Volume Two, Number Four

CONTENTS

From the Editor

Editor-in-Chief Nick Schulz introduces the latest issue of THE AMERICAN.

The American Scene

The corporate tax-cut race; Wal-Mart to the rescue; the case for genetically modified foods; the downside of smoking bans; and more.

Interview

C.V. Starr’s Hank Greenberg on Eliot Spitzer, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the economy.

The Young Economist

Jonathan Levin was studying subprime lending before it became front-page news.
BY ANTHONY DICK

DataPoints

An unconventional look at the Republican and Democratic conventions.
COMPILED BY KARLYN BOWMAN 

Q&A

What do we really know about the uninsured?
BY THOMAS P. MILLER

Geopolitics

To understand the rise of China, study the kaiser.
BY ROBERT HADDICK

Automobility

The most popular cars of all time share more than the road.
BY RALPH KINNEY BENNETT

American Civilization

The rise of mass anonymity.
BY ROBERT MCHENRY 

American Seen

FEATURES

How Are We Doing?

There is a price to economic pessimism.
BY W. MICHAEL COX AND RICHARD ALM

Go for Growth

With America’s new economic realities, an entrepreneurial agenda is in order.
BY CARL SCHRAMM AND ROBERT E. LITAN

The 21st-Century Fuel

Despite the pessimistic headlines on energy, a beneficial long-term trend is underway called decarbonization.
BY ROBERT BRYCE

Our Electric Future

Energy independence is the wrong goal. Here’s a plan Americans can stick to.
BY ANDY GROVE

America’s Other Immigration Crisis

We are bringing the world’s smartest people to our shores, training them, and then making them leave.
BY VIVEK WADHWA

From Cows to Coins to Credit Cards

A short history of money and its radical evolution.
BY JOHN STEELE GORDON.

Bear Necessities?

The rush to regulate the securities industry ignores the lessons of history and might plant the seeds for disaster.
BY PETER J. WALLISON.

The Democrats’ Dilemma

A major shift in the composition of the American economy has transformed the Democratic Party and poses deep challenges to its future.
BY JOEL KOTKIN

Zero Heroes

Hollywood no longer aspires to portray genuine heroism.
BY JAMES BOWMAN.