A Policy Agenda for the American Future
City Journal’s Symposium Series
The new year will bring a new Congress and, soon after, a new occupant of the White House. City Journal began preparing for this moment in the summer of 2023, when we set out to create a roadmap for a more prosperous, hopeful American future. Looking toward the 2024 elections, we asked leading policy scholars and practitioners to examine some of the most pressing challenges facing American society and to present concrete reform proposals that could be readily implemented by the next presidential administration.
The result: a series of symposia offering prescriptions for rolling back DEI within the federal government; improving public safety and criminal justice; supercharging economic growth; combatting resurgent anti-Semitism; rehabilitating higher education; and addressing the nation’s tragic mental-health crisis.
These issues touch every American, and every American can benefit from a deeper understanding of the challenges the incoming administration faces and the realistic options that exist for addressing them. We can think of no better place to start than in the pages of City Journal.
If you would like to receive a printed copy of our collected symposia, please e-mail us.
Sincerely,
Brian C. Anderson
Editor, City Journal
Dismantling taxpayer-funded supply lines is critical to defeating wokeness in the federal government.
Two key initiatives would represent a starting point for reestablishing a commitment to equality for all.
Under the guise of promoting a welcoming campus environment, DEI offices are enforcing progressive ideology—external controls, tied to federal funding, are needed.
Racial and ethnic categories under the federal government’s Directive 15 are arbitrary and inconsistent, both in how they are defined and how they are enforced.
The woke employees who dominate the bureaucracy have no interest in combating ideological discrimination.
The policy has produced corruption and fraud, worsened racial tensions, and cost taxpayers billions of dollars.
Facts and proven policies should guide effective reforms.
Until we relinquish the idea that policing activity against black criminals is racist, restoring law and order in our cities will be impossible.
Policing, prosecuting, and punishing criminal activity in high-crime areas makes a real difference.
Though the most direct way to address urban disorder is through a change in city leadership, some federal-level policy solutions are worthwhile.
Politicization has eroded public confidence in the bureau. We can wait no longer to begin addressing it.
Rather than pushing dangerous policies, reformers should focus their efforts on making prisons better at “correcting” individuals.
We need a comprehensive commitment to getting people off drugs and deterring them from starting drug use.
Without federal investment in innovative research, any reimagining of law enforcement will look more like daydreaming.
Americans must become confident again that their government will enforce the law, without fear or favor.
Jails and prisons remain crucial institutions—but they can both work better.
The U.S. faces a crisis of ingenuity—but some straightforward policy changes can help turn things around.
Aggressive supply-side reforms would make producing in the U.S. much cheaper.
State and federal policies should defend the industrial power of free nations while defunding the technologies of totalitarianism.
Streamlining approvals will unlock investment in reliable and affordable energy projects—and ease the burden on Americans’ wallets.
To reduce coverage costs and encourage more people to enroll in plans while healthy, Republicans should demand changes to insurance-pricing rules.
It’s time for a law capping the size of the federal debt at 100 percent of potential GDP.
The Fed should stop publishing its projections of future interest rates, which prove only that the economy is unpredictable—and undermine the central bank’s credibility.
The next administration should strip away subsidies for favored firms and implement full expensing of investments for all domestic companies.
All of us, Jewish or not, have an interest in defeating the racialist ideology that enables anti-Semitism to flourish.
America should be a haven for the virtuous and persecuted, not for the persecutors.
The government may prohibit even nonviolent “material support” for terrorist organizations, including legal support and other advice, without violating the First Amendment.
Multimillion-dollar donations to Middle East studies centers and departments have advanced Islamist ideology and fostered Jew-hatred at U.S. universities.
It’s not just on campus: even in primary and secondary education, Jews are often portrayed as privileged whites and Zionist colonial oppressors.
Houses of worship can take several steps to harden their facilities against attack—but ultimately, security cannot be left solely to the professionals.
New York and other states have tried to prevent gun possession by religious observers, but there is both a physical and psychological demand for self-sufficient personal security.
City leaders should work to restore authority and flexibility to law enforcement.
Resurgent anti-Semitism isn’t just an issue for the Jewish community—it’s a warning for all who value the ideals upon which America was built.
The latest wave of conservative critiques of elite universities might make a real difference.
A university is not just a stage for debate but an agency of cultural conservation.
The preference for dogma over scientific inquiry on campuses has become increasingly prevalent.
A loss of trust and stature could be just what our elite universities need in order to fix themselves.
College can be a path to a better life—but not always, and we need to be more honest in helping young people make informed decisions.
The current system is not serving the needs of colleges, parents, or students.
Holding colleges and universities financially responsible is the quickest way to ensure that higher education provides good value.
New College of Florida enters its second year under new leadership.
This fall, the University of Austin (UATX) welcomes its inaugural class.
Top photo: Douglas Rissing/iStock