New Blog Posts

  • The US Federal Government and Capital Punishment

    The US Federal Government and Capital Punishment

    Kaid Ray-Tipton, MPA Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives Origins of American Capital Punishment The United States has a long and largely undocumented history of capital punishment. The origin of American executions lies within racialized terror that is ingrained in the country’s history. While many of these government-sponsored killings happened at the local level, the federal government moved towards…

  • The Expiring QM GSE Patch: Implications for Credit Access and Economic Stability

    The Expiring QM GSE Patch: Implications for Credit Access and Economic Stability

    Kim Wilson, MPP Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives Policymakers are considering alternatives to an expiring rule exemption intended to protect mortgage borrowers and prevent defaults. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) established the qualified mortgage (QM) government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) patch to enable lending to creditworthy borrowers with debt-to-income (DTI) ratios above 43 percent. Proponents of the patch argue…

  • Tik-Tok Could be the Final Straw for Washington: Protecting Americans’ Data on Foreign-Owned Apps

    Tik-Tok Could be the Final Straw for Washington: Protecting Americans’ Data on Foreign-Owned Apps

    Madison Grady, MPP Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives When you download an app onto your phone, do you check to see who created the app, or who owns it? Whether the company is American, Russian, or Chinese? When you create an account, do you carefully review the terms and conditions? Are you thinking about who is…

  • Arguments For and Against the Equal Rights Amendment

    Arguments For and Against the Equal Rights Amendment

    Sydney Hamilton, MPA Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives When discussions surrounding feminism occur, the conversation often turns to the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). While it may seem like the ERA would be universally supported and desired by all feminists, this is not the case. A feminist, as used in this article, is someone who supports women’s…

  • Let’s Get Real: Perspectives on the Fed’s Real-Time Payment Processing Initiative

    Let’s Get Real: Perspectives on the Fed’s Real-Time Payment Processing Initiative

    Kim Wilson, MPP Staff Writer, Brief Policy Perspectives The Federal Reserve Board of Governors recently announced plans to develop a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. FedNow ServiceSM will facilitate the instantaneous transfer of funds between financial institutions, businesses, and individuals. Currently, the process of transferring funds from an originator to a recipient can take several days, leaving consumers hanging…