The author admits that it is hard to imagine that his proposals to reform the economy and America's democracy will be implemented. But he does believe reformers are required to address the political possibilities of implementing their ideas, and how to do so. Here is his blueprint.

Given the low job creation of recent years, the persistence of poverty, and stagnating wages for so many, it is time to think of cash grants to Americans, according to the author. He offers us a historical review of past proposals and some practical new ideas of his own.

It is extraordinary how little we know about what the author calls multigenerational poverty. Is poverty passed on from generation to generation in significant numbers? If so, does this imply that different public policies are needed than we now have? This expert in the field raises new and...

This is the first of an occasional series in >i>Challenge>/i> about how to reorient the U.S. economy comprehensively. Herbert Gans has provided a fine start for the series. Call it Gans's New Deal for a New Century.

A tragically large proportion of the officially poor in America are chronically poverty-struck. They remain at the bottom virtually all their lives. Moreover, as this sociologist ably shows, they are typically blamed for their problems. He wants to develop programs that explain rather than...

To many observers, it may be almost reflexive to believe that neighborhoods with high levels of poverty naturally breed more poverty. To Herbert Gans, long a poverty specialist, this is a dangerous myth. Moreover, he says, it is one the Obama administration apparently accepts. The result leads...

Once, it was possible to think of reducing the workweek. Is it still? The author discusses the possibilities and many obstacles, economic and political. Yes, it might create jobs, but can it really be done without offering an equivalent wage for fewer hours? But if we do not think about the...

Herbert Gans likes to ask the unthinkable. What if the United States cannot create enough jobs, not merely for this decade but for a generation? Asking the question is perhaps even more important than answering it.

What if the jobs market remains weak for the rest of the decade? Unthinkable? No, not at all, argues the author. And where will the pressure come from to create political programs directed at jobs?