David Hume’s Warning on Forever Wars

Propaganda is checked by open challenge and spirited disputation. But it is hard to discuss one’s own government at war, because you might be treated as an apologist of the enemy, or even an outright enemy yourself. Propaganda is perhaps never worse than at times of war. That is when government is most likely to destroy precious domestic freedoms.

Is it Wise to Fire-Proof Education Bureaucrats?

California Senate Bill 494, authored by Fullerton Democrat Josh Newman, stipulates that “The governing board of a school district shall not take action to terminate a superintendent or assistant superintendent of the school district, or both, without cause, at a special or emergency meeting of the governing board.” In similar style, the board shall not terminate a superintendent or assistant superintendent, “within 30 days after the first convening of the governing board after a general election.” Californians might wonder what this is about. 

First Republic Bank Seized and Sold to JPMorgan Chase

On May 1, 2023, regulators seized control of First Republic Bank and sold it to JPMorgan Chase. Founded in 1985, the bank had already been struggling to stay afloat following the collapse of two other lenders in March, which had sowed seeds of worry among both depositors and investors. First Republic Bank’s shuttering has been the most recent banking domino to fall since the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and Silvergate Capital weeks prior. 

New Lessons to Learn on the Risks of Sports Stadiums

When the Oakland A’s announced they were going to leave for Las Vegas, it represented a metaphorical third strike against the city of Oakland, California. That’s because the city has already lost its NBA franchise in 2019 and its NFL franchise to Las Vegas in 2020. The A’s would be the city’s third major professional sports team to pull up stakes and strike out for what they think might be a better deal elsewhere.

Are Insulin Prices About to Drop? The Devil is in the Details

On March 1st, 2023, Eli Lilly announced in a news release it plans to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs for patients using many of its insulins to $35. These dramatic price cuts aim to make a vital medication for people with diabetes needing it to manage their blood glucose and prolong their lives more affordable. As Eli Lilly Chair and CEO David Rick stated

Controlled Economies are Failed Economies
Lessons from California’s $30 billion unemployment heist

By an 11-10 vote, Biden labor secretary nominee Julie Su has advanced out of committee. While a vote of the full Senate awaits, workers and taxpayers might take stock of what Su leaves behind, the fallout from some $30 billion in unemployment fraud on her watch. John Kabatek, California state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), traces it back to the pandemic. 

To Caesar, What Is Caesar’s, and to the Argentinians, the Dollar

Argentina must be one of the few places on the planet where, along with the time, temperature, and humidity, the radio stations report the price of the dollar every half hour. This exhausting concern for knowing the price of the U.S. currency originates in decades of monetary and economic disasters that have made Argentines choose it as a unit of account for their transactions in the market and a refuge of value when thinking about their future.

Washington D.C.’s Excessive Spending Bill Comes Due

It was time to file federal income tax returns for 2022 last week. Brian Riedl calculates what the average cost is projected to be for an American household before dropping the hammer.

Julie Su, AB-5 Supporter and Inexperienced Nominee, Faces Criticism for Handling of California’s Unemployment Program

In a weak economy, with inflation rising, few American workers had time to watch Biden labor secretary nominee Julie Su field questions from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee last week. Fortunately, Katy Grimes of the California Globe provides a detailed report.

Brazil’s Lula da Silva and His Troubling Friends

There is a difference between expanding commercial ties with other countries irrespective of their ideological persuasion, preparing for the day when the US dollar will not be the reserve currency of the world or pursuing a foreign policy not beholden to Washington, and sending every signal that your affinities lie with powerful dictators with geopolitical ambitions, justifying the worst aspects of those regimes, facilitating their insertion in your region and directing a significant amount of public hostility against western liberal democracies. Brazil’s Lula da Silva understands the difference and has consciously opted for the latter.

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