Politics

The Economics of ‘Mending Wall’3
- Politics, Economics
- January 17, 2023
Mending Wall, the endearing 1914 poem by Robert Frost, offers important lessons about economics and cooperation. While the poem contains lessons about balancing tolerance and acceptance, modernity and tradition, and perhaps the efficacy of national borders, it remains open to interpretation. The surface-level message, repeated twice in the poem, is that “good fences make good neighbors,” which
READ MORE
Why Reparations Make No Sense 14
- Politics, History
- January 13, 2023
Among many tell-tale signs of the tectonic fissures dividing the nation, perhaps the most telling is the call by prominent Democrats and others for reparations. A recent proposal by California governor Gavin Newsom calling for reparation payments of a potential $223,200 per black resident pushes the matter once again to the fore. Reparations refers to
READ MORE
While We Were Sleeping, the CCP Was Waging War 4
- International, Politics
- January 13, 2023
For at least two decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has waged unrestricted warfare against the United States. In 1999, two Chinese air force colonels wrote Unrestricted Warfare, a guide proposing 24 types of warfare—ways to undermine or defeat a superior power, often without firing a shot. “The first rule of unrestricted warfare,” stated one
READ MORE

How Illegal Immigration Perpetuates Poverty 4
- Politics, International
- January 12, 2023
Immigration remains not only one of our nation’s most pressing issues but also one of the most divisive. The common media narrative boils this topic down to say that progressives are kind and welcoming to those experiencing hardship while conservatives are cold-hearted monsters. Sadly, this narrative hides a much more sinister reality: Charitable immigration can
READ MORE
Southwest Meltdown: End Airline Corporate Welfare 0
- Politics, Economics
- January 12, 2023
Southwest Airlines experienced an enormous meltdown over the Christmas holiday week last month, cancelling thousands of flights, and losing track of—or outright losing—countless pieces of luggage. The airline was full of excuses, of course. As has become fashionable for government and corporate screw-ups, airline management attempted to blame Covid for staffing problems. Southwest also blamed
READ MORE
Goodhart’s Law Explains Education Decay 0
- Politics, Education
- January 11, 2023
Everywhere in education, you see incentives at work. The incentives, though, are so far removed from the actual goals of education that they produce perverse results. Goodhart’s Law is usually stated, “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” Economics textbooks often use the allegory of a maker of nails,
READ MORE