The Biden administration, spooked by inflation, sets out to change the definition of “recession,” apparently in hopes that terminology will ease the impact of disastrous spending and monetary policy. Meanwhile, the new semiconductor pork bill, “The Chips Act” subsidizes big business at the expense of taxpayers and consumers. Also, Dr. Fauci now tells us that if he had it to do all over again, he’d insist on even more draconian lockdowns and restrictions.

A new bill subsidizing the U.S. semiconductor industry is unnecessary says Sr. Fellow Benjamin Powell. The only reason more products are able to use semiconductors is because of foreign trade, not government handouts and playing favorites, he says. The $52 billion subsidy bill is just a pig dressed up in high-tech clothes, Powell writes in an Op-Ed in The Hill.

Research Fellow Craig Eyermann is interviewed on the Shaun Thompson show on WIND radio in Chicago. Eyermann talks about loans made by the US government as a result of the pandemic. With little oversight there was massive fraud in the program, the extent of which may take decades to discover. $811 billion was loaned out during the Paycheck Protection Program, most of which does not have to be paid back.

Sr. Fellow Richard Vedder, author of Restoring the Promise: Higher Education in America is interviewed on the Bryan McClain show. Vedder discusses the state of higher education and student loan programs. He talks about the unintended consequences of the federal student loan program. Making it easy to get loans for college has made colleges charge more and more. The loan programs designed to solve the problem of the high cost of education has actually made college more expensive.

Sr. Fellow Ivan Eland, author of War and the Rogue Presidency: Restoring the Republic after Congressional Failure says the Founders believed Congress would be the most dominant of the three branches of government. But Ivan Eland says Congress is shirking its responsibility to legislate, instead giving power to the executive branch. Recent Supreme Court rulings have sent the signal that behemoth administrative agencies do not have the power to legislate, only congress has that power.

Sr. Fellow Stephen P. Halbrook, author of The Right to Bear Arms: A Constitutional Right of the People or a Privilege of the Ruling Class? appears on the Robert Scott Bell show and talks about the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. In a 6-3 decision, the court struck down New York state's law that required a special need in order to legally carry a concealed weapon.

The Biden administration's plan to forgive student loans would be a terrible idea, says Sr. Fellow Richard Vedder, author of Restoring the Promise: Higher Education in America. It would not be fair to those who have paid off their loans, or didn't go to college. Vedder also discusses the implications of inflation on the student loan issue and other areas of economics.

Why are there more homeless now than 10-20 years ago? Government policies have a lot to do with it, but there are several problems that lead to the increase. Mary L. G. Theroux talks about solutions to homelessness using an example that is working in San Antonio, TX. Mary has produced the documentary film Beyond Homeless: Finding Hope showing how it can be possible to solve this problem in any community.