Commentary: America should try to do better. It owes Alice Rivlin that much

For a younger generation of women, Alice M. Rivlin was an inspiration. Economics is a man’s field - less so now than in the past - but she showed that a woman could climb to the top of the profession at some of the most prestigious economic institutions: the Congressional Budget Office, the Federal Reserve, the Office of Management and Budget and others.For me, she was more than just an inspiration; she was a close friend and colleague.On Tuesday, we lost Alice to cancer at the age of 88.