The real state of the Union : from the best minds in America, bold solutions to the problems politicians dare not address / [edited by] Ted Halstead.

The state of the Union moment / James Fallows
The American paradox / Ted Halstead
Broadening the middle class
Are we still a middle-class nation? / Michael Lind
One-dimensional growth / David Friedman
Spendthrift nation / Michael Calabrese and Maya MacGuineas
Americas "Suez moment" / Sherle R. Schwenninger
Rethinking taxes and governance
Radical tax reform / Maya MacGuineas
Up in the air / Michael Calabrese and J.H. Snider
Taking stock / Jonathan Rauch
The fuel subsidy we need / Ricardo Bayon
Helping American families
The insecure family / Jacob S. Hacker
The parent trap / Karen Kornbluh
The $6,000 solution / Ray Boshara
The black gender gap / Katherine Boo
Reinventing education
A grand compromise / James P. Pinkerton
A new deal for teachers / Matthew Miller
The tuition crunch / Jennifer Washburn
A new health care paradigm
The overtreated American / Shannon Brownlee
Insurance required / Laurie Rubiner
Aging productively / Phillip J. Longman
America's changing demographic landscape
The new continental divide / Michael Lind
Mongrel America / Gregory Rodriguez
Alienated Muslims / Geneive Abdo
Testing our civic health
The angry American / Paul Starobin
Suspicious minds / Jedediah Purdy
Overflowing jails / Margaret Talbot
America and the world
Beyond dominance / Sherle R. Schwenninger
Opportunity missed / Michael Lind
The population implosion / Phillip J. Longman
Democracy in the Islamic world / Noah Feldman
Nation-building 101 / Francis Fukuyama
Conclusion
Dysfunctional duopoly / Ted Halstead.