Category: Government, Policy, & Politics

Source: Ending Gerrymandering Won’t Fix What Ails America | FiveThirtyEight, by Harry Enten

Gerrymandering contributes to issues like the drop in competitive elections, extremism and gridlock, but it’s far from their sole cause. If you want to solve these problems — and the problems themselves are very real — you need to understand what’s really behind them.
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gerrymandering may be just as much a symptom of America’s political problems as a cause.

Source: In polarized era, fewer Americans hold a mix of conservative and liberal views | Pew Research Center, by Jocelyn Kiley

Americans are less likely than in the past to hold a mix of conservative and liberal views, and ideological consistency is increasingly associated with partisanship.

Source: Contempt for Court – The Atlantic, by Garrett Epps

Republican lawmakers are increasingly showing disdain for decisions made the judicial branch—and by extension the rule of law.

In short, Pennsylvania is in the middle of a state constitutional crisis, and one side of the dispute is willing to threaten the independence of the state’s courts for the chance at six extra House seats.
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This partisan assault on the courts is only the tip of a nationwide spear—Republican efforts to purge and remodel state courts to make sure they follow the party’s line. … The independent judiciary is all very well, until it gets in the way of one-party rule.

Source: Work Requirements Won’t Improve Medicaid. A Jobs Guarantee Might., by Vann R. Newkirk II

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued guidance for “state efforts to test incentives that make participation in work or other community engagement a requirement for continued Medicaid eligibility.”

In a series of tweets announcing the policy shift, CMS Administrator Seema Verma explained the agency’s rationale that requiring eligible able-bodied adults to have jobs to qualify for Medicaid will make them healthier and less reliant on welfare in the future. “Our fundamental goal is to make a lasting and positive difference in the health and wellness of Medicaid beneficiaries,” she tweeted. She also cited a 2014 meta-analysis that concluded that “employment is beneficial for health, particularly for depression and general mental health.”
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The easiest way to make sure people receive the health benefits of employment could be to employ them.