Think USC

Think USC http://think.usc.edu Opinions and Ideas from the University of Southern California Tue, 15 May 2012 22:30:53 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 The Great California Exodus? http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/15/the-great-california-exodus/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/15/the-great-california-exodus/#comments Tue, 15 May 2012 22:30:53 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=801 , demographer and planning professor, USC Price School of Public Policy

This op-ed originally appeared at Zocalo.

California, you might think, is a terrible place that people are fleeing from. One reason you might think so is that a cottage industry of pundits, business lobbyists, and politicians has been dedicated to convincing the world that California is and will remain a failure until our prevailing cultural and political climate changes. In this game, demographics are treated like a football. But the people of California are the demographics, and they may not like being tossed about.]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/15/the-great-california-exodus/feed/ 0 What a Deal: Smarter Politicians, Less Time in Office http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/11/what-a-deal-smarter-politicians-less-time-in-office/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/11/what-a-deal-smarter-politicians-less-time-in-office/#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 21:08:29 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=785 , director of USC's Jesse Unruh Institute of Politics.

This op-ed originally appeared in the Sacramento Bee.
When the original ballot initiative to impose term limits was put before California voters in 1990, I enthusiastically campaigned for its passage. When career politicians tried to dramatically weaken the state's term limits law 10 years ago, I fought to defeat them. When I returned to Sacramento to serve as chairman of the California Fair Political Practices Commission, I saw that term limits had dramatically succeeded in one important respect. The Legislature was far more diverse than at any other time in our state's history. Not only were there an unprecedented number of female, Latino and Asian Pacific Islander members, but we have also seen an extraordinary range of diversity in professional experience and background as well, as small-business owners and union members, doctors and nurses, teachers and farmers and law enforcement officers have all sought and gained election to the Legislature since term limits took effect. ]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/11/what-a-deal-smarter-politicians-less-time-in-office/feed/ 0 Political Ads Are Hazardous to Your Mental Health http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/01/political-ads-are-hazardous-to-your-mental-health/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/01/political-ads-are-hazardous-to-your-mental-health/#comments Tue, 01 May 2012 23:24:48 +0000 USC Admin http://www.thinkusc.com/?p=375 , professor of entertainment, media and society, USC Annenberg

This op-ed originally appeared at the Huffington Post.

This is the disclaimer that Britain's Public Interest Research Centre recently proposed for inclusion on billboards:

"This advertisement may influence you in ways of which you are not consciously aware. Buying consumer goods is unlikely to improve your wellbeing, and borrowing to buy consumer goods may be unwise; debt can enslave."

For this buy-buy-buy holiday season, those words are a spritz of pepper spray. Imagine, then, that advertisers were required to admit that the underlying premise of ]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/05/01/political-ads-are-hazardous-to-your-mental-health/feed/ 0 In China, Blame the Murder Victims http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/26/in-china-blame-the-murder-victims/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/26/in-china-blame-the-murder-victims/#comments Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:29:02 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=773 , lecturer, USC's Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.

This op-ed originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

After USC graduate students Ming Qu and Ying Wu were shot and killed earlier this month, the Chinese student community in America was saddened, shocked and frightened. The reaction back home was very different. The killings, which happened while Qu and Wu were sitting and talking in a BMW, unleashed a torrent of Internet vitriol in China, and it wasn't directed at the pair's attacker. ]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/26/in-china-blame-the-murder-victims/feed/ 0 What Brought L.A. Back From the 1992 Riots http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/25/what-brought-l-a-back-from-the-1992-riots/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/25/what-brought-l-a-back-from-the-1992-riots/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:24:54 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=763 , director of USC's Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, and KAFI BLUMENFIELD, president and CEO Liberty Hill Foundation.

This op-ed originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

In 1992, the acquittal of four police officers accused of beating Rodney King was the match that ignited a city, setting off a wave of violence that left 53 dead, thousands injured and hundreds of businesses destroyed. There was a lot of accumulated tinder to burn. Los Angeles was struggling with a faltering and de-industrialized economy that left too many without good jobs, a wave of demographic transition that caused ethnic and generational tensions, and a widening gap between rich and poor that was just beginning to emerge into public view — a bit like the U.S. today. ]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/25/what-brought-l-a-back-from-the-1992-riots/feed/ 0 Keeping L.A.’s 30/10 Transit Plan on Track http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/16/keeping-l-a-s-3010-transit-plan-on-track/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/16/keeping-l-a-s-3010-transit-plan-on-track/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:48:59 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=738 , associate professor, USC Price School

This op-ed originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 30/10 plan may be in trouble. The proposal calls for borrowing from the federal government over 10 years the total amount expected to be raised and repaid over 30 years from a half-cent sales tax authorized by L.A. County voters in 2008. With the money, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority could complete transit and highway projects in 10 years instead of 30. However, on March 29, Congress extended federal transportation spending for only 90 days — the ninth such action since 2009 — to avoid a complete shutdown of Washington-funded highway work. Funds for the mayor's proposal were not part of the bill. The possibility of movement won't come until after the November elections, and even that may be a pipe dream. The 30/10 financing model, widely heralded among transportation experts, thus appears to be another hostage to partisan acrimony in Washington. A two-year bill, which passed 72 to 22 in the Senate, included financing for the 30/10 plan, but Democrats in the House could not force a vote on the legislation. Some House Republicans simply do not want to expand federal loan programs, which they believe encourage overbuilding and mismanagement. There are options that do not depend on Washington pulling itself together. But Villaraigosa must first decide what is truly important about his plan: fast-tracking the money or developing a model for the federal government to do so. That's a debate worth having because there are three options for fast-tracking money into Southern California to pay for our needed transportation projects. The first is the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, which has been around since 1994. Because California's economy is bigger than that of most countries, it can finance much of its own infrastructure. The bank has an AAA credit rating and thus can offer competitive rates. It has helped fund some large projects, including the Bay Bridge's deck replacement. Given its modest size, the bank probably wouldn't bankroll more than a handful of projects at once, so Los Angeles would need to prioritize its projects. But then, nobody really expected the feds to finance the entire 30/10 wish list either. Villaraigosa also could look overseas for some fast money. The European Investment Bank has lent money to 78 countries to build highways and transit projects, the bulk of it to member states of the European Union. Although the bank has not financed a project in the United States, its mission is to foster infrastructure projects that support EU goals, among them slowing global warming. The 30/10 plan has multiple transit projects — the Westside subway and the Green Line/LAX extension — that dovetail nicely with this environmental goal. Villaraigosa could make an unprecedented proposal to the European bank. What's the worst that could happen? It says no and mocks our soccer teams ? ]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/16/keeping-l-a-s-3010-transit-plan-on-track/feed/ 0 The Missile Mishap That Nobody Predicted http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/16/the-missile-mishap-that-nobody-predicted/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/16/the-missile-mishap-that-nobody-predicted/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2012 21:31:06 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=750 , associate professor of international relations, USC Dornsife.

This op-ed originally appeared in Foreign Affairs.

The dismal failure of North Korea's April 13 long-range missile test -- it broke into pieces after 81 seconds of flight time -- has also exposed the poverty of standard proliferation analyses. In the days leading up to the test, most commentators apparently took Pyongyang's technological forward march for granted. Even the more sober voices evinced little doubt that this test would go at least as well as the country's 2009 effort, which managed to put a rocket into flight for about fifteen minutes before it malfunctioned. Meanwhile, other technical experts regaled readers with tales of the "emerging" bona fide North Korean http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/16/the-missile-mishap-that-nobody-predicted/feed/ 0 A Natural Metaphysical Poet http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/15/a-natural-metaphysical-poet/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/15/a-natural-metaphysical-poet/#comments Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:32:59 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=731 , professor of English, USC Dornsife.

This commentary originally appears in the Los Angeles Times.

It was a freezing night in March 1978 — and the small, determined woman climbing next to me up the icy incline to the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for women leaned on a cane. I wanted to take her arm, but because she was famously fiercely independent, I hesitated. Later, I thought that I was right to hold back: Adrienne Rich was that kind of standard-bearer, accustomed to her own "climb," accustomed to a righteous loneliness in her ascent. ]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/15/a-natural-metaphysical-poet/feed/ 0 How to Prevent Another Titantic http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/13/how-to-prevent-another-titantic/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/13/how-to-prevent-another-titantic/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:47:31 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=726
his op-ed originally appeared at the HuffingtonPost.

The 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic is now with us. Dozens of events have been planned and the story keeps enthralling us, despite the fact that so few of us travel by large ocean liners anymore. For the record, the beginning of our fascination with disasters of titanic proportions started with the great Lisbon tsunami of 1755, which changed the way Europeans viewed nature and God, as candidly described by Voltaire over two centuries ago. Recent events provide clues why ship disasters captivate us. In January's sinking of Costa Concordia off Isola de Giglio in Italy, 30 died, a surprising number given that the ship was only 5 years-old, and the accident occurred within a few hundred feet off the nearest port. Survivors described harrowing scenes before evacuating, conflicting ]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/13/how-to-prevent-another-titantic/feed/ 0 The Role of Sacred Values in the Iran Nuclear Standoff http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/12/the-role-of-sacred-values-in-the-iran-nuclear-standoff/ http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/12/the-role-of-sacred-values-in-the-iran-nuclear-standoff/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2012 22:28:21 +0000 USC Admin http://think.usc.edu/?p=712 , research assistant professor, USC's Institute of Creative Technologies, and SONYA SACHDEVA, postdoctoral fellow in psychology, Northwestern University.

This op-ed originally appeared at Aljazeera.

Beneath the intensifying crisis over Iran's nuclear programme is a startling disconnect between what the two sides perceive to be the target of the West's sanctions. To the US and its allies, the sanctions aim to cripple the Iranian economy to the point that Iran's government will realise the error of developing nuclear weapons. To Iranians, however, the sanctions represent an encroachment on their country's sovereignty over an issue - nuclear energy - they believe goes to the core of national identity. This view has deep historical resonance because of previous foreign efforts to undermine the nation's sovereignty - the Western-sponsored coup of a democratically elected government in 1953 - and to interrupt scientific advancement - Iran's quest for nuclear technology dates to the shah. For these Iranians, the country's nuclear programme has become a "sacred value". What is a "sacred value"? We all intuitively feel that there are certain things and values in our lives - the right to vote, the graves of our ancestors - that we would never give up or compromise no matter how tempting the reward or menacing the threat. What's more, to even be asked to consider a tradeoff on such matters would be an outrage. 'Sacred values' Sacred values play significant roles in many socio-cultural conflicts. The Israeli-Palestinian divide is a prominent example. The problem is that sacred values are beyond the reach of traditional diplomacy, which assumes rational actors weighing the costs and benefits of taking a position. Who would bargain away the sacred? But in the case of Iran's nuclear programme, diplomacy has a chance of succeeding in upcoming talks because Iranians may consider the programme sacred only up to a point. In 2010, we surveyed Iranian attitudes toward their country's nuclear programme. The 2,000 participants were young (average age 30), college graduates and mostly male, a sample highly representative of the population as a whole except for the predominance of males. We presented one group (about 1,400 Iranians) with three different tradeoff scenarios: Would they give up the nuclear energy programme in exchange for material compensation from the United Nations, under the threat of sanctions or in the absence of external pressure? ]]> http://think.usc.edu/2012/04/12/the-role-of-sacred-values-in-the-iran-nuclear-standoff/feed/ 0