Adam N. Michel You’ve probably heard the claim that fossil fuels are heavily subsidized by the federal government. The Biden administration estimated there were at least $35 billion of fossil fuel subsidies in the tax code alone. Elon Musk recently expressed a similar sentiment, insinuating that oil and gas receive subsidies comparable to those received by electric vehicles and solar. ...

Jeffrey A. Singer The American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP) launched its Practice Advancement Initiative (PAI) in 2010 and updated it in 2020 with PAI2030. PAI 2030 is the ASHP’s initiative to improve how people access and use medications by expanding pharmacists’ roles in patient care, promoting the use of data and technology, and strengthening pharmacists’ leadership in safe medication use. The ASHP ...

Jeffrey Miron In a rare twist, Elizabeth Warren and Donald Trump agree on one thing: the United States should repeal the federal debt limit. They have a good point; the debt limit is an ineffective “solution” to a real but oft-mischaracterized problem. That problem is not the debt per se. Any economic entity—whether a consumer, business, or government—can sensibly take on debt ...

Neal McCluskey About three months ago, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling on the US Secretary of Education to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.” After initially generating much attention, the drive to end the department has been overtaken by ...

Matt Mittelsteadt In recent weeks, the specifics of Congress’s proposed state AI regulatory moratorium have dominated AI policy discussions. Because it’s unclear if this specific approach can pass congressional muster, it’s essential to keep focused on the underlying “why”—regulatory harmonization.  This year, a steady drumbeat of state legislatures has passed AI regulations. What was once a small regulatory club has ...

David J. Bier Last week, the Cato Institute published new, nonpublic data showing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is mostly detaining noncriminals and that most arrested immigrants with criminal convictions are not violent offenders. Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request by Depor​ta​tion​Da​ta​.org, a group that gathers FOIA data on ICE arrests, another dataset has become available, confirming ...

David J. Bier Last week, the Cato Institute published new, nonpublic data showing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is mostly detaining non-criminals and that most arrested immigrants with criminal convictions are not violent offenders. Thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request by Depor​ta​tion​Da​ta​.org, a group that gathers FOIA data on ICE arrests, another dataset has become available, confirming ...

Thomas A. Berry The Trump administration has taken actions to withhold billions of dollars in contracts from Harvard University unless the institution both adopts governance structures approved by the administration and engages in affirmative efforts to promote underrepresented conservative viewpoints on campus. Harvard has now sued the Trump administration, arguing that these conditions violate the First Amendment (among other claims). ...

Jeffrey A. Singer In recent testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty A. Makary, MD, said he favored streamlining the agency’s approval process for biosimilar drugs. Analogous to generic drugs that compete with conventional, chemically synthesized pharmaceuticals, biosimilar drugs compete with biologic medicines, which are derived from natural sources, are complex, and may contain combinations ...

Walter Olson Number eleven in our series of occasional roundups on election law and policy: New York City’s Democratic primary Tuesday has put a spotlight on ranked choice voting. As I often say, RCV has no intrinsic tilt toward left or right, but tends to improve the fit between voters’ overall preferences whatever they may be and the pick. While ...