Gentrification: The Unintended Consequence of the “People Before Highways” Protests
In the midst of the Cold War, Dwight D. Eisenhower argued that if the United States was invaded by a foreign entity, roads would be needed for survival. As a result, he signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1956 which allotted substantial funds to municipal governments for the construction of highways, giving life to the […]
On Executive Power and the Independence of Central Banking
In early January, the Department of Justice issued the Federal Reserve (the “Fed”) multiple grand jury subpoenas regarding planned renovations for two Fed buildings in Washington, D.C. The renovations themselves are outstandingly banal: in a July 17 letter to the Office of Management and Budget, Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell specified the renovations, […]
Immigrants Get the Job Done: How a Lack of Immigration Will Affect the U.S
On September 23, 2023, the Department of Homeland Security issued a boastful press release, claiming that they had removed or encouraged the self-deportation of over “two million illegal aliens” out of the United States in less than 250 days. This aggressive enforcement effort has been carried out by the Trump Administration’s deployment of Immigration and […]
Development Without Democracy: The Authoritarian Consequences of Dismantling USAID
Nature abhors a vacuum. So does geopolitics. Most Americans believe that foreign aid consumes nearly a quarter of the federal budget. In reality, it has historically accounted for less than 1 percent. This widespread misconception is precisely what made it politically possible for the United States to decimate its primary development agency overnight with little […]
The Financialization of Conflicts in the 21st century is a Threat to U.S National Security
Prior to the 1990s, defense contracting looked very different than it does today. During the Vietnam War, Korean War, and Cold War, the building of arms remained in the hands of multiple smaller defense contracting companies. By the end of the Cold War as U.S military spending reached over $325 billion annually, lawmakers began to […]
Police, Prisons, and Premature Death in Black America
The United States is confronting a disturbing reality: the criminal legal system has become one of the most consequential forces determining who survives long enough to grow old. New evidence shows that the greatest threats to Black Americans’ life expectancy are not solely medical, but structural. Where policing, incarceration, and environmental injustice converge, premature death […]
When Oversight Ends: What the Decline of Federal Consent Decrees Means for Police Reform
Introduction In March of 2015, following the death of Michael Brown and the subsequent uproar surrounding his death, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted an extensive investigation into the Ferguson, Missouri Police Department. At the conclusion of their investigation, the DOJ released a 102-page report, citing several instances of racial bias among police […]
The Price of Innocence: Emotional, Financial, and Legal Costs of Wrongful Convictions
Wrongful convictions demonstrate one of the most apparent signs of injustice in the United States. A wrongful conviction occurs when someone is found guilty of a crime they did not commit, often after being targeted in ways that are shaped by systemic bias. For African Americans, wrongful convictions are not rare accidents; they instead happen […]
Weaponizing Humanitarianism: the Geopolitics of U.S. Foreign Aid Distribution
In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson declared that the United States’ duty as a leader on the global stage was to “make the world safe for democracy.” His bold vision set a powerful precedent for US intervention globally while defining an era in which the United States could position itself as a moral force in international […]
Imperialism: The Driving Force Behind Police Militarization in the U.S.
In 2020, police departments across the US deployed widespread militarized response in light of the nation-wide Black Lives Matter protests. Policing in the US has become increasingly militarized, with the War on Drugs serving as a major catalyst. The War on Drugs, a government-led initiative to fight illegal drug distribution and use, led to policy […]