Features related to state of the union

In this Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 photo, Kassandra Guzman of the Corona section of the Queens borough of New York, poses at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y. Guzman, an 18-year-old high school student, works seven days a week and said she still has trouble saving for college after helping her parents pay their bills. As with other low-wage earners, the proposed hike in New York's minimum wage won't erase all her financial worries, but it would help. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)
Rethinking Our Minimum Wage
February 22, 2013 | Smart Charts
What if, instead of tying the minimum wage to the cost of living, we tied it to the earnings of the top 1 percent?
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Bill Moyers Essay: Democracy for Dollars
February 15, 2013

Bill spotlights Congressional leaders whose connections to deep-pocketed backers raise important questions about who’s really running our government. Continue reading

Desiline Victor
Will Obama’s Commission Fix Our Broken Voting System?
February 14, 2013 | Connecting the Dots

Voting rights activists debate if Obama’s new non-partisan commission, announced in his State of the Union address, is enough to fix the problems. Continue reading

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio listens at right as President Barack Obama gives his State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday Feb. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, Pool)
Analyzing the State of the Union Address
February 13, 2013 | BillBoard
Our roundup of interesting reactions and analysis of President Obama's speech that are worth a read.
President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
What Should Obama Say About the ‘State of Our Union’?
February 8, 2013 | Group Think

In this Group Think, we asked writers, activists and academics to write parts of President Obama’s speech. See what they drafted. MORE

Writer and environmental activist Bill McKibben prepares to speak to the Vermont legislature. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Overdue Action on Climate Change
February 8, 2013 | Group Think
The challenge of climate change is so large it threatens to render meaningless everything else we do.
Jonathan Haidt
Fix Our Divided, Dysfunctional Congress
February 7, 2013 | Group Think
The social psychologist wants to bring back bipartisanship and democracy along with it.
President Barack Obama greets, from second from left, Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, after delivering his State of the Union address. Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci
Man Bites Dog: A Little Progress in Washington
January 31, 2012 | Money & Politics
The Senate voted to open debate on the STOCK Act yesterday.
President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, as Vice President Joe Biden and House Speaker John Boehner, right, listen.
What Was Said — And Left Unsaid
January 25, 2012 | Connecting the Dots

Separating the president’s words from his tactics in the State of the Union address. Continue reading