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Charles Wheelan

Co-founder of The Centrist Project, based on his book The Centrist Manifesto. Also author of Naked Money and Naked Statistics. Teaches public policy at Dartmouth.

I Miss Anthony Kennedy Already

I miss Anthony Kennedy already. Other people have written eloquently about Kennedy’s contributions to the Supreme Court. After the retirement of Sandra Day O’Connor (whom I miss, too)

By Charles Wheelan

/ July 9, 2018

I Miss Anthony Kennedy Already

Our $21 Trillion Debt: What Two-Party Control Really Looks Like

“If something cannot go on forever, it must stop.” In economics, this is known as Herb Stein’s law. We ignore it at our peril. In the 2000s, economists and

By Charles Wheelan

/ April 26, 2018

Our $21 Trillion Debt: What Two-Party Control Really Looks Like

Beyond Party Politics: 4 Common Sense Solutions to Smart Trade Policy

How could a handful of common-sense, independent Senators defuse the partisanship around trade? By changing the way we talk about the whole issue. Most American say they believe in markets.

By Charles Wheelan

/ March 22, 2018

Beyond Party Politics: 4 Common Sense Solutions to Smart Trade Policy

Fixing Who Gets Into the US Begins With Fixing Who Gets Into Congress

Once again members of Congress are discussing a compromise immigration bill. The details on the table appear to be similar to the deal that fell apart last week after a

By Charles Wheelan

/ January 19, 2018

Fixing Who Gets Into the US Begins With Fixing Who Gets Into Congress

The GOP Tax Plan Is A Disastrous Train Wreck

The point of electing Centrist Independents is to empower the political center, to build a bridge between Republicans and Democrats, and to get things done. As I’ve written before

By Charles Wheelan

/ November 15, 2017

The GOP Tax Plan Is A Disastrous Train Wreck

Elect Independents If You Want A New Approach to the Gun Debate

Where do we even begin after Las Vegas? The shooting was so calculatingly evil, so tragic for the victims, and so sad for our nation. And yet we have been

By Charles Wheelan

/ October 6, 2017

Elect Independents If You Want A New Approach to the Gun Debate

Dartmouth Professor: Two Parties Full of Empty Promises, Elect Independents to Reform Tax Code

The Republicans are now saying that tax reform is their next legislative priority. Is tax reform likely to happen? Almost certainly not, as I wrote recently in my column for

By Charles Wheelan

/ September 18, 2017

Dartmouth Professor: Two Parties Full of Empty Promises, Elect Independents to Reform Tax Code

5 Key Ways to Bridge the Hyper-Partisan Divide on Infrastructure

Remember all that talk about infrastructure during the 2016 presidential campaign? America needs massive new investments in infrastructure: safer bridges; modern sewers; a more efficient electricity grid; better transportation options;

By Charles Wheelan

/ August 11, 2017

5 Key Ways to Bridge the Hyper-Partisan Divide on Infrastructure

Finding the Cure to Health Care's Hyper-Partisan Sickness

If only we had a handful of Centrist Independents in the U.S. Senate right now to be the catalyst for a more constructive debate over real health care reform.

By Charles Wheelan

/ July 20, 2017

Finding the Cure to Health Care's Hyper-Partisan Sickness