Politics & Policy

‘Enemies List,’ Updated

By Michael G. Franc May 20, 2013

Since President Obama entered the Oval Office, federal agencies have harassed entire classes of American citizens. Yet in an insightful post on Real Clear Politics, Ben Domenech suggests that this ...

Politics & Policy

Obamacare Costs Spark Voter Cynicism

By Michael G. Franc March 25, 2013

Ask any pollster. Distrust of the government in Washington stands at unprecedentedly high levels. Between three-quarters (Pew) and four-fifths (Gallup) of Americans now instinctively question the veracity of promises from ...

Politics & Policy

Head Start: Still Useless

By Michael G. Franc January 17, 2013

  What is it about the Head Start program that prevents presumably responsible adults from doing what’s best for poor children? What prompts this question is the reaction to a scientifically ...

Politics & Policy

Parsing the Polls

By Michael G. Franc November 3, 2012

Last week, the Gallup Organization provided more fodder for the debate over whether this year’s polls are skewed due to a systematic over-representation of Democrats in the samples. If Gallup ...

Politics & Policy

Income Matters in Voters’ Choices

By Michael G. Franc October 25, 2012

In a Wall Street Journal column, Phil Gramm and Mike Solon ask whether the recent rapid expansion of the welfare state has altered the “old metrics” for assessing how the ...

Politics & Policy

Two Tribes

By Michael G. Franc September 14, 2012

Why, the perplexed talk-show host asked last week, would the Democrats expunge all references to God from their party platform? And why reverse the party’s position that Jerusalem is the ...

Politics & Policy

‘Keep That Pay Raise, I Can’t Afford It’

By Michael G. Franc August 9, 2012

Does our $927-billion-per-year welfare state discourage the poor from seeking work? Does it cause them to shun pay hikes? Does it, in short, create dependency? This may be the most intractable ...

Politics & Policy

Polls and Party Affiliation

By Michael G. Franc July 25, 2012

In its 2012 American Values Survey, the Pew Research Center identified a new and profound dividing line in American politics. “Americans’ values and basic beliefs,” Pew concluded, “are more polarized ...

Politics & Policy

Helping Workers RAISE Themselves

By Michael G. Franc June 27, 2012

“I want every man to have the chance . . . in which he can better his condition; when he may look forward and hope to be a hired laborer this ...

Politics & Policy

Oversampling Dems

By Michael G. Franc June 7, 2012

How important is it for polling organizations to include the correct proportions of self-identified Republicans and Democrats in their polls? The short answer is: Extremely. In this hyper-partisan age, the partisan ...