I’ve been writing a lot lately about the Era of Contraction—the shrinking of the federal government—and what that policy means to ...

There are many ways to look at America’s shift into the Era of Contraction. Budget numbers tell part of the story. Words of elected leaders tell yet another. Add to that, the stories of real discontent told by ordinary people and reflected by both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street....

I drove across the Northwest this past weekend. A 1,700-mile trip from Idaho to Seattle, returning via rural roads in Washington, and freeways in Idaho and Montana. Along the route I looked at places and wondered, how will life change during the Era of Contraction?...

President Barack Obama must sell a complex idea to a Congress that prides itself on simplicity....

It sounds reasonable: Why not just cap federal spending? Make every agency operate with the money that’s already there. This notion has common-sense ... yet it is impossible in practice....

The late historian Barbara Tuchman described the ineptness of government decision-making in her book, ...

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