The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
What do free tuition policies do?
English Summary
While free tuition policies are increasingly common and effective at communicating affordability to prospective students, the analysis finds that they may not provide significant additional financial assistance. The core finding is that these policies often function by relabeling existing grant aid, as many eligible students would receive enough traditional financial aid to cover tuition regardless of the program's existence. Furthermore, the policies do not address the substantial non-tuition costs (housing, food, books), and they do not simplify the complex financial aid application process. Policymakers should recognize that while these programs are valuable for messaging, they require complementary strategies to cover the full cost of attendance and streamline financial aid access.
中文摘要
雖然免學費政策越來越普遍，並且在傳達學費可負擔性方面極為有效，但本分析發現，它們可能無法提供顯著額外的經濟援助。核心發現指出，這些政策往往只是重新標籤現有的助學金，因為許多符合資格的學生無論該計畫是否存在，都能獲得足夠的傳統經濟援助來支付學費。此外，這些政策並未解決龐大的非學費開支（如住宿、餐食、書籍），也未能簡化複雜的助學金申請流程。政策制定者應認識到，儘管這些計畫在訊息傳遞方面具有價值，但若要涵蓋全額學費及生活費用，並簡化助學金的獲取途徑，它們仍需要搭配互補的策略。
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