News & Commentary - Archive 2011

June 6, 2011
Skip the Study: Here's the Answer

Our elected representatives in Raleigh are now contemplating House Bill 744, which would require parents to state the citizenship status of their children when they enter public school. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Dale Folwell of Winston-Salem, pushed the bill by saying "we must have fiscal research of the impact that illegal immigration is having on North Carolina."

Well, I can save Folwell and his colleagues the trouble of passing the bill by sketching out here an estimate of the cost to state and local governments of illegal immigrants.
June 6, 2011
Immigration: What the U.S. does right

The nation recently received two contradictory signals about the importance of immigration reform. President Obama stood near the Mexican border in El Paso on May 10 and called (again) for immigration reform. The next week, Gallup released a poll showing that a scant 4% of Americans consider immigration to be the nation's most important problem. That's down from 11% four years ago.
May 18, 2011
The Remaking of the Middle East

Sanford Professor Bruce Jentleson, who has worked on Middle East policy in the Obama and Clinton administration, writes of the need for new policy in the region.
May 17, 2011
Sanford School of Public Policy Graduation Ceremonies

A record number of undergraduates–182–received diplomas at the Sanford School of Public Policy’s graduation ceremonies on May 14.

Among the class of 2011 were 26 students who completed honors thesis research and graduated with distinction, exceeding last year’s record of 21 honors graduates. The school’s graduation events also recognized 43 Master of Public Policy graduates and 35 Master of International Development Policy graduates from 21 countries.

MPP and MIDP graduates 2011
May 9, 2011
Learning to Listen

Danielle Potter PPS ’11 didn’t think her research project in Los Angeles would have much in common with her semester abroad in South Africa, where she conducted surveys in townships that lacked the infrastructure to supply basic needs. But the two places had more in common than she had imagined.

“I saw the same Third World conditions in L.A. as in South Africa,” she said. “They didn’t have clean water either. Sometimes the water came out red from the taps.”
May 9, 2011
In the aftermath of Abbotabad

Osama bin Laden has been killed by U.S. forces and his body buried at sea. What does it all mean?

First, this is a severe blow to al-Qaida and the entire jihadi movement. Although bin Laden was not able to actively plan attacks or engage in operations, he was the spiritual leader of the global jihad and the chief strategist for the al-Qaida network. There is no charismatic heir who can fill this void.
May 5, 2011
Sanford Panel Discusses Implications of Bin Laden Death

The future of al Qaeda, U.S. relations with Pakistan, the conflict in Afghanistan and other issues arising from the death of Osama bin Laden were addressed during a panel discussion Wednesday at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy. 

A trio of Sanford professors with security and foreign policy expertise addressed “Now What? Counterterrorism and American National Security in a Post-Bin Laden World.”
May 2, 2011
Right to Know Law Hurts Women

"Right to Know" law is an attack on women's rights.
April 27, 2011
Ladd elected to National Academy of Education

Professor Helen F. Ladd has been elected to the National Academy of Education. Ladd, the Edgar Thompson Professor of Public Policy, will be inducted into the prestigious society with ten other new members at the NAED’s annual meeting at George Washington University in October.
April 15, 2011
Turning Research into Action

Associate Professor Anirudh Krishna was inspired by his research into poverty to mentor students in India who promised to mentor others in return.

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