Oren Cass
Oren Cass is the executive director of American Compass and author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America (2018). He is a contributing opinion writer for the Financial Times and CNN Opinion, and his work also appears regularly in publications including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.
From 2005 to 2015, Oren worked as a management consultant in Bain & Company’s Boston and Delhi offices. During this period, he also earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was elected vice president and treasurer of the Harvard Law Review and oversaw the journal’s budget and operations. While still in law school, Oren also became Domestic Policy Director for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, editing and producing the campaign’s “jobs book” and developing its domestic policy strategy, proposals, and research. He joined the Manhattan Institute as a senior fellow in 2015 and became a prolific scholar, publishing more than 15 reports for MI and editing its popular “Issues 2016” and “Issues 2020” series, testifying before seven congressional committees and speaking on dozens of college campuses. He founded American Compass at the start of 2020.
Where Have All the Young Men Gone? Share This
Of the many foolish arguments for President Biden’s decision to give $400 billion to people who borrowed to attend college, one stood out for its inanity: “Women owe over two-thirds of student debt,” tweeted Senator Elizabeth Warren. “Canceling student debt would help give millions of women a fair shot at starting a business, saving for […]
Liberty and Tariffs for All Share This
I spoke earlier this week at a private event for a fervently free-market group. Bringing new ways of thinking to such audiences is a favorite pastime of mine, and one of American Compass’s reasons for being. Partly, of course, this presents an opportunity to persuade. As important, I get to hear the questions and counterarguments […]
The successful policy that progressives love to hate Share This
CNN—American Compass executive director Oren Cass discusses a recent report analyzing the effects of welfare reform on child poverty, and how progressives fail to understand the importance of work in designing social safety net programs.
Rebuilding from the College Catastrophe Starts Here Share This
Today, Senator Tom Cotton introduced the American Workforce Act (AWA), a landmark bill to create a robust alternative to college rooted in on-the-job experience and employer-led training, funded by a transfer of resources away from traditional higher education. The AWA is modeled on American Compass’s Workforce Training Grant, which we proposed earlier this year as […]
Republicans have great ideas. It’s time to start talking about them Share This
CNN—American Compass executive director Oren Cass makes the case for a GOP focus on substantive policy ideas, prioritizing efforts that benefit working families.
Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness is Wrong. Here’s How to Handle College Debt Instead. Share This
POLITICO MAGAZINE—America has turned higher ed into a lavishly expensive sacred cow, and now we’re all footing the bill. Let’s make college debt boring again, argues Oren Cass.
What Republicans Should Do if They Win Big This Fall Share This
THE NEW YORK TIMES—American Compass’s Oren Cass and Chris Griswold describe how a conservative agenda focused on workers and their families could create new avenues for progress in a divided government.
The Chips Act debate shows how far the Republicans have moved Share This
FINANCIAL TIMES—Oren Cass argues that conservative interest in rebuilding America’s industrial base may finally be overtaking free-market fundamentalism on the right.
The problem Joe Manchin highlighted is crucial for America’s future Share This
CNN—Oren Cass makes the case for serious permitting reform, without which it will take years to spend any money building climate-related projects, costing us money and harming the environment.
Chipping away at globalization is a smart move Share This
CNN—American Compass’s Oren Cass argues that the CHIPS Act marks an inflection point for America turning away from globalization and revitalizing domestic industry.
CHIPS Won’t Help China Share This
THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE—American Compass executive director Oren Cass argues that demanding perfect legislation is a convenient excuse for voting no, and a standard by which everyone would always vote no.
Pass the CHIPS, Please Share This
Congress finally appears poised to make progress on a competitiveness bill that focuses squarely on an especially pressing need: support for the domestic semiconductor industry. The case for doing this has been well made in numerous forums, from American Compass’s own Guide to the Semiconductor Industry and analysis at National Review to the recent Wall […]