Source: American Institute for Economic Research
by Thomas Savidge
“This explainer examines the relationship between federal, state, and local governments shaped by transfers and the incentives they create.” (05/20/26)
https://aier.org/article/how-federal-transfers-undermine-freedom/
Source: USA Today
by Chris Brennan
“There’s a growing trend of American voters breaking up with American political parties. A Gallup survey in January found that 45% of Americans identify as political independents. And now their voter registrations are starting to reflect that. But in Pennsylvania, voters must be registered as a Democrat or a Republican to cast ballots in a closed-party primary. That means that only registered Democrats in Pennsylvania’s 3rd District were the only Philadelphians who got to vote on May 19 for a new representative in the House.” [editor’s note: What? Only members of a particular party get to choose that party’s candidates? The horror! This guy wants “open primaries.” How about NO primaries, the parties choose their candidates, all parties and candidates get equal, open ballot access (by eliminating government control of ballot printing), “problem” solved – TLK] (05/20/26)
Source: The Bleeding Heart Libertarian
by Matt Zwolinski
“Is Peter Thiel a Real Libertarian?” (05/20/26)
https://bleedingheartlibertarian.substack.com/p/family-resemblance
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Bolivia’s President Rodrigo Paz faces a deepening crisis as widespread protests and blockades leave the political capital under siege less than six months after he took office. Two weeks of road closures – spearheaded by the Bolivian Workers’ Central, COB, peasant unions and miners – have emptied markets in La Paz and depleted vital hospital oxygen reserves. The government reported that at least three people died after emergency vehicles were blocked from reaching medical centres. On Monday, supporters of Bolivia’s influential ex-president Evo Morales clashed with police in the capital city as they joined multiple sectors demanding the resignation of the president, who lacks both a legislative majority and a robust political party to anchor his administration.” (05/20/26)
Source: The Fifth Column
“The Youngest Guy in the Worst Room in America w/ Rep. Maxwell Frost.” (05/20/26)
https://www.wethefifth.com/p/the-youngest-guy-in-the-worst-room
Source: Lisa Liberty
by Lisa Liberty
“For years, automation has primarily threatened physical labor. Factory workers worried about robots. Cashiers worried about self-checkout kiosks. But something has certainly changed with artificial intelligence. For the first time in modern history, the jobs most vulnerable to replacement are not manual labor jobs, but cognitive ones. The people at greatest risk are not welders or electricians, but office workers, analysts, coders, marketers, accountants, journalists, support staff, designers, and countless others whose jobs exist primarily on a screen. … While technology has always disrupted labor markets, this transition feels different because of its scale and speed. Previous industrial revolutions still required massive amounts of human labor to operate the new systems being created. AI, by contrast, will increasingly remove the need for human labor altogether in many sectors. That leaves us with some hard questions society still seems reluctant to seriously confront: What happens next?” (05/20/26)
Source: National Review
“300 Episodes to Defend a Free & Virtuous Society.” (05/19/26)
Source: Antiwar.com
by Edward Hasbrouck
“The garbage-in, garbage-out process of automated and involuntary registration won’t produce a list that’s complete, accurate, or fit for the purpose of reliably and provably delivering induction orders. But it will allow war planners to continue to pretend that a draft is available as a fallback, so they don’t have to consider whether enough Americans will fight the wars they are planning, even if they prove bloodier than expected. And it will produce a list that’s vulnerable to misuse and weaponization. … The attempt at ‘automatic’ draft registration will inevitably be a fiasco. The only way to head it off is to end draft registration entirely. That won’t happen unless Congress feels public pressure — soon.” (05/20/26)
Source: The Daily Economy
by Lydia Mashburn Newman
“Kevin Warsh enters the Fed chairmanship facing sticky inflation, rising energy costs, and strong consumer demand. Prompt action may help avoid politically explosive rate hikes.” (05/20/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/warsh-inherits-a-fed-caught-between-inflation-and-trump/
Source: CNBC
“The days of going to college to secure a lucrative career are over, as skilled trade workers have seen a 30% wage bump in the past few years, the CEO of the world’s largest recruitment firm told CNBC. Sander van’t Noordende, CEO of Dutch staffing giant Randstad, recommended the skilled trades career track to young people in an interview on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box Europe’ on Wednesday. … Specialized skilled trade roles are now offering salaries that compete with traditional office jobs, with wage growth up 30% in the U.S. in the past four years, up 21% in the Netherlands, 18% in Germany, and 9% in the U.K, according to Randstad’s latest data shared with CNBC.” (05/20/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/20/ai-skills-randstad-college-trades-jobs-pay-bump.html