Original Reporting

Guaranteed income’s moment in the sun
Original Reporting | By Mike Alberti, By Kevin C. Brown | Alternative models, History
Does the notion that every American should be guaranteed a basic level of income sound utopian? In the late 1960s and early 1970s it was mainstream. More
Loss of support for guaranteed income reflects radical shift in values
Original Reporting | By Mike Alberti, By Kevin C. Brown | Alternative models, History
As “market values” have replaced “social values,” they've driven a once-popular policy idea out of favor. Not coincidentally, the prevailing American concept of citizenship has come to de-emphasize participation and mutual obligation. More
Democrats hide when asked about ending high-income loophole to assure Social Security’s future
Original Reporting | By Samantha Cook | Social Security, Taxes
Narrowing or eliminating the exclusion of earnings above $113,700 from Social Security taxation may or may not be a good idea, but it is surely a matter central to the public policy choices to be made, and is a matter of significant public interest. Nevertheless, most Democratic and Independent Senators questioned would not state their position on the issue. More
Pro-choice timidity in fighting shortage of abortion providers
Original Reporting | By Heather Rogers | Reproductive health services
Little is being done to expand training options, and some abortion-rights supporters are reluctant to draw attention to the issue. Who is said to need more training access and opportunities? Medical students, residents, and practicing physicians. More
Keeping the “best care” option out of the health spending equation
Original Reporting | By Mike Alberti | Health care, Insurance, Quality of life
The limited debate of the last few years keeps the public from knowing the full scope of the potential health benefits it is being asked to give up. More
The role of the New Democrats in the explosion of managed care
Original Reporting | By Meade Klingensmith | Corporate influence, Health care, Insurance
The hawking of market-based prescriptions. Part 2 of our series on how public discussion of quality of medical care came to be supplanted by an almost exclusive focus on cost control. More
Managed cost, mismanaged care
Original Reporting | By Meade Klingensmith | Corporate influence, Health care, Insurance
The rise of “competitive,” for-profit health insurance from the ’70s to the ’90s. Concerns about quality of care lose out. First in a series. More
A prescription for Long Island: fixing the sins of privately owned utility operators with more privatization
Original Reporting | By Kevin C. Brown | Energy, Infrastructure
Long Islanders suffered through an extended period of post-Sandy electrical outages. National Grid, which operates the system for an asleep-at-the-wheel LIPA, is a for-profit company. LIPA's predecessor, LILCO, was too. But the initial report of Gov. Cuomo's Moreland Commission recommends full privatization. Is this the best way? More

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