Elaine Kamarck
Lecturer in Public Policy
AP Photo
April 30, 2012
"One Answer to Secret Service Scandal? Hire More Women"
Op-Ed, CNN.com
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"In the decade since the September 11 attacks, we have come to understand that the shady world of terror is inextricably bound up with the shady world of illegal activity. How many 'prostitutes' are also foreign agents or terrorist operatives? How many others are simply willing to make money, first by selling themselves and then by selling whatever they find in the bedrooms of American government personnel to someone who is up to no good?"
AP Photo
April 4, 2012
"The 2012 US Election — Through the Prism of the Economy"
Op-Ed, Public Service Europe
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Barring a dramatic event like a terrorist attack or a meltdown of historic proportions in Iran, Iraq or Afghanistan — even foreign policy will be viewed through the prism of the economy. Support for the war in Afghanistan is at an all-time low, driven in large part by the humongous amount of treasure — in both blood and dollars — we have spent in a place that seems as resistant to a western view of government as ever."
AP Photo
March 7, 2012
"Romney's Not to Blame for the GOP's Primary Slog"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"The Republican and Democratic Parties both enacted incentives for states to hold their primaries later in the spring. The Republicans did it by allowing only those primaries held after April to have winner-take-all rules, which make them particularly influential. The Democrats did it by giving bonus delegates to states that held their primaries after April."
February 24, 2012
"Lowering the Corporate Tax Rate a Good Start"
Op-Ed, U.S. News and World Report
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"In these polarized times, we now have a rare point of agreement. This administration, Republican and Democratic members of Congress, and the nation's leading employers have come together over the proposition that a meaningful reduction in the rate, combined with a broadening of the base, is necessary to allow U.S. businesses to compete in today's global marketplace."
AP Photo
May 27, 2011
"The Serious GOP Candidates Are In. Will Voters Get Bored?"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"In 2012, Republicans will be running against an incumbent who vanquished the nation's No. 1 terrorist, yes. But deficits are huge, unemployment is at 9 percent, and U.S. soldiers are still in harm's way after a decade of war. The seesaw of American politics has tipped in favor of maturity and responsibility."
AP Photo
Spring 2011
"Three Fights We Can Win"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas, issue 20
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
Mammoth, "comprehensive" change is so murky and fraught with uncertainty that the public is predisposed to turn against it. It's difficult for a member of Congress to walk into a town-hall meeting and persuade people that there really aren't death panels in the health-care bill while brandishing a 1,000-page monstrosity in front of skeptical voters. Complexity breeds suspicion in a country where 40 percent of the population is ideologically opposed to government, and 70 to 80 percent at any given time in recent history don't trust it.
AP Photo
February 2011
The Still-Vital Center: Moderates, Democrats, and the Renewal of American Politics
Report
By William Galston and Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
In this new report, William A. Galston of the Brookings Institution and Elaine C. Kamarck of Harvard University, argue that political polarization—the loss of moderates from the political and policy process—is the root cause of the current crises in governance and politics. Galston and Kamarck argue that few causes are more important to America's future than the embrace of political process reforms that will diminish the hyper-partisanship now disfiguring our nation's politics.
AP Photo
February 23, 2011
"Make Politics Safe for Moderates"
Op-Ed, Politico
By William Galston and Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"If moderates are such a crucial and coherent political force, why is U.S. politics so polarized? The answer lies in three structural features of the political system that reduce moderates' influence: the primary system, the congressional redistricting system and the congressional leadership system."
AP Photo
August 17, 2010
"Midterm Advice for Congress: Tax Carbon Instead of Jobs"
Op-Ed, The Huffington Post
By Robert J. Shapiro and Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"To deal with climate change, we have to move our entire economy to low-carbon sources of energy. Tying a carbon fee to lower payroll taxes for workers on a permanent basis can not only take the sting out of what has to be done for the climate, it also can help create thousands of jobs and stimulate more innovation. The current favored approach for climate, cap-and-trade, is dying in the Senate, because its proponents can never guarantee that it won't turn into one more playground for Wall Street traders."
AP Photo
April 1, 2010
"Health Care Could Help Climate Bill"
Op-Ed, Politico
By Elaine Kamarck, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Climate policy should set us on a path to transform our energy supply. It should not be a deficit-reduction tool. This realization was evident in the White House's new budget, which no longer showed cap-and-trade revenues....Energy price volatility in the European carbon trading system sent shivers down the spines of American utilities and manufacturing sectors, as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups. So now Congress is discussing measures that aim to reduce volatility."
