Sitemap - 2021 - Slow Boring
It's the end of the year as we know it
Charles Mills' "Black Rights, White Wrongs"
Human history in the very long run
$1.75 trillion is plenty of money to write a good Build Back Better bill
Nobody is acting like they believe the future of democracy is at stake
The case against "creating jobs"
The good news on America's cleaner water
Curtailing labor supply is a terrible way to boost wages
Curtailing labor supply is a terrible way to boost wages
California’s math detracking initiative seems pretty misguided
The case for Medicare Advantage reform
A boring post about how monetary policy works
"Latinx" is a symptom not the problem
"Latinx" is a symptom, not the problem
Our public health agencies should follow the science
The CDC's vaccine data is all wrong
The CDC's vaccine data is all wrong
What is the goal of child care policy?
Public opinion was very conservative in the 1990s
A better way to build back better
A better way to build back better
"Stop and frisk" was really bad
Omicron is a reminder of how little we're doing on pandemic prevention
Omicron is a reminder of how little we're doing on pandemic prevention
America should invest in its federal legislature
What we learned from the Scotland climate summit
The suffering is real, but there is no "Havana Syndrome"
Giving thanks to Slow Boring members
The most important election of our lifetime
We're all doing our own research
We're all doing our own research
The AMA's "Advancing Health Equity" plan leaves out everything that matters
Time to declare victory on stimulating the economy
Time to declare victory on stimulating the economy
Expanded legal immigration is the ultimate supply side reform
European countries have really high taxes
"Critical Race Theory" and actual education policy, part two
Paid parental leave should be universal — and actually focused on parents
"Critical Race Theory" and actual education policy, part one
"Critical Race Theory" and actual education policy, part two
"Critical Race Theory" and actual education policy, part one
American trains need more than railfan nostalgia
Automate as much traffic enforcement as possible
A very important Dune explainer
Automate as much traffic enforcement as possible
We need to try harder to prevent the next pandemic
Energy innovation needs more than R&D
Energy innovation needs more than R&D
Val Demings wants to catch more murderers
Slow Boring’s second year starts soon
What "transitory" means and why it matters
What "transitory" means and why it matters
Congressional moderates could make a party of their own
Congressional moderates could make a party of their own
The progressive mobilization myth is alive and well
Cash benefits are the best family policy
When do we wind down the Covid theater?
When do we wind down the Covid theater?
Dave Chappelle and the still-doomed politics of shunning
The inflation situation is pretty simple
The inflation situation is pretty simple
My best case against popularism
Economists aren't the problem on climate change
The nuclear policy America needs
The upside of education polarization
The nuclear policy America needs
Why state legislatures don't work (and how to fix them)
Progressives' mobilization delusion
Is quiet climate policy enough?
Progressives' mobilization delusion
America's cities need multi-party democracy
Interview with Kathryn Paige Harden
Kathryn Paige Harden on The Genetic Lottery
Kyrsten Sinema must be stopped
My favorite Covid counterfactuals
My favorite Covid counterfactuals
Education polarization is only growing
Urban/rural polarization is about racial attitudes
The dangerous passivity of the moderate Democrats
The dangerous passivity of the moderate Democrats
The hollowing out of Somerville
The median voter is a 50-something white person who didn't go to college
The transit projects D.C. needs
The hollowing out of Somerville
California's recall system is really bad
The dumbest debt ceiling fight yet
The dumbest debt ceiling fight yet
Homelessness is about housing, not addiction or mental health
An underrated way to boost global vaccine supply
An underrated way to boost global vaccine supply
WMATA's plans for Metro expansion are bad
Even mild inflation should change how we think about policy
The solution to Joe Manchin's concerns is to ditch the filibuster
The solution to Joe Manchin's concerns is to ditch the filibuster
Visa recapture deserves a place in the reconciliation bill
Full employment is the most important thing the Fed can do to fight climate change
More good news about D.C.'s teacher pay reforms
A really boring way to solve more serious violent crimes
Biden, Afghanistan, and the perils of "doing the right thing"
The rapidly shifting Hispanic experience of American criminal justice
DC's teacher pay reforms are working
America's inflexible public health institutions
D.C.'s teacher compensation reform is working
Amtrak's plans aren't good enough
The national security establishment has never cared about Afghanistan
Amtrak's plans for a cash infusion aren't good enough
Is Cuban healthcare actually good?
Some farewell policy advice for Texas
The failure of humanitarian militarism
The failure of humanitarian militarism
Why more Porsches means cheaper Priuses
Biden (and Trump) did the right thing in Afghanistan
Biden (and Trump) did the right thing on Afghanistan
They deliberately put errors in the Census
Curb inflation by rescinding Trump's tariffs
The case against crisis-mongering
Saving openness from immigration
Saving openness to immigration
The once and future politics of the national debt
Hungarian nationalism is not the answer
Single family homes don't need exclusionary zoning
Single-family houses are great, single-family zoning is not
It's good to act before the emergency
Amtrak should bring in foreign experts to make trains great again
Why has Biden's bipartisanship worked?
To means-test or not to means-test
Kamala Harris should try to be really popular
The economic case for pro-natalism
The economic case for pro-natalism
There are too many scams in higher education
What does the "new cold war" with China even mean?
The FDA vs. cost-benefit analysis
What does the "new Cold War" with China even mean?
Let's get more people vaccinated
In defense of the old-fashioned idea of "racism"
Let's get more people vaccinated
The expanded Child Tax Credit won't kill work
The case for banning non-competes
The case for banning non-competes
Here are some ways to change things
America needs more electrical transmission lines
America needs more interregional electric lines
What is the climate left doing?
What is the climate left doing?
Maine's remote work opportunity
Maine should capture the remote work opportunity
What Martin Luther King really thought
Martin Luther King called for radical redistribution of material resources
The known unknowns of our hot button debates
Popularism for moderates: The case of the carbon tax
The trouble with Moynihan Station
Moynihan Train Hall and our infrastructure problem
What's the matter with Merrick Garland
What's the matter with Stephen Breyer (and Merrick Garland)?
Conservatives can't win the history wars
Thirteen ways of looking at a bipartisan infrastructure deal
We should try to make good trains
Podcast: The rise of Secret Congress
The rise and importance of Secret Congress
“Future“ and the future of media
In defense of Rochelle Walensky
Apple's App Store policies are a big mistake
Something really good is happening next month
Why we got more inflation than I expected
Farewell from Marc the Intern (feat. Greatest Hits and Two Quick Takes)
There are a lot of poor white people in America
The fight for democracy is bigger than HR-1
Does supersonic transport have a future?
Obama won downscale white people’s votes by pandering to their views
The experts underrate full employment
What market does Amazon monopolize?
Criticizing China isn't racist
It's time to take Andrew Yang's policy ideas seriously
Free markets are creating a major free speech problem
What is historic preservation for?
What comes after the "defund" fad?
The case for higher alcohol taxes
The anti-SAT push is misguided
Make the Endless Frontier Act great again
Seventeen points on Israel and Palestine
We should have done more bailouts
The biggest threat to American democracy is it doesn't exist
Don't underreact to one bad jobs report
Most people have been wearing hard pants all year
Tema Okun's "White Supremacy Culture" work is bad
We should get people vaccinated against Covid-19
Conservative populists should embrace housing deregulation
Some thoughts on "faculty lounge politics"
Assessing the different family benefit programs
The case against coupon government
If you want to talk about racism, talk about racism
What's in Biden's American Families Plan
Joe Biden gets ready to soak the rich
The rise of self-made billionaires and the fall of economic dynamism
South Korea and America's incredibly stupid Covid debate
Who is the racial justice case for zoning reform for?
What to make of the labor shortage talk
Leaving the ESPN Zone of Empires
Moderate Democrats should be popularists
More incarceration is not the answer
Building a better welfare state
It's time to get real about climate change and immigration in Central America
Andrew Yang versus the unrepresentative activists
Joe Biden and the care economy
America's "crumbling" roads and bridges are fine
The stakes in Georgia's election changes
America is rapidly secularizing
Did the Democratic Majority emerge after all?
Homelessness and vacant houses
"Asset price inflation" is not a thing
The coming Unemployment Insurance bottleneck
Critical Race Theory and its enemies
America needs clearer goals on migration
Taking the murder surge seriously
Joe Biden and the underrated value of winning elections
Repealing the estate tax is dumb
Vaccinating the global poor is really important
Oh, the intellectual property rights you'll extend
The case for Bernie Sanders, revisited
What can we do about vaccine hesitancy?
Democrats should try harder to win elections
Learning from the Covid economy
The tragedy of the lost school year
Back to normal means ignoring the CDC
Neera Tanden and the era of bad faith
The Fed should give everyone a bank account
"Back to normal" isn't a thing
The case for student debt relief is getting weaker
Stop marketing race-blind policies as racial equity initiatives
Built Back Better by cleaning up the lead
Elite colleges should fight for social justice by helping to educate poor kids
Is asymmetrical polarization real?
Approve the AstraZeneca vaccine!
The myth of the Overton Window
In defense of interesting writing on controversial topics
The misguided exam school debate
A better criticism of Biden's COVID-19 relief plan
Mitt Romney's child allowance plan is pretty exciting
The $1.9 trillion relief plan is not too big
You can't have progress without change
Biden's anti-mobilization and big stimulus, Romney's child allowance
QAnon is not a "conspiracy theory"
Hard money is a terrible way to fight the racial wealth gap
The real case for universal programs
Why don't we have more vaccines?
The normie case for filibuster reform
Vaccines are better than you think — plus Robinhood, schools, and hurricanes
The future of the superstar city
The "cancel culture" debate is dumb
The “induced demand“ case against YIMBYism is wrong
You can't blame bad leaders for everything
Fixing the police will take more funding, not less
Lawyer-brain, NECTAs, marriage penalties, and the trouble with normal
The case for vaccine challenge trials
What the inflation contrarians get right and how to fix it
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s final unfinished struggle
How Joe Biden's team hopes to turn five vaccine doses into six
Universal health insurance is a winning fight worth having
The confused debate on “big tech” and free speech
Chemtrails over the country club
Small business is not the answer
Public housing is not the answer
What Joe Manchin's Senate can deliver
The MAGA mob and the imperative to win
Making policy for a low-trust world
Republicans' unhinged moderation