“Back when George W. Bush was doing his big drive to privatize Social Security, I got upset because he was using bogus numbers that grossly exaggerated what his private accounts would yield. The basic story was that his team assumed that stocks would provide the same returns they had in prior decades, even though the price-to-earnings ratios in the stock market were far higher than in the past, and projected GDP and profit growth were much lower. Given the assumptions being used on profit growth, their assumptions on returns were virtually impossible. To illustrate this point, I developed the ‘No Economist Left Behind Test.’ … If the Bush Team could get away with promising an impossible bonanza from their accounts, privatization would look much better than it actually is. It was important to set the record straight.” (05/15/26)
“As we celebrate America at 250, there is a part of our founding in the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Clause 2), about which some on the left gnash their teeth — the Electoral College. For example, a few days ago, a former Biden administration official asked publicly, ‘What if we selected our President by letting the person who got the most votes take the office, instead of the Electoral College?’ … Meanwhile, many blue states, including just recently Virginia, have signed on to a compact to try and effectively nullify the Electoral College.” [editor’s note: To make the EC relevant to today, they only need to follow the lead of Maine and Nebraska, and DECENTRALIZE it – SAT] (05/16/26)
“America is in long-term decline, but it has proved more resilient than critics allow. But China too now encounters unmistakable problems. The US is growing, but saddled with burgeoning debt – and China also has trouble brewing in that domain. Of course, Trump faces domestic dissent – but so, in a very different form, does the CCP. China has long had too much housing built, is heavily indebted and is hurtling towards a demographic cliff.” (05/15/26)
Source: Exiled Policy
by Jason Pye & Eric Harrison
“Of course, Congress needs to find a way to ease the pain Americans feel at the pump. This is why it was so critical for lawmakers to exercise their constitutional and statutory powers to stop the military action against Iran, which led to higher gas prices. Unfortunately, Americans are paying the price for that military action in more ways than just higher gas prices.” (05/15/26)
“The opportunity for government interference grows because of fear. Which is no doubt one reason that certain groups of people encourage and do the fearmongering. Wealth and power is a constant theme.” (05/15/26)
“In their otherwise valuable new book, two prominent professors acknowledge the need for diverse viewpoints on campuses but don’t offer a cure for intellectual uniformity.” (05/15/26)
“‘Gerrymandering’ is the historic term for politicians picking their voters by manipulating congressional and state electoral districts. Redistricting usually happens every 10 years. It is fair to say that most voters don’t want politicians rigging the system to help one party win elections. Both the Republican and Democratic parties have played this partisan gerrymandering game for years. Recently, the Republicans have become more ruthlessly partisan and have outpaced the Democrats. That is why, for example, in Pennsylvania, Democrats substantially outvote the Republicans but have fewer seats in the House of Representatives. In the past year, the gerrymandering race has run amok. It was ignited by Tyrant Trump, who told his buddy Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to break with the decennial tradition and get the GOP legislature this year to redistrict Texas to knock out four or five Democrats who are now in Congress.” (05/16/26)
“Presidential power is now running rogue. Congress needs to push back at its roots and use the War Powers Resolution of the 1970s to end both the Iran War and the continuing War on Terror. The president’s own party is paralyzed by congressional members’ fear that an adverse tweet from Trump will end their political careers, even though there should be strength in numbers to do the right thing. However, many should be even more frightened that the American people will fire them in November if they don’t act to end this pointless war of choice now.” (05/15/26)
“The pardon power is different from other constitutional powers. It is unchecked and absolute: There is no other branch of government that can interfere with a president’s pardons. The Constitution was created in the shadow of absolute royal power; it was designed to resist the corruption of such power. The division of government into three separate branches is meant to ensure a system of checks and balances on government power. From this perspective, the pardon power stands out: The unilateral pardon power looks like the last remaining remnant of royalism in the Constitution. … Do Donald Trump’s pardons give us good reason to change the rules of the Constitution? Is it time to put the brakes on solo pardon power? I think there are lessons to be learned from the president’s abuse of office.” (05/15/26)
“The golden age of airline service was also an era of restriction and high prices. From deregulation to the downfall of no-frills Spirit, competition exposes what travelers are truly willing to pay for.” (05/15/26)
