Maxwell School News and Commentary

Those of an older generation, whether in China or the U.S., generally prefer to circumvent discussion of politics and socioeconomic issues, says Yingyi Ma, associate professor of sociology. "They have memories of the Cultural Revolution and they understand how divisive and how difficult it was and how much destruction it caused," she says.

"At this point, it is just completely baffling to me,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science, of President Trump's decision to hold his campaign rally in Tulsa, the site of one of the worst racial massacres in modern U.S. history back in 1921. "He is going all-in on ‘Law and Order’ and rejecting the very premise of the protests and sticking it in your eye."

"By 'abolish the police,' I mean building a world where we do not rely on anti-Black, white supremacist institutions of order to regulate society," says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

"I think for a growing number of white Americans you are seeing more attention paid to the longer-term reasons that racial inequality persists in America," says Steven White, assistant professor of political science. "I guess the question is whether these changes in public opinion will last," he says. "Is this the beginning of a really substantial shift?"

Áron Tóbiás, assistant professor of economics, says the most important lesson that state authorities can learn from the economic fallout of this pandemic is "the unexpected happens—better be prepared." He adds, "From a public finance perspective, state governments (and the federal government, too) might want to think about setting up more robust rainy-day funds once this crisis is over."

The National Guard is trained to help domestically in a variety of capacities. "That said, they are members of the military, not law enforcement, so they are largely trained to supplement military jobs," says Professor Emeritus William Banks.

"The priority the two sides are placing on the deal is not so much a way to repair damage as it is to not cause further damage," says Professor of Economics Mary Lovely. "If the U.S. announces the deal is dead, Trump is locked into some kind of retaliation."

When asked how hard it would be for any incumbent to overcome low voter satisfaction figures, Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says, "If we’re going by the history, the answer is 'very difficult.'" He claims that voter satisfaction has always been a key indicator of the incumbent party's likelihood of winning reelection.