Student Loan Borrowers Get Deeper in Debt from Pause in Payments
Monday June 5, 2023 | Craig Eyermann

A remarkable new working paper shows the household finances of student loan borrowers have become more burdened by debt during the last three years. Although many have been excused from making payments since 2020, many of these borrowers responded to that relief by taking out other kinds of loans. (more…)

Constitutional Rights at Stake: Assessing California’s Gun Legislation AB-28 and SB-2
Friday June 2, 2023 | K. Lloyd Billingsley

The California Assembly recently passed Assembly Bill 28, the “Gun Violence Prevention, Healing, and Recovery Act,” authored by Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, Woodland Hills Democrat. Under this measure, commencing on July 1, 2024, the state will “impose an excise tax in the amount of 11 percent of the gross receipts from the retail sale in this state of a firearm, firearm precursor part, and ammunition.”  (more…)

Misinformation Is a Word We Use to Shut You Up
Wednesday May 31, 2023 | Daniel B. Klein

Writing at Discourse, published by the Mercatus Center, Martin Gurri describes “disinformation” as follows: (more…)

The Debt Ceiling Deal
Tuesday May 30, 2023 | Craig Eyermann

In January 2023, President Biden pledged he would not negotiate with the incoming Republican-controlled House of Representatives over the U.S. government’s statutory debt ceiling. (more…)

The Supreme Court’s Watershed 9-0 Ruling
Tuesday May 30, 2023 | K. Lloyd Billingsley

In a 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the property of Chantell and Mike Sackett is not the waterways of the United States containing wetlands protected by the Clean Water Act of 1972. The Idaho couple’s property, where they prepared to build a home, was near a ditch that fed into Priest Lake. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) demanded that the Sacketts restore the site, threatening to fine them $40,000 per day. The Sacketts contended that their property was not the waterways of the United States (WOTUS). In their 9-0 ruling on May 25, the court agreed. Joe Biden didn’t like it.  (more…)

A Rent Control Renaissance Is Underway in the US—and It’s Sure to Make the Housing Shortage Worse
Thursday May 25, 2023 | Jack Elbaum

If one needed any more proof that rent control laws suppress investment in new housing, then it is not necessary to look any further than this recent survey from the National Apartment Association. They found that “Over 70% of housing providers say rent control impacts their investment and development plans; actions include reducing investments, shifting plans to other markets, and canceling plans altogether.” (more…)

Eliminating the Debt Ceiling: Is There Anything the 14th Amendment Can’t Do?
Wednesday May 24, 2023 | Robert E. Wright

The Biden administration threatens to invoke Section 4 of the Fourteenth Amendment to sidestep the longstanding federal debt ceiling in a way that would increase the power of the executive branch. Although largely responsible for the modern debt ceiling, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) would be proud. A US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) case decided in FDR’s first term in office, Perry v. United States (294 U.S. 330, 1935), nevertheless brings Biden’s position into serious question. (more…)