The Deductibility of State and Local Taxes

President Reagan's tax reform proposals of May 1985 recommendedeliminating the deduction of state and local taxes in computingfederal taxable income. Arguments for and against deductibilityappeal to equity for taxpayers facing levies from multiple governmentsand to concern for the roles and responsibilities of governmentsin a federal system. Intense criticism and lobbying againstthe president's proposal was spearheaded by New York. The debatewas soon recast to emphasize the impact of change on other states,especially in the Northeast and Midwest, and the potential widespreadnegative effects on government services, especially education.The broadened base of opposition to change was sufficient tosustain deductibility in the bill passed by the House of Representativesin December 1985, illustrating that a cohesive lobbying effortinvoking the concept of federalism as a partnership can be fashionedby appealing to states on the basis of the negative consequencesof change.     

Reviews

Harry Eckstein, Frederic J. Fleron, Erik P. Hoffmann & William M. Reisinger with Richard Ahl, Russell Bova & Philip G. Roeder, Can Democracy Take Root in Post‐Soviet Russia? Explorations in State‐Society Relations. Lanham: Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, 1998, xi + 418 pp., $64.00 h/b, $21.95 p/b.

Barnett R. Rubin & Jack Snyder (eds), Post‐Soviet Political Order. Conflict and State Building, London: Routledge, 1998, xi + 201 pp., £15.99.

Ben Fowkes (ed.), Russia and Chechnia: The Permanent Crisis. Essays on Russo‐Chechen Relations. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998, viii+ 188 pp., £42.50.

Anatol Lieven, Chechnya: Tombstone of Russian Power. London: Yale University Press, 1998, xii + 436 pp., £25.00.

Sebastian Smith, Allah's Mountains: Politics and War in the Russian Caucasus. London: I. B. Tauris, 1998, x + 288 pp., £19.95.

Taras Kuzio, Ukraine: Nation and State Building. London: Routledge, 1998, xiv + 298 pp., £50.00.

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OECD, OECD Economic Surveys. Russian Federation 1997. Paris: Centre for Co‐operation with the Economies in Transition and OECD, 1997, x + 275 pp.

Arista Maria Cirtautas, The Polish Solidarity Movement. Revolution, Democracy and Natural Rights. London: Routledge, 1997, xii + 324 pp., £50.00.

David Stark & Laszlo Bruszt, Postsocialist Pathways: Transforming Politics and Property in East Central Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, xi + 284 pp., £15.95.

Jon Elster, Claus Offe & Ulrich K. Preuss with Frank Boenker, Ulrike Goetting & Friedbert W. Rueb, Institutional Design in Post‐Communist Societies, Rebuilding the Ship at Sea. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, xii + 350 pp., £14.95.

Daniel Vaughan‐Whitehead (ed.), Paying the Price. The Wage Crisis in Central and Eastern Europe. Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1998, xxviii + 418 pp., £55.00.

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Hannes Adomeit, Imperial Overstretch: Germany in Soviet Policy from Stalin to Gorbachev. Baden‐Baden: Nomos, 609 pp., DM69.00.

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Amy C. Singleton, No Place Like Home. The Literary Artist and Russia's Search for Cultural Identity. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997, x + 193 pp, $17.95.

Stephen C. Hutchings. Russian Modernism: The Transfiguration of the Everyday. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, xiii + 295 pp., £40.00.     

Remote Electronic Voting: Free,Fair and Secret?

Most of the debate surrounding remote electronic voting has focused on technical issues such as security and feasibility. This article examines the equally important issue of whether voting outside the context of the supervised polling place meets the legal and normative standards required of democratic elections. Our conclusion is that if voting that takes place in an unsupervised context, it is virtually impossible to guarantee that it will be carried out in secret, and that lack of secrecy constitutes a serious violation of the principles of freeness and fairness that govern elections in democratic states. This argument also has implications for postal voting, which are discussed in brief.     

A Feminised Style of Politics? Women MPs in the House of Commons

One hundred and one Labour women MPs were returned to the House of Commons at the 1997 general election. Constituting 24 per cent of the Parliamentary Labour Party, they were, according to critical mass theory, a 'tilted group' and in a position to effect change. Drawing on 23 in-depth interviews with Labour women MPs first elected in 1997, this article establishes that many of them believe that women politicians practise politics in a feminised way. This claim is, however, premised upon gender rather than sex differences and party identity is also identified as an important determinant. The women MPs' perception that women's style is less legitimate than men's is explored through a discussion of the newly elected Labour women MPs' loyalty in parliamentary votes.     

Suicide Risk in Emerging Adulthood: Associations with Screen Time over 10 years

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - Suicide rates have increased over the past decade, and screen media (and social media in particular) are often blamed for this marked increase. However, there is...     

The Death of Freddie Gray and Its Impact on Homicides in Baltimore and Maryland

This study evaluated the impact that Freddie Gray’s death on April, 19, 2015, had on homicides within Baltimore, Prince George’s County, and the rest of Maryland. The numbers of these deaths were compared in the 2 years prior and after his death. The average number of homicide per month in Baltimore and Prince George’s County, but not the rest of Maryland, showed a statistically significant increase in the 2 years after his death, with a sudden spike in homicides in Baltimore immediately following his death. Spatial density (“heat”) maps of homicides showed an increase in clustering of deaths after Freddie Gray’s demise in portions of Baltimore, particularly near his arrest site. Hot spot maps showed a massive expansion of statistically significant clusters of homicides in areas of West and East Baltimore after his death. An emerging hot spot analysis revealed consecutive hot spots in large areas of West Baltimore with new hot spots prominent along the southern edge of this area. A review of the history of Baltimore, as well as discussions with Baltimore homicide detectives, revealed that prior socioeconomic and political trends likely primed Baltimore for the protests and violence that occurred after Freddie Gray’s death. It is probable that a perceived “overcharging” of officers involved in his death by the State’s Attorney resulted in a “pullback” from policing that directly led to increased homicides in Baltimore.