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Jeffrey Liebman , professor of public policy at the Kennedy School and a former economic advisor to President Clinton , has joined with two fellow Social Security scholars in proposing a compromise Social Security reform plan — one that could potentially satisfy politicians from both sides of the aisle . The new year brought with it the 3,000 th American death in Iraq . But it soon occurred to me that the atmosphere was now far too rare to sustain even the feathers ; that they actually fell , as they appeared to do , with great rapidity ; and that I had been surprised by the united velocities of their descent and my own elevation . They relate that , on finding himself taken , Kempelen seized the crucibles with both hands ( which were encased in gloves that afterwards turned out to be asbestic ) , and threw the contents on the tiled floor . No animal at all could be seen so far ; much less the minute points particularized in the story . If both the U.S. and China continue to grow at their current rates , it is possible that China 's total economy could be larger than the U.S. by the middle of the century , but American per-capita income will remain four times greater . Besides , although I was evidently approaching the surface below me , it was with a speed by no means commensurate with the velocity I had at first conceived . The Center focuses on several broad policy areas , most notably : public management , innovation , finance , and labor-management relations ; urban development , transportation , land use , and environmental protection ; education ; civic engagement and social capital ; and the impacts of information technologies on both government and governance . Then I came suddenly into still noonday solitudes , where no wind of heaven ever intruded , and where vast meadows of poppies , and slender , lily-looking flowers spread themselves out a weary distance , all silent and motionless for ever . Nor was there even mention of the fact that most civilized countries – a community in which the United States claims leadership – have banned the death penalty , even for men who have committed hateful and vile crimes . I afterwards carefully examined my head , shaking it repeatedly , and feeling it with minute attention , until I succeeded in satisfying myself that it was not , as I had more than half suspected , larger than my balloon . And , no , contractors are not robbing government blind - - publicly traded firms that report returns separately for government and commercial divisions almost always show lower returns on government than commercial business ; in the recent prospectus for its spin off from Halliburton , KBR reported that its Middle East operations for government ( basically its Iraq contracts ) earned half the return on sales of the KBR unit that builds infrastructure for commercial clients . Then , in a knowing manner , I felt in both my breeches pockets , and , missing therefrom a set of tablets and a tooth-pick case , endeavored to account for their disappearance , and , not being able to do so , felt inexpressibly chagrined . They are not the first to do so and , indeed , there is no doubt that the passions the Palestinian cause inflames throughout the Arab world complicate an already difficult situation . At all events I was now close upon the planet , and coming down with the most terrible impetuosity . But this was a question which , I am willing to confess , occasioned me no little trouble in its solution .