Think Tank Round-Up: Tremendous Degree of Cynicism Edition.

Today's TTR takes a look at how immigration reform can benefit the middle-class, what to do about the problems within the U.S. intelligence community, what Americans think of their news media, and how the U.S. compares to other countries in terms of health care costs.

• Immigration reform is good for the economy. In anticipation of forthcoming efforts to fix America's broken immigration policies, the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy demonstrates that a more progressive immigration policy would bolster the middle class. The study argues that immigration increases Social Security revenue and consumer demand. However, current immigration policy and the exploitation of immigrant laborers harm the American workforce by facilitating a “race-to-the-bottom.” Giving immigrants permanent residency and rights in the workplace can strengthen the middle class. -- PL
• Intelligence analysis. The Brookings Institution's Kenneth Lieberthal offers a program to improve the way intelligence products are created and used to make foreign policy decisions. He argues that the President's Daily Brief is over-emphasized and that attempts to reach consensus within the intelligence community can lead to "lowest common denominator" analysis. Lieberthal recommends giving more training to analysts and encouraging specialization, while tutoring policymakers in how to use intelligence products more productively. -- TF
• Your take on the news. In Pew Research surveys conducted in July and August of this year, Americans reveal a tremendous degree of cynicism toward the news media. Only 29 percent of respondents say that news organizations generally “get the facts straight.” Moreover, the partisan differences in views of major broadcast networks have increased considerably: among Republicans, 72 percent view Fox News favorably while only 16 percent view the New York Times favorably (compared with 43 percent and 39 percent of Democrats for the respective media outlets). -- LL
• Comparison shopping for health care. The Center for Economic and Policy Research put together a nifty calculator that shows how health care costs affect the U.S. deficit, and how our spending compares to other countries around the world. It's clear that compared to peer countries, we have a serious problem with health care costs, but that reform is a very important step towards controlling deficit spending. -- TF

-- TAP Staff

Previous Round-Ups:
9/8/09
9/1/09