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 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.
When Does a Labor Economist Ask for a Raise? Share This
Little persuasion happens in 280-character snippets, but people willing to explain their thinking and answer each other’s questions can still accomplish a lot by clarifying their views and identifying the underlying sources of disagreement. So I was delighted yesterday when the Cato Institute’s Alex Nowrasteh took the time to walk me through his understanding of […]
The Immigration Shimmy Share This
Immigration expansionists face a difficult challenge: they support high levels of immigration—including many more less-skilled immigrants—for a variety of legitimate reasons, but the less-skilled immigration has detrimental economic effects on vulnerable American workers, including earlier generations of immigrants already in the country. That tradeoff is one the expansionists would make, but it is understandably unpopular. […]
A Tale of Two Conservatisms Share This
Being called a “socialist” by George Will in the Washington Post was already a professional highlight. So I was thrilled for the opportunity to talk with him about the future of conservatism. Clearly, we would have a lot to discuss. Last week, American Compass and the Wall Street Journal co-hosted that event, “What Now? A […]
Should the U.S. Adopt an Industrial Policy? Share This
EVENT—At the Soho Forum, American Compass’s Oren Cass and Cato Institute’s Scott Lincicome debate whether the U.S. should adopt an industrial policy.
Where Do We Go From Here? Share This
January 6 was a catastrophe for America. An angry mob, spurred on by the president, some carrying confederate flags, ransacked the Capitol during a joint session of Congress. Lives were lost. Indelible and humiliating images of a desecrated seat of government were burned into the nation’s consciousness and broadcast around the world. Any comfort taken […]
Complacency and wasteful spending blight US higher education Share This
FINANCIAL TIMES—American Compass’s Oren Cass makes the case against forgiving billions of dollars of student debt and for rethinking our approach to higher education.
Worker Power Or Loose Borders: You Can Only Pick One Share This
DAILY CALLER—American Compass’s Oren Cass discusses the tension between worker power and loose immigration policy.
Worker Power, Loose Borders: Pick One Share This
A funny thing happened in the days after we published “What Happened: The Trump Presidency in Review.” The collection’s emphasis on the success of economic policies that pushed the labor market toward full employment attracted substantial interest from proponents of looser fiscal and monetary policy. But that “strange new respect” came with the mandatory caveat […]
Some Like It Hot Share This
Unsustainable economic stimulus at an expansion’s peak, not tax cuts or tariffs, fueled the Trump boom.
How to Fix America: Stop Pushing College Share This
THE NEW YORK TIMES—In a Dealbook feature collecting ideas from a wide variety of leaders on how to improve the country, American Compass’s Oren Cass argues for shifting our focus away from college and toward providing strong, non-college career pathways.
Big Ed’s CARES Cash Dash Share This
The CARES Act, intended to address the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, offers especially generous tax treatment for charitable contributions in 2020, to encourage giving in a time of such extraordinary need. Households can deduct contributions up to 100% of their income for the year, potentially eliminating their tax liability entirely. “Donor-advised funds” […]