Greg Marx

Greg Marx worked as a staff reporter for Remapping Debate in 2010-2011. A native of New Jersey, Greg started his journalism career in the Jersey suburbs, working as a reporter and editor for several community newspapers. He later studied political journalism at Columbia University and went on to work as an assistant editor for the Columbia Journalism Review. Send him tips and story suggestions by using the email address above.

gm@remappingdebate.org
What's the cost of the cuts to Congress?
Press Criticism | By Greg Marx | Politics
When the House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to cut its own budget last week, the scant coverage in major outlets represented a missed opportunity to probe what the consequences of the reduction might be — or how previous staff reductions have affected the ability of Congress to perform its work. More
The insiders-only world of the Federal Reserve
Original Reporting | By Greg Marx | Banking, Economy, Monetary Policy
A common criticism of the Federal Reserve is that the institution is unaccountable, opaque, and closed to outsiders. But why might that be? Talk to people who have spent time thinking about the Federal Reserve — from the inside or the outside, and from either a sympathetic or critical perspective — and a picture emerges of a system that prides itself, with justification, on being rigorously technocratic and free of partisan disputes. But it’s also one that has historically been shielded from public scrutiny not just by its formal independence, but by its connections to other elites. More
States left 'unstimulated' by tax cut deal
Original Reporting | By Greg Marx | Economy, Taxes
The framework for a tax agreement announced by President Obama this week is being described by some of the deal's backers as a second round of fiscal stimulus. But one of the striking things about the package is an approach to stimulus that wasn't even part of the talks: aid to strapped states. Federal funds provided by the Recovery Act helped stem layoffs of teachers, police officers, and firefighters, and are considered among the most efficient uses of stimulus dollars. But with state budgets still in crisis, those funds are about to run out. Meanwhile, support for much smaller subsidies to states is uncertain, and one of the business tax breaks in the new package — while likely to help create private-sector jobs — may actually worsen the state fiscal emergency in the short term. More
Washington Post's lackluster look at the EPA debate
Press Criticism | By Greg Marx | Environment
You might think it would be hard to produce a news article that is simultaneously a puffy profile of an important government official, a credulous conduit for her leading opponents, a feeble explanation of the actual political dynamic, and a lackluster treatment of substantive policy issues. But that’s what The Washington Post delivered last week with its story about Lisa Jackson, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the industry interests lining up to battle new regulations that the EPA is considering. More
Paycheck Fairness Act dies in Senate
Story Repair | By Greg Marx | Discrimination, Gender equity, Legislation
When members of Congress returned recently for the lame-duck session, the Senate finally took up a piece of anti-discrimination legislation that cleared the House of Representatives nearly two years ago. The Paycheck Fairness Act would have narrowed the defenses employers can use to justify paying men more than women, imposed greater penalties, and protected employers who share or ask about salary information; advocates said it could have helped close the wage gap between men and women. But opponents argued the law would have led to frivolous litigation and represented overreach by the government. In the end, 58 senators supported the law, but it was defeated by the GOP's refusal to permit a final vote on the merits. More
President Obama, incoming Speaker Boehner don't need couple's therapy
Press Criticism | By Greg Marx | New York Times, Social Security
With control of the House of Representatives about to change hands, a recent New York Times article worried over whether Washington's "new power couple," President Obama and presumptive Speaker of the House John Boehner, could get along. But while the emphasis on personal relationships might have made for an easy read, it obscured both the nature and the point of politics. While “working together” and “forging bonds” sound good, it’s not necessarily the case that more comity will produce better outcomes — or, more to the point, who those outcomes will be good for. More
The Deficit Commission's 21-percent solution
Story Repair | By Greg Marx | Politics, Social Security, Taxes
When Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, the co-chairs of a deficit-reduction commission appointed by President Obama, released a proposal to balance the budget last week, much of the attention focused on their recommendations for specific programs. But the contours of the plan were shaped by an underlying decision: the choice to set long-run federal expenditures and revenues at 21 percent of the economy, in effect constraining the size of the government. More
Is this any way to run a railroad?
Original Reporting | By Greg Marx | Environment, Transportation, Urban Policy
With budget battles looming in an era of divided government, the fate of the federal transportation bill will be one of the key questions for the next Congress. Alongside the funding debate, though, the U.S. faces another fundamental challenge: since the interstate era, there's been no real consensus about what the goals of the national transportation project should be. The next national network will be the most complex one America has ever built: are our institutions up to the task? More

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