After an abortive attempt by Governor Pat Quinn to pass a pension reform bill in January, it almost seemed like things were looking up: The Illinois House and Senate each passed different reform bills early this month.It didn’t take long for the news to turn sour again, however. Now it’s looking doubtful that the two bodies […]

What happened to the BRICS?India’s economy has grown at the slowest rate in a decade—4.8 percent in the year to March 31—according to a new government report. South Africa (which sometimes makes an appearance as the “S” in BRICS and is the largest economy in Africa) had just 0.9 percent economic growth in the first quarter […]

China is leading the solar industry in a race to the bottom, and concern about defective solar panels is growing. In one case in California, solar panels that were supposed to last 25 years began falling apart just two years after being installed, causing fires and disrupting business. The NYT reports: Most of the concerns over quality […]

Desperation has hit a new low in Detroit.Last week, Emergency Manager (and bankruptcy lawyer) Kevyn Orr decided to list the holdings of the Detroit Institute of Arts among the city’s assets in preparation for a possible bankruptcy. If the city goes through with it, it could be forced to sell off any of its assets—which […]

People are starting to realize the ACA may not let them keep their current plans, and they aren’t happy. This fall, many insurers will be canceling current plans because they don’t meet the standards imposed by the ACA. According to the AP, some don’t offer all the “essential benefits” Obamacare requires; others don’t do enough to limit co-payments […]

In the spring of 2012, a State Department consultant sat at a bar on Capitol Hill watching a baseball game. Across the bar, a young, boisterous American woman solicited funds, so she claimed, for the rebels in Syria. The consultant had served in USAID under the Bush Administration and had been to Syria just before […]

Weakened by ethnic conflict and poor governance, the South Caucasus countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia) are losing international significance. Moreover, the West is preoccupied elsewhere with economic challenges and crises in the Middle and Far East. To sustain the Western support the three countries expect and need, they must implement reforms and lessen regional tensions.Two decades ago, war between […]

Motorola Mobility, the phonemaker Google purchased last year, announced yesterday that it will manufacture its newest phone, the Moto X, in the United States (just outside of Fort Worth, Texas). Motorola Mobility CEO Dennis Woodside teased the new smartphone at the D11 conference, but the made-in-America buzz trumped the latest and greatest features it’s purported […]

Stanley McChrystal, the former commander of US forces in Afghanistan and now the chairman of a project on national service at the Aspen Institute (and, full disclosure, someone WRM has known and admired for many years), has an eloquent call for national service in the WSJ today. He laments the low number of Americans who serve […]

In recent months the Defense Department has been reviewing possible spending cuts to the Pentagon’s budget. On Monday, more than twenty military specialists from think tanks across the political spectrum will release a letter begging Congress to cut the fat and spare the muscle. Hoping to leave space in the budget for vital military priorities, representatives from […]