Michael Chapman Although the incoming Trump administration says it will cut taxes, reduce regulations, and slash wasteful government spending—all of which are good things—it also intends to enact an industrial policy to bolster US manufacturing, using interventionist tools such as tariffs, subsidies, Buy American rules, and similar commands—all of which are bad things and inherently anti-liberty. “On January 20th, as ...
Walter Olson Following my 2024 and 2022 examples, I’ve compiled this catalog of my writings, televised panels, and podcasts since December 2023 on topics of election law and process. As before, I’ve included discussions of former President Trump’s legal entanglements when they bear closely on questions of election law, as with the Jan. 6 prosecutions, but not otherwise: “Trump’s Immunity ...
Colleen Hroncich When Daniela Hindman moved to Kansas City, one of the first things she did was look for a Waldorf school. Her timing was fortunate because a group of parents had recently started a Waldorf-inspired homeschool enrichment program. “I found City of Fountains back in 2012 when I was pregnant with my son. We had just moved here from ...
Ryan Bourne In a New York Times essay just before Christmas, American Compass’s Oren Cass once again blasted economists for refusing to cheerlead Donald Trump’s tariffs. It’s the same tune he’s been humming for years: the trade deficit is a calamity (it isn’t), globalization alone sparked “deaths of despair” (not the case), trade with China is unremittingly awful for US workers (nope), ...
Andy Craig As we head into a second Trump presidency, there’s no shortage of speculation about potential constitutional crises. One scenario getting attention is the possibility that Congress could fail to complete the formal counting of electoral votes on January 6, 2025, particularly if the new House of Representatives hasn’t managed to elect a speaker after they convene at noon ...
Walter Olson The federal Voting Rights Act can be viewed, in part, as implementing the Fifteenth Amendment’s ban on denying or abridging the right to vote based on race. But in practice, the law goes much further than that, which is one reason it remains controversial. VRA lawsuits pursuing the logic of “disparate impact” often force localities to discontinue old ...
Scott Lincicome Today, President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel’s proposed acquisition of US Steel on the grounds that “there is credible evidence” the Japanese steelmaker “might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States.” What “credible evidence” might push the president of the United States to block a multi-billion dollar investment in an ailing American steel ...
Scott Lincicome Earlier this week, we published two new essays for Cato’s Defending Globalization project: “Globalization Helps Women Thrive,” by Christine McDaniel, explains that trade and foreign investment have boosted economic opportunity, living standards, and equality for women around the world. “Changing the Trade and Development Consensus,” by Douglas Irwin, examines the process by which economists Ian Little, Jagdish Bhagwati, ...
Andrew Gillen Note: This post updates last month’s post, and given recent developments will be the last monthly update. The biggest changes from last month include: The Biden administration has abandoned both parts of the Higher Education Act plan. Updated total number of borrowers and dollar amount of loan forgiveness to date. Mass student loan forgiveness is terrible policy (see this ...
Jeffrey A. Singer ProPublica has released a detailed report about the controversy surrounding the shaken baby syndrome hypothesis. Reporter Pamela Colloff chronicles the travails of Nick Flannery, an IT specialist on paternity leave who called 911 after his baby’s eyes rolled back, his body suddenly stiffened, and he lost consciousness. Paramedics revived the baby and rushed him to the hospital, ...