An odd battle erupted on social media last week when economist Ben Golub questioned whether students in his field needed to work through “classic” authors such as Adam Smith and Karl Marx to claim expertise in economics. In a viral tweet, English professor Alex Moskowitz cited Golub’s question to indict the entire field: “[E]conomics is not a real discipline…because it hasn’t properly historicized it’s own methods of knowledge production.” “[A] knowledge of the history of one’s discipline is a fundamental part of disciplinary knowledge,” Moskowitz continued, confident he had uncovered a fundamental shortcoming of the economics profession. He then likened the alleged oversight to a sociologist who had never read W.E.B Du Bois, or a psychologist unfamiliar with Sigmund Freud.
A new year often begins with new year’s resolutions (and hangovers). According to a survey performed by Statista, two of the most common resolutions Americans made this year are to lose weight and eat healthier. The two are usually related. Unfortunately, most resolutions don’t become new habits. But this year, the Food and Drug Administration is here to help.
As President-elect Trump prepares to return to the White House this January, many continue to question his choices for key cabinet positions. Perhaps his most controversial appointment so far is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (commonly referred to as RFK) as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. And a recent vaccine-related controversy is not helping.
If you were a fan of the Seinfeld television show in the 1990s or the reruns that still air and stream today, you know that Festivus is an alternative holiday celebrated by George Costanza’s father with some unique traditions. Perhaps the most notable tradition is the “airing of grievances” during the Festivus meal, in which each person tells the others all the ways they disappointed them during the past year. Here’s the clip featuring Jerry Stiller’s immortal performance introducing the practice:
The end of the calendar year traditionally represents a time when many people take stock of their personal finances. How much did your income change during the last year? How much did your spending change? What about your debt? Are you better off now than you were a year ago? What do you need to change in the next year to improve your financial situation?
The latest episode of Government Shutdown Theater did not go according to the usual script.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has long had a reputation for embodying inefficient government bureaucracy. The agency was rife with waste and inefficiencies, a condition that earned it the California Golden Fleece® Award in 2019, a project of the Independent Institute aimed at investigating and reforming the worst examples of government failure, misallocated resources, and bureaucracy in California’s state and local governments.
The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear arguments related to the controversial TikTok ban. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit previously upheld the law banning the social media platform if it is not sold to a competitor, and TikTok’s request for an injunction while it works on a response was denied. An important point to note is that the media coverage has largely misunderstood the Supreme Court’s announcement, which pertains specifically to the injunction at this time, rather than the constitutionality of the ban itself. It is an encouraging development and likely a precursor for the high court reversing the lower court’s decision. The bill is nothing less than an attack on free expression and the rule of law and sets a dangerous precedent for presidential overreach.
Government spending is going through the roof as the outgoing Biden-Harris administration cements its fiscal legacy of failure.
