Keshav Srikant - The Tufts Daily

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It’s time to prepare for Trump’s economy

By Keshav Srikant | December 6

In less than one hundred days, President Joe Biden will leave office, passing the baton to President-elect Donald Trump, who will reassume control of the presidency with Republicans in charge of both chambers of Congress. This governmental trifecta means the incoming Trump administration will have a significant amount of power with which to enact their economic agenda — an agenda that could both raise prices and increase deficits.

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There is no one reason Harris lost

By Keshav Srikant | November 19

On Nov. 5, 2024, Democrats were handed their worst defeat in a presidential election since 2004. Donald Trump decisively defeated Kamala Harris, winning the popular vote by around two points and sweeping every swing state. The “tipping point” state in the election was Pennsylvania, which Harris lost by two points, roughly the percentage by which she lost the national vote. This was not a close election and Harris’ loss cannot be attributed to Electoral College bias or depressed voter turnout. On Election Day, American voters sent a loud and clear signal they wanted Donald Trump back in the White House.

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What we can learn from the defeat of David Duke

By Keshav Srikant and Sadie Roraback-Meagher | October 28

In 1991, Louisiana voters were faced with two unfavorable options for governor: Democrat Edwin Edwards and David Duke, a white supremacist and former KKK grand wizard. Edwards had a history of gambling, corruption and scandalous affairs. In 1985, Edwards even admitted to taking $1.9 million to sell state hospital and nursing home permits. Nevertheless, faced with the choice between Edwards and a white supremacist, Lousianians chose Edwards as the lesser evil.

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Fund our national parks

By Keshav Srikant | September 17

At the end of eighth grade, my school decided to take us on a one-week overnight trip to Yosemite National Park. We learned about Yosemite’s ecosystems and history while hiking through forests and among thundering waterfalls. Almost a decade later, I remember this trip vividly, just as I remember every national park I’ve been to.

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The Policy Perspective: Reasons to hope

By Keshav Srikant | April 22

I’ve spent the last year writing columns about how U.S. public policy can be improved. From housing to public transportation to education to climate change, there are many areas where we can do better. For my last edition of this column, however, I wanted to write about beneficial public policies that have been passed and that are often missed or ignored in a media consumption environment with a strong negativity bias.

Column

The Policy Perspective: Blue states are floundering

By Keshav Srikant | April 8

Clean energy is a core part of the Democratic Party’s platform. The 2020 Democratic Party platform calls for building a “globally competitive clean energy economy”[a]. Yet in 2024, the state with the most installed solar infrastructure is not New York or California, where Democrats dominate state government, but Texas, a Republican-controlled state[b]. This isdespite billions of dollars spent by California’s state government to invest in solar[c].

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The Policy Perspective: Don’t fall for degrowth

By Keshav Srikant | March 11

The idea behind the degrowth movement is simple: Economic growth and increased consumption is fueling the climate change crisis and to truly tackle climate change we need to decrease our levels of production and consumption. Though degrowth can be intuitive, the movement’s fundamental premise lacks evidence and the actions it advocates for are completely unfeasible.

Column

The Policy Perspective: What caused the inflation crisis?

By Keshav Srikant | February 27

In June of 2022, inflation hit a 40-year record high, with consumer prices rising 9.1% over the course of one year. It surpassed economists' expectations and captured rising costs in everything from rent to automobiles, particularly in food and energy. Understandably, the magnitude of the inflation spike sparked a debate as to what was responsible for such high levels of inflation.

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The Policy Perspective: Fund the IRS

By Keshav Srikant | February 13

If there’s one thing that many Americans can agree on, it’s that they dislike the IRS. The Internal Revenue Service is a federal agency responsible for collecting and administering federal taxes. The IRS primarily ensures that everyone pays their taxes, often by auditing individuals or businesses, and processes requests for tax refunds. It’s understandable the IRS is not popular, especially as 56% of Americans feel their tax burden is unfair and a majority state that the complexity of the American tax system “bothers them a lot.”

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The Policy Perspective: The case for charter schools

By Keshav Srikant | January 30

The idea of charter schools is simple. They are publicly funded by taxpayers but operated by independent groups. In the face of traditional public schools that seemed to be failing, charter schools were an alternative. Unlike traditional public schools, charter schools face less governmental regulation, but they must meet accountability standards. They are also not beholden to teacher unions and can experiment with different learning styles.