Nevada’s Bet on the Oakland A’s Is Causing Buyer’s Remorse

There are some big signs that the people of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada are getting genuine buyer’s remorse over the Oakland Athletics.

Stock Traders in Congress Beat the Market Again

2023 was a good year for the stock market. CNN reported the year’s performance stats for the three most well-known U.S. stock market indices.

States’ Rights Resurgence: Greg Abbott and the Constitutional Compact

I am generally a fan of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s sparring with the Biden administration over the collapse of the southern border. As noted by the House Oversight Committee, “The Biden Administration sparked the worst border crisis in American history and placed Americans’ lives at risk by abandoning deterrent-focused immigration policies and proven border enforcement tools.” Estimates differ, but at least 10 million illegal aliens have entered the United States during Biden’s term in office. As I have pointed out elsewhere, although we assume the federal government is constitutionally entitled to superintend immigration matters, the Constitution is—at a minimum—murky on this matter. 

The Black Cloud in Jobs Growth’s Silver Lining

“Jobs Growth Defies Expectations” blares a WSJ headline on the front page of the paper’s first-weekend edition of February 2024.

Total Interest on U.S. National Debt Now Exceeds $1 Trillion a Year

Sustaining the U.S. national debt has become very expensive thanks to rising interest rates. The annual cost of paying the gross interest on the national debt now exceeds one trillion dollars. That cost has almost doubled during the last three years.

The Plastic Bag Racket
Banning single-use plastic bags doesn’t help the environment – and may even make things worse

Single-use plastic bag bans have been all the rage for the past 20 years or so, but, as is often the case with environmental laws, proponents have vastly overstated the benefits of doing so and understated the costs. It is another example where doing something is considered better than doing nothing—even if the results end up being more harmful in the end.

The Limitations of OPEC

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is reputed to be a powerful force in world energy markets, and recently Russia has conspired with OPEC to raise energy prices. The OPEC cartel, led by Saudi Arabia, tried to exploit its monopoly power in 2023 by reducing production. It enjoyed temporary success as its revenue increased from selling a lower quantity of oil at a higher price. However, non-OPEC competitors reacted to the new profit opportunity with such a vigorous supply response that the costs of crude oil and energy substitutes were lower at the end of 2023 than at the beginning of the year. Competition dominated monopoly.

The Canadian Government’s Ministry of Truth

In 2019, during the Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner, Justin Trudeau spoke about media bias:

You sometimes hear about liberal bias in the media these days—how they’re constantly letting our government off the hook for no good reason. Frankly, I think that’s insulting. It’s clear that they let us off the hook for a very good reason: Because we pay them $600 million. You don’t get stellar headlines like these without greasing the wheels a bit.

Immigration Fiasco: Texas Loses SCOTUS Battle but Could Win the War

On Monday, SCOTUS handed the Biden administration a victory in the feud with Texas over immigration. In a short order, the Court vacated an injunction prohibiting federal border patrol agents from cutting razor wire installed by the state on its border with Mexico. Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, and Kavanaugh dissented. In pending litigation, the administration contends that the wire encumbers and endangers illegal aliens crossing into the United States and that it hinders the border patrol in performing official functions. Texas argues it is simply protecting itself from an invasion, the smuggling of dangerous contraband, and transnational criminal activity.

Did Healthcare Spending Really Return to Pre-Pandemic Levels?

2022 was hardly a year of fiscal austerity. Monetary expansion from years before resulted in 8 percent inflation. Congress passed a $1.7 trillion omnibus package and pledged $45 billion in support to Ukraine. The United States also spent nearly $170 billion in public health efforts in 2022 alone, despite President Biden’s statement that the COVID-19 pandemic was over

  • Catalyst
  • Beyond Homeless
  • MyGovCost.org
  • FDAReview.org
  • OnPower.org
  • elindependent.org