The Baines Report
Local and national news outlets have covered endless stories on reproductive health care and policy in the past few months. For example, after Justice Brett Kavanaugh was sworn into the United States Supreme Court last October, the nation wondered what implications his conservative voice on the court would have on the future of the historic […]
On Monday Brazilians took to the streets for another night of protests against government corruption and poor services. São Paulo, Brasilia and Rio de Janiero have been sites of protests and some violent police reactions over the past week. Headlines in the United States have described the protests as a fight against a 10-cent increase […]
According to the CDC, about one-third of American adults are obese, and obesity-related diseases are becoming a leading cause of death in the United States. Lack of exercise, increased portion sizes and a variety of other factors has led to increasing obesity rates in the United States. It has become one of the largest public […]
The quality and purity of the drinking water supply has a dramatic influence on the public’s health. What if a sub-population is known to be negatively affected by something artificially added to the water … should city government stop adding that substance, or at least warn the people so that they can make an […]
America is sick. And it’s not just the economy, or the perpetual state of war … it’s our health. The United States is the most obese country in the world, and the U.S. government is causing the problem. By prohibiting the cultivation of healthy foods in the America, allowing dangerous artificial sweeteners in our […]
This article was co-written by Marcus Denton, a second year master's candidate at the LBJ School for Public Affairs, studying social and economic policy. President Obama generates controversy with nearly every one of his decisions. But if he gives in on the most important environmental decision in years, we’re all going to feel the […]
Our national debt is $14.2 trillion, which is more than our gross domestic product. Currently we borrow 43 cents of every dollar that we spend. Both Republicans and Democrats are concerned about our growing debt, yet both parties have exacerbated the problem. President Bush Jr. more than doubled military spending during his presidency, from […]
Fluoride History: Sixty years ago the U.S. Center for Disease Control proposed that fluoride be added to drinking water to prevent cavities. In December 2009, the Austin Environmental Board recommended that city council evaluate the costs and benefits of water fluoridation. In July 2010, Austin Health and Human Services warned mothers not to give […]
The world is full of endemic, intractable problems that we as a rich developed nation are asked to help solve: poverty, hunger, health problems, inequality, and more. Our efforts to address these problems through aid have had mixed results. Sometimes progress emerges, sometimes the same progress is reversed, and often it seems all our aid […]