Author: Harrison Fox

Harrison Fox Ph.D. has practiced American Civics over 56 years as a US Congress professional staff member, professor National Defense University, founder of a firm serving over 100 financial institutions, as well as a civic activist in his neighborhoods, and founder of Citizens for Budget Reform and American Military Housing Services not for profits.

Improve Civics Education to Equip Students for Active Community Engagement

In our rapidly changing world, civics education must do a better job. Civics must prepare students to engage their neighborhood, county, state, and nation. Civics courses today rely on history, current events, and case studies. But they fall short in effectively explaining the realities of government, campus, or neighborhood dynamics and teaching how to enact […]

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To D.C. Hopefuls: What Your Poli Sci Prof May Not Have Taught You

College students looking for work in Washington, D.C. have many opportunities. These include internships, fellowships, and part-time and full-time jobs. But you must understand how things work in the Washington milieu. The Washington milieu encapsulates the setting where political activities unfold. It comprises nine crucial entities: citizens, the president, Congress, regulators, courts, the bureaucracy, the […]

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The Federal Dollar Chain: In Debt We Trust

The federal dollar chain is an important civics lesson for college students. It will help answer, “Can I expect to receive Social Security payments? And will the United States of America go bankrupt?” The federal dollar chain is at least seventy-five years long. It is a conceptual tool that begins with taxes paid today by […]

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Essential Insights for American Students on Government Operations

In college classrooms, students often hear the assertion that “advanced societies require extensive government intervention to flourish.” However, this perspective is shortsighted in understanding how America has prospered and operates. The reality is clear: governments currently control around 30 percent of GDP, non-profits add another 10 percent, leaving the vast majority, 60 percent, generated and […]

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Students Don’t Know How the Government Spends Money

Apart from a brief overview of the Congressional appropriations and authorization process, there is minimal emphasis on the complexities of government spending and its consequential effects during civics education. This knowledge gap is exploited by activists and special interest groups, who face little opposition from taxpayers when advocating for or against government expenditures. But what […]

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Practicing Civic Behavior: A Key Student Priority

As a countermeasure to action civics, which aims to convert the “traditional subject of civics into a recruitment tool of the progressive left,” it is crucial for students to engage in civic behavior actively. This behavior, rooted in a nonpartisan American pluralism, accentuates the rights and duties of citizenship in various spheres-school, home, community, and […]

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