Media

Imagine that it is late July 1966, and President Johnson's signature domestic initiative, Medicare, has been fully up and running for just a few weeks. But a think tank is so sure that it's a failure that it publishes a study saying that by "imposing a bureaucratic, centralized, top-down approach to health care reform, Medicare has created far more problems than it solved." 

Sometimes in America, when low-paid workers stand up and speak out, even the President of the United States takes notice. This is one of those moments.

A spectre haunts us, the spectre of robots. The Economist writes, “it seems likely that this wave of technological disruption to the job market has only just started. From driverless cars to clever household gadgets, innovations that already exist could destroy swathes of jobs that have hitherto been untouched.”

Heather McGhee, a national leader, policy expert and communicator, has been named the next president of Demos.

One of the more concrete actions President Obama can take tomorrow is announcing an executive order to raise the wages of federal contractors. As my colleagues, Amy Traub and Robbie Hiltonsmith found the federal government is the nation’s leading low-wage employer, with nearly two million private sector employees paid through federal contracts, grants, loans, concession agreements and property leases were paid $12 or less per hour.

Earlier this month, the New York Times and other media reported on a new study by Harvard financial economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart. It concludes that the duration of the recovery from the 2007/08 recession and financial crisis is similar to historical recessions that were linked to financial panics. The recovery period is measured by a return to levels of GDP per capita in various countries over a long historic period.

When it comes to income inequality, Emmanuel Saez and Raj Chetty are two of the most important academics in the field. With professional clout, access to the best data, and a renewed public interest in the topic since Occupy Wall Street, the release of the Saez et al.

While the State of the Union is a unique opportunity for President Obama to talk directly with all Americans, this year's speech has special significance for African Americans.

The 2014 speech emphasizes three primary themes—opportunity, action, and optimism. Opportunity initially appears the most relevant to African Americans, as the President likely will talk about increasing the minimum wage to over $10, job training, and expanded Pre-K programs.