In economics, we talk a lot about unintended consequences. It’s easy to forget that societies are complex ecosystems. Legislators often pass sweeping changes hoping to achieve one result, not realizing it will create countless other consequences not intended. Some of the unintended consequences will be positive, but many of them will not be. A case
READ MOREOn Sunday, August 9, a five-year-old white child, Cannon Hinnant, was shot in the head at point-blank range while riding his bicycle in Wilson, North Carolina. His sisters, ages seven and eight, were playing alongside him when he was murdered. Alleged shooter Darius Sessoms, a 25-year-old African American, had apparently eaten supper with the Hinnant family the
READ MOREAs of early August, 34 US states mandate the use of masks in public to limit the spread of COVID-19. The efficacy of face masks has been a subject of debate in the health community during the pandemic. Because health experts disagree on their effectiveness, countries and health agencies around the world, including the World
READ MORESometimes the simplest conversations yield the most profound insights. I discovered that the other day when I stopped to chat with our UPS delivery man. Always friendly, the two of us had some good conversations in 2019 or 2020 BC (that’s Before COVID), but we hadn’t seen each other since the great plague. When I
READ MOREEarlier this year the coronavirus pandemic caught Bernard-Henri Lévy, France’s rock-star public intellectual, overseas. He had been reporting on the plight of Lesbos, the Aegean island crowded with refugees from Syria, and then of Bangladesh, which was attempting to cope not only with COVID-19 but also Islamic extremism, hundreds of thousands of Royhingya refugees, climate
READ MOREOver the past decade, Cuba’s private sector has experienced slow-but-steady growth thanks to a mix of entrepreneurial grit and incremental policy changes. Although the Communist government continues to waffle on the scope and duration of various restrictions, the number of self-employed Cubans has risen from 150,000 to 600,000 since 2010 – that is, until the
READ MORELately I’ve been watching Donald Trump’s press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, and deputy press secretary, Hogan Gidley, argue with Fox News anchors who insist that Trump is trailing Biden in the presidential race by at least seven points – perhaps more – and is likely to be whipped in all the battleground states. Fox News celebrities
READ MOREDr. Melanie McGraw Piasecki is both a pediatrician and a mother of three who wants to see kids back in school after the COVID-19 lockdown that shuttered classrooms in the spring and is on the cusp of doing so this fall across the country. “My children did not have a particularly great experience in the
READ MOREIgnorance. Incongruity. Irresponsibility. Ineptitude. Stupidity. Sometimes willed-stupidity. Pick any combination of the above words, apply them to some of our governors and mayors, and you’ll find the moniker fits them snug as a glove. Never in my entire life have I seen so many of America’s elected officials guilty of such a massive collective failure
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