Not Jonesing for the Jones Act

Just a few years ago, very few people knew or discussed the Jones Act. Now everyone is talking about it. In a colossal but somewhat predictable fiasco, while Puerto Rico was being pummeled by Hurricane Fiona, the Jones Act prevented a cargo ship from docking off its coast to deliver some 300,000 barrels of much-needed diesel fuel. Continue Reading...

Making community college free has hidden costs

Education is the great equalizer. And a college education is one of the greatest ways to sharpen our unique gifts and talents before entering the workforce. President Joe Biden has proposed offering two years of free community college for any American, but here’s the problem: Making community college “free” guarantees more associates degrees — but it almost certainly won’t translate to a more equitable, high-achieving society. Continue Reading...

Healing the broken spirit of California

It’s been barely a month since California reopened, and some counties are already beginning to reinstate mask mandates, even for fully vaccinated residents. This is but the latest pivot in California’s ongoing response to the pandemic, marked by constant bureaucratic whiplash and a flood of social, economic, and political crises. Continue Reading...

America suffers from economic nationalism

One of the biggest political upheavals in America over recent years has been a resurgence in economic nationalism. Given the amount of regulation with which it is burdened, America’s economy can hardly be described as laissez-faire. Continue Reading...

Against trade wars as class wars

Debates between free-traders and protectionists routinely devolve into competing variations of class warfare – each claiming the cause of the “common man” against a wealthy and entrenched elite. Whereas protectionists argue that trade liberalization primarily benefits the rich, displacing disproportionate numbers of working-class employees, free-traders rush to the defense of working-class consumers, whose pocketbooks are undoubtedly harmed by tariffs and restrictions. Continue Reading...

A free-market ‘green revolution’

Mankind has an unquestionable obligation to protect the environment. As Pope Benedict XVI explained in the encyclical Caritas in Veritate, “the environment is God’s gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have a responsibility towards the poor, towards future generations, and towards humanity as a whole.” Continue Reading...

Nun: Abortion-funding stimulus is ‘the faithful answer’ to COVID-19

The Senate passed the “American Rescue Plan” on Saturday without the Hyde Amendment, a legislative rider that protects taxpayers from having to fund abortion-on-demand. However, a prominent Roman Catholic nun has celebrated the $1.9 trillion stimulus package, calling on “every single member of Congress” to vote for it and saying the abortion-funding measure makes strides toward “ending child poverty.” Continue Reading...