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Policy Matters

Dec 27, 2017

After much drama and last-minute maneuvering, congressional Republicans have passed the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” the most comprehensive change to the federal tax code since 1986. To say that the GOP tax plan is controversial would be an understatement. Democratic House Leader Nancy Pelosi has gone so far as to call...


Dec 20, 2017

E-commerce is a multibillion-dollar industry, expanding every day. However, state and local governments have struggled to tax online sales as efficiently as purchases from brick-and-mortar outlets, forfeiting huge sums in tax revenues.


In this episode, Joyce Beebe, fellow in public finance at the Baker Institute,...


Dec 13, 2017

Tens of thousands of Americans are dying every year from opioid-related causes — as many as from gun violence or car accidents. Opioid addiction has become a major public health crisis and an important political issue. What are the origins of the opioid epidemic, and what should we do to address it?

In this episode,


Dec 6, 2017

For the past six months, tensions have risen in the Persian Gulf. Recent escalations began in June when members of the “Quartet” — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt — suspended relations with Qatar over its support for regional Islamist groups, among other allegations. The discord...