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Several states are adopting an alternative approach to measure their citizens' well-being and shape public policy. In 2012, Vermont became the first state to pass a law mandating the use of the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). The metric – which has been used in academic circles for years – looks at 26 indicators to measure the social, economic, and environmental costs and benefits of development. One of the law's major proponents, Eric Zencey from the University of Vermont's Gund Institute,

For the 46.5 million Americans living below the poverty line, 16 million of which are children, life has become a consistent struggle. This struggle does not simply begin and end with monetary concerns, but in fact surrounds both a physical and mental exertion of the individual.Using the national U.S. census and NCCP, researchers found that in 2013, the poverty line rested at $11,490, a number which equates an individual working full time while only making $5.00 – far below the national minimum

The way we elect the president and vice president in the U.S. is quite unique compared to the way we elect every other elected office. We don't elect them directly. Instead, we vote for electors who then cast votes for a presidential ticket. Electors from each state are supposed to cast their votes for whichever candidate won that state's popular vote -- "winner takes all."  However, every once in awhile there is a rogue elector who casts a different vote as "winner takes all" is not required b

Last week, at the end of President Obama's Asian tour, the president was able to conclude the final touches on a mutual defense pact with the Philippines, a significant foreign policy victory for America. Once an American colony (1898-1946), American presence in the Philippines in recent history has been cool at best. The last permanent military base on the Philippines was abandoned in 1992 after a fiery rejection of American military presence by the Filipino government. Encroachment into the

The Obama White House is seeking immunity for telecommunications companies that have complied with government orders to hand over customers' data. However, there may be more than meets the eye with the president's proposed reform.In a statement to legislators recently, the White House said it would support legislation that protects "'any person who complies in good faith with an order to produce records' from legal liability for complying with court orders for phone records to the government onc

A phone service provider filed a lawsuit -- which was subsequently rejected -- against NSA data collection, according to a report declassified on Friday. The company's name is redacted in the documents, but the Washington Post article revealed that it was the popular mobile service provider Verizon. The particular issue at stake was the NSA requiring the company to relinquish phone records as part of the government agency's metadata collection. The records collected include phone numbers dialed

Editor's note: This article, originally published on April 22, was updated on April 25, 2014. The initial article had Ret. Staff Sgt. Dean Graham's name as Alex Graham. The article has been corrected.Last week, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki welcomed wounded veterans to Soldier Ride, one in a series of cycling events that the Wounded Warrior Project organizes every year. The White House rollout was one of 19 the Florida-based nonpr

Since the Korean War, Western powers have relied on China’s limited technological and naval abilities as a buffer against their vast troop reserves. The basic strategy has been one of containment, the Himalayas to the West, Pacific Ocean to the East, and pro-China neighbors to the North and South. The Chinese inability to retake the island of Taiwan highlights past military weaknesses and has given a false sense of security to the West— the litmus test has always been whether new military develo

Seven Republicans, two Democrats, and one independent have stepped up to claim the West Virginian House seat U.S. Representative Shelley Moore Capito (R-02) is vacating for a shot at the Senate. The House position for the Mountain State’s 2nd Congressional District — which Capito has held safely for six terms — remains a closely watched domino that Republicans hope will once again fall in their direction come the November midterms.That may change if one Democrat continues to out-raise his widel

It seems that in every cycle there is debate about which states should hold the first presidential primary elections. Some state always seems to try to jump ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire. Since 1972, the Iowa Caucuses have been first in the nation and New Hampshire has been the first "primary" since 1920. There, of course, have been states that have attempted to circumvent Iowa and New Hampshire, claiming that they don't truly represent America as they are small states with seemingly narrow