Ripon Forum


Vol. 57, No. 1

February 2023

View Print Edition

In this edition

With our nation approaching the third anniversary of the COVID-19 lockdown, the latest edition of The Ripon Forum examines the state of pandemic preparedness in America and the fact that our country has fewer doctors than virtually every other developed country in the world.

BREAKING POINT

The United States has fewer physicians per capita than virtually every other developed country. At first glance, our lack of physicians is a puzzle. 

Protecting the Doctor-Patient Relationship

Many health care practices we consider essential are slowly becoming things of the past or recent memory.

We Are Not Ready for the Next Pandemic. That’s A Choice.

Hundreds of Americans are still dying each day from COVID-19, while the next pandemic could strike at any time – and be much more deadly. In many ways we are even less prepared than before COVID-19.

Not Accountable

Philip Howard returns with a new book about government dysfunction and a bold recommendation for reform.

Keys to a Successful Congress: Leaders who lead, and Committees that are allowed do all the work

The new 118th Congress convened last month amid searing speculation about what good will come out of it. 

Our Laboratories of Democracy Can Improve the Republic

How states are leading the way on election reform 

A Mechanism to Reduce Spending That Once had Joe Biden’s Support

“When adopted,” then-Senator Joe Biden stated, “it will provide Congress with an essential tool for reviewing the need for Federal programs.”

Don’t Repeal the Law That Created the Internet

Without Section 230, as one leading appellate judge (a Republican appointee) put it, websites would “face death by ten thousand duck-bites.”

Section 230 is the counter-productive U.S. policy and law that makes Big-Tech unaccountable.  

As the Internet evolves, so must the law and policy regarding it.

Ripon Profile of Darin LaHood

The Representative of Illinois’ 16th Congressional District discusses his time in Congress and his legislative priorities.