The Performativity of the Anti-Human Trafficking Regime
In my previous column, I touched upon the fraught history of the international counter-trafficking regime, including the rhetoric of white slavery, the Mann Act, and the Alien Act. This installment will focus on international legislative actions on human trafficking and the continued impact of moral panics and crusades on trafficking rhetoric. Before I begin, I […]
The Gruesome Reality of Gun Violence in America
A few weeks ago, a couple of my closest friends and I attended a concert at a small venue. We were blithely dancing, concerned only with the live music before us, when I was struck by a thought that inspired a moment of panic—what if someone were to open fire at the crowd? The room […]
A Notorious Traffic: An Introduction
Few regimes in international law pack as much of an emotional punch as human trafficking. Whether through its portrayal in various media—including the Taken movies or in the music video for Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”—or as championed by various human rights organizations on both the right and left, there is a definite consensus that human […]
The Importance of Inclusive Memorialization: Boston’s Struggle with Racial Inequality
This article is the initial report from a column that aims to explore politics, history, and culture, specifically as they pertain to race and gender. It will probe subjects such as gun violence, child marriage, domestic violence, and racial brutality. It will examine these ideas, and the issues that ensue, on both a local and […]
A Liberal’s Case Against Single-Payer
The late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy was a passionate advocate of universal healthcare and championed a national health insurance plan during his time in office. As Chairman of the Senate Health Subcommittee, Kennedy proposed a compulsory, single-payer program. The program involved the creation of a public insurance program to replace private insurance, and it didn’t […]
How Our Tax Code Inflates the Cost of Healthcare
Despite our nation’s deep political divide, there is consensus that reducing rising healthcare costs should be a top policy priority. While overall U.S. prices grew on average at below 2% in 2016, health care grew at 4%. For decades, healthcare costs have continued to grow faster than our economy with no signs of stopping. Health […]
Bias Ease
This article is the first installment of a column that will analyze the American news industry, examining the role of the press and of the public with respect to journalism. It will delve into individual and organizational bias, ratings concerns, the impact of the Internet and new technologies, responsible reporting, and news consumption. At the […]
Why Healthcare and Taxes Matter
There are no systems more fundamental to American society than the healthcare industry and the U.S. tax code. But they’re also among its most burdensome. In addition to the inherent physical and emotional hardship, health care is a major economic burden, as rising costs put enormous pressure on users. While the insured face ever-rising premiums, […]
Beyond “Point-of-Production” Organizing: Participatory Budgeting, Worker Cooperatives, and Left Praxis
An overview of PB and workers cooperatives: Participatory budgeting and workers cooperatives are some of the best institutions being used to build egalitarian, democratic political structures that can transcend national rightwing forces. Participatory budgeting (PB) humbly started in Porto Alegre and has since inspired Leftist political movements across the globe, unleashed political agency, and revolutionized […]
Avoiding a Lost Generation in Syria Through Tech Education
As the war in Syria continues, many fear that we are experiencing a “lost generation” of Syrian youth who will be uneducated and unable to rebuild the country, even after the war ceases. If a large-scale intervention occurs, in which Assad is deposed and the Syrian civil war ends, Syria will be left with a […]