“Artificial intelligence has become the latest excuse for reviving one of the oldest bad ideas in economic policy: a universal basic income. Recent pieces in Newsweek, the LSE Business Review, and Fortune have all helped push the idea that AI may soon wipe out so many jobs that Washington will need to send everyone a check. That makes for a catchy headline. It also makes for terrible economics.” (03/20/26)
“A government takeover of the health insurance industry is on the verge of its second moment in the spotlight. Its first test in the glare came during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. It didn’t go well: Candidates first endorsed the idea, also called ‘single-payer,’ and then had to retreat when others scrutinized it. If any of its current enthusiasts gets close to a competitive general election — as Platner and El-Sayed could — the party could relive that experience. That’s because Medicare-for-all’s political and policy deficiencies become impossible to ignore as soon as the debate moves beyond slogans.” (30/20/26)
“If Missouri voters get to decide whether to adopt new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump, the ballot proposal presented to them won’t say a word about gerrymandering. A state judge on Friday ordered a new, toned-down description of the redistricting plan after Missouri’s Republican secretary of state acknowledged that he had crafted an unfair summary likely to create bias for the new districts by describing the old ones as ‘gerrymandered.’ … it remains to be seen whether the referendum actually will occur this November. Election officials are still in the process of verifying whether opponents gathered enough valid petition signatures. And the state Supreme Court is considering a separate lawsuit seeking to invalidate the new map based on assertions that mid-decade redistricting isn’t allowed under the state constitution.” (03/20/26)
“For 30 years, Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act has protected online speech, shielding platforms from liability for content posted by third parties. Basically, comments sections, discussion boards, and social media are made possible by that law. But Section 230 has long suffered attacks from people who don’t like what they see published in the digital world. This week, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee heard arguments from both those who favor maintaining the current free environment for online speech and those who want to roll it back or outright repeal its protections.” (03/20/26)
“DC cops assisted the DOGE boys in breaking into the United States Institute of Peace office in March 2025 — and now journalist Marisa Kabas of the Handbasket has obtained their body cam footage from that day. She tells Trent and Caitlin how she did it, and they discuss the total disregard for life, law, and locked doors that was on display that day, as well as the frustrating events following Marisa’s FOIA success.” (03/20/26)
“The current population reality is the opposite of what the Ehrlichs said it would be. All over the world, except for places in Africa, legacy populations are declining. In the United States, our population would be declining were it not for immigration. Elsewhere, the replication rate is plummeting — and it’s not just the West, but in China and Taiwan; both Koreas, as different as they are; and in Japan. Without growing populations, our modern (if jury-rigged) social safety net pension systems are jeopardized, as is the possibility of finding caregivers to aging-and-dying populations. We cannot blame it all on Ehrlich of course. There are many factors at work. But is it possible to be more wrong than he was?” (03/20/26)
