story that's being largely ignored is how voter turnout will affect policy. Although many people, particularly young Americans, believe that their vote doesn't matter, new research suggests nothing could be further…

Let's say it all together now: The United States has a problem with guns. Since the horrifying Sandy Hook tragedy of 2012, there have been 74 school shootings and 17,042 gun deaths. To the frustration of many Americans, a stalled debate stands in…

Last weekend, a Maybach limousine pulled up to the Venetian casino and resort in Las Vegas. Out stepped Sheldon Adelson, billionaire Republican donor, for his four-day Republican convention. Donors and politicians, from Chris Christie to Scott…

The State of the Union, that much-hyped, heavily viewed (often whilst drunk) yearly speech happened last night. The purpose of the State of the Union these days appears largely to be creating full employment for pundits, comedians and fact-checkers…

Very serious people are very worried. They are very worried that millennials won't sign up for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), causing the whole bill to crumble in a "death spiral." This "death spiral" theory has caused a "war of the inane ad" to win…

America's youngest female billionaire didn't build an empire, but instead did what many American billionaires do: Lynsi Torres was born into the right family. Her grandfather founded In-N-Out Burger in 1948, and in 2010 she became the president.…

Conservatives are really mad this week. Not just about the fact that racist, homophobic comments can get you suspended from a TV show (although they had no problem boycotting the Dixie Chicks). Nope, they're mad about men wearing onesies. Obama's…

Megyn Kelly said some pretty dumb stuff on Fox News about Jesus, even by her standards. She claimed that he was “white” and that “just because it makes you feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean it has to change.” That is ironic, because that sounds a lot…

Miles Corak is a Canadian economist most famous for producing a chart showing that income inequality and upward mobility are correlated across nations. When Alan Krueger, then President of the CEA dubbed it, "The Great Gatsby Curve," the press took…

The establishment consensus on Social Security is accurately summarized by Martin Feldstein: "Preventing an explosion of the national debt requires slowing the growth of the benefits of middle-class retirees." But the truth is the opposite: the…

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, has created a short video that explains the economy. If you haven’t brushed up on macroeconomics in a while, or have been watching Fox News a lot, it’s definitely worth a look. Of particular importance…

Let’s accept the premise that U.S. federal debt is out of control and cannot be reined in by efficiency in the healthcare sector (an arguable premise). Given those budget-hawk-friendly assumptions, the way the federal government is cutting the…

With gridlock and discord halting the political right’s agenda in Congress, corporations have taken the war on labor to the states. The Economic Policy Institute recently released a new report, “The Legislative Attack on American Wages and Labor…

Bill de Blasio, the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York, is currently up 40% in the polls, having excited the New York lefties tired of the rampant economic inequality and racial profiling that marked the Bloomberg years. But that doesn’t mean…

In an era when Republican President George W. Bush sponsored an expansive $15 billion HIV/AIDS relief program, it’s hard to remember that treating HIV/AIDS was once a controversial policy. As Randy Shilts noted in his seminal work, And the Band…

Inequality has created an empathy gap between the upper class and everyday Americans — few politicians, businessmen, and lawyers actually see the people affected by their work, especially when they remain ensconced in DC. This means politicians must…

The Affordable Care Act isn’t a perfect law. It’s not even a good law. But it’s better than what we had before and it’s worth fighting for. The law has not worked as well as expected. Three of the problems with the ACA roll-out were not to due to…

The conventional wisdom right now is that, although there appears to be a rift in the Republican party, it's not going to break up. The Slate-pitchy proposition is that Republicans disagree about "tactics not goals." To quote Jonathan Chait,…