Mike Fox We’ve all been there. You get the notification: “Package Delivered.” You head to the door, heart full of anticipation, only to find an empty porch. Years ago, while living in a duplex, I had a slightly different experience. An Amazon package of mine was mistakenly placed in my upstairs neighbor’s mailbox. Oblivious to the name on the label, ...
Romina Boccia and Ivane Nachkebia The United States is already experiencing the consequences of fiscal excess, driven in part by the growing imbalance in major entitlement programs, including Social Security. Federal interest costs now exceed spending on national defense, surpassing $1 trillion per year and projected to roughly double over the next decade as debt continues to rise. The government ...
Robert A. Levy In anticipation of our nation’s semi-quincentennial, here are my reflections—some previously published—on a dozen key questions related to America’s founding documents. 1. What foundational political question did the Declaration and the Constitution seek to answer? The essence of both documents is to establish the proper relationship between individuals and their government. The Declaration framed a two-part answer: ...
David J. Bier In March, the US government deported—or more accurately, rendered—about 240 Venezuelans from the United States to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison without trials, convictions, or due process. CBS News canceled a 60 Minutes report on the detainees this weekend, stating in part that the story required more reporting. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ...
Alex Nowrasteh American identity is based on belief in a broad creed, not on ethnicity, religion, or ancestry. That point should be uncontroversial. Yet a small, ultra-online nationalist subculture now disputes it. The dispute publicly surfaced recently after Vivek Ramaswamy’s New York Times op-ed and his speech at the Turning Point USA AmericaFest conference, which basically made that point. The wild ...
Matthew Cavedon On April 23, 2021, the City of Marco Island installed automatic license plate readers (ALPRs) at each of the three bridges connecting Marco Island to mainland Florida. These devices automatically record and archive the precise locations of every vehicle entering or leaving the island, storing that information in a database accessible to law enforcement for three years. The ...
Romina Boccia and Tyler Turman The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, served 41.7 million Americans and cost taxpayers $100 billion in fiscal year 2024. Congress established firm income and asset limits to target households with the greatest financial need. Yet, states have found a way around these rules. Through a policy called broad-based categorical eligibility ...
Matthew Cavedon America is home to less than five percent of the world’s population, yet it incarcerates almost a quarter of all prisoners. The rate of incarceration in the United States has increased almost sixfold in the last half-century. As a result, prisons are understaffed and overcrowded. This problem is particularly acute in Alabama, which has the most overcrowded prison ...
Jennifer Huddleston On December 11, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.” The order is a positive step because it recognizes the potential disruptive nature that a state patchwork of regulations could create at this critical period of AI development. It also reflects a recognition that, given the interstate nature ...
Dominik Lett Pictured left to right: Romina Boccia, Adam Michel, Dominik Lett, and Michael Cannon. On December 11, the Cato Institute hosted a Hill briefing on affordability. I was joined by my colleagues Romina Boccia, Adam Michel, and Michael Cannon to discuss a reality that most politicians in Washington would prefer to ignore: deficit spending drives up prices and reduces earnings. The ...