“aby Boomers should be remembered in domestic terms for enervating the U.S. economy with Total Boomer Luxury Communism. That generation vacuumed up current and future revenues to fund their luxe retirements, while young people struggle to find good jobs and homes while staring down a desolate future of debt and constraints. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy is very much a Boomer foreign policy, and in a similar sense. The second Trump administration has lit small fires across the world and let them burn, while accruing the costs of putting them out well into the future.” (03/05/26)
“This essay was prompted by my reading of John Passmore’s book, The Perfectibility of Man, which was first published in 1969. I read the book mainly because of James M. Buchanan’s suggestion that ‘it remains the most definitive work on the history of ideas’ relating to the extent to which classical liberalism depends on some presumption that man is perfectible.” (03/05/26)
“Congress is scrambling to insert itself into the debate over next steps in Iran. The Senate on Wednesday weighed opening up a debate about whether the conflict fits within the scope of the War Powers Act—a Vietnam-vintage law riddled with loopholes that would be unlikely to constrain this White House anyway. The House is likely to vote on similar measures. Although Congress was not included in the leadup to this conflict, many members in both chambers simply do not want to authorize this war for fear of ‘owning’ it if things go wrong. But there is a far more direct way for Congress to intervene and to show constituents it remains focused on the kitchen-table issues that decide elections: the power of the purse.” (03/05/26)
“Every time the U.S. military blows up a suspected drug boat, President Donald Trump claims, it saves ‘25,000 American lives.’ As of late January, Trump’s deadly campaign against cocaine couriers had destroyed 37 vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, killing 126 people. According to Trump’s math, he had already prevented 925,000 U.S. drug deaths — 11 times the total recorded in 2024. Although Trump has repeatedly touted that improbable estimate, the basis for it remains fuzzy. But it seems to derive from several empirical and logical errors.” (03/05/26)
Source: Niskanen Center
by Rachel Levine & Grace Olsen
“A new era of load growth will require a far more abundant supply of electricity. Yet on its current trajectory, the U.S. risks falling short of meeting rising demand. While policymakers acknowledged the scale of the challenge, last year offered little concrete progress that the gap is closing fast enough. Federal and state leaders are grappling with this issue in markedly different ways.” (03/05/26)
“The 74’s Bright Spots project identifies public schools across the country that are beating the odds in reading. Specifically, ‘Bright Spot’ schools have literacy rates that are significantly higher than what is predicted based on their student poverty rates. In other words, these schools are outperforming expectations in terms of teaching kids to read. The project is impressive in both scope and purpose. Using data from 41,883 schools across 10,414 districts in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., it shines a light on excelling schools. Too often, education debates fixate on failure. Highlighting success—and learning from it—is just as important. While there are surely all kinds of interesting tidbits in the data, in this post I want to focus on the disproportionate representation of charter schools among Bright Spots. Charter schools make up seven percent of The 74’s national sample, but 11 percent of schools identified as Bright Spots.” (03/05/26)
“President Donald Trump’s illegal, unconstitutional war on Iran is not only a moral and humanitarian disaster, but also the latest assault on our way of life. Trump and his enablers count on us to endure their ever escalating egregious abuses of power that imperil our democracy, potentially fatally. We must prove them wrong. We can and must overcome these clear and present threats to our lives, liberty, and way of life. Our Constitution cannot defend or protect itself. Not when Trump and his administration keep violating their oath to defend and protect it. It’s up to us to do that. We the People must not fail to meet this crisis. We must not let these abuses of power go unchecked. The Congress and the American people must hold Trump and all those complicit in the Trump administration accountable for their escalating attacks on the rule of law.” (03/05/26)
“‘Remember, my friends, from whom you sprang.’ Commemorating the anniversary of the Boston Massacre – March 5, 1770 – John Hancock was issuing a challenge to all of us. And he was far from alone. For 13 years, from 1771 to 1783, the Sons and Daughters of Liberty held annual events to remember, with a keynote speaker each year. These speeches provide us with an uncompromising blueprint for a free people – the foundation of the Revolution. As you read through them all, a number of themes become obvious. They tell us what they fought for – and against. And they leave us with a brutal question for today: Have we remembered, or have we let this country become a den of thieves?” (03/05/26)
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Joseph Solis-Mullen
“This flare-up, rooted in disputes over border security, militant safe havens, and the contested Durand Line, has resulted in hundreds of casualties on both sides, with Pakistan claiming to have killed over three hundred Taliban fighters and affiliated militants, while Afghanistan reports significant Pakistani losses. The conflict threatens to destabilize an already fragile region, drawing in broader geopolitical forces and underscoring the perils of unresolved historical grievances in South Asia.” (03/05/26)
“According to the World Population Review’s Cost of Living Index, the overall cost of living in Massachusetts is roughly 1.5x greater than in Louisiana. The difference in housing costs is even greater, with housing in Massachusetts about 2.3x more expensive than in Louisiana. To provide a concrete example of what this looks like, I bought my 1,200 sq ft, 2 bed 1.5 bath condo for $142,000 in August. A similar condo in Worcester, Massachusetts sold for just under $400,000 this past fall. … My position is that Massachusetts should ‘build, baby, build.’ My aunt objected, pointing out that there is a ton of building going on in Massachusetts. And she is right; some 90,000 units are under construction in the state. My response was ‘It’s still not enough housing.’ In that response, I made an Econ 101 error: I was reasoning from a quantity change.” (03/05/26)
