An Essential Ingredient for Getting Infrastructure Done: A Little Pork-Barrel Spending

President Biden is boldly going where President Trump only tentatively went before: toward a large-scale plan to rebuild the nation’s troubled infrastructure. Trump didn’t get his program passed. If Biden is to have a chance, does he need to bring back good old-fashioned pork-barrel politics? There’s a strong argument that a return to the era of earmarks is the only way to get the job done.

Roback Scholarship and Brownlow Book Award Nominations

Nominations are open for the Roback Scholarship and the Brownlow Book Award. The deadline for both nominations is May 31, 2021. Send all information to Kaitlyn Blume, Director of Fellow Engagement. Check out the award sites for more information on criteria and instructions on how to nominate.

Celebrating Public Service: Joshua M. Sharfstein

I appreciate public servants because they do their jobs for the satisfaction of improving life and health in their communities, without special credit or financial rewards. The pandemic has been especially difficult for public health workers, many of whom have faced misunderstanding, misinformation, and even harassment. Yet they persisted in developing and implementing policies and programs that saved many lives.