Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy

“The most consequential inequality in America is not the wealth gap or the wage gap. It may not be the racial opportunity gap. The marriage gap is wreaking havoc. And unfortunately, it’s the gap that gets the least attention. I’m a libertarian. I don’t care whom, or if, you marry. Yet I’m reminded that there is a problem by a new report from the American Enterprise Institute.” (04/30/26)

https://reason.com/2026/04/30/the-marriage-gap-is-americas-most-overlooked-source-of-inequality/

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“China tries to control exports of its rare earth minerals. The United States restricts certain exports of advanced computer chips. Even a few West African countries that dominate cocoa production often collude to control prices for the world’s chocolate-makers. Yet history teaches that a zero-sum mentality of resource manipulation or price-fixing among rivals often ends up pushing consumers to find creative ways to adjust. Cartels or monopolies then crack apart. The natural state of free competition in a market returns. And the notion that one can only get ahead if somebody else loses starts to recede. A good example of how mercantilism can melt away could be happening now. On Tuesday, one of the world’s top oil producers, the United Arab Emirates, announced it is quitting OPEC, along with the cartel’s stringent quota system among member states to rig global petroleum prices.” (04/29/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/0429/Righting-a-free-oil-market

Source: Electronic Frontier Foundation
by Beryl Lipton, Aaron Mackey, & Adam Schwartz

“Public records and public scrutiny of [automated license plate reader (ALPR)] programs have shown that people are harmed by these systems and that retained ALPR data violates people’s privacy. In this moment, lawmakers should not be completely cutting off access to public records that document the abuses perpetuated by ALPRs.” (04/30/26)

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/open-records-laws-reveal-alprs-sprawling-surveillance-now-states-want-block-what

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“On Wall Street, TACO — Trump Always Chickens Out — has abruptly been replaced as a favorite meme by NACHO — Not a Chance Hormuz Opens. As a result, oil futures have soared. I never bought into the TACO meme, which was initially about tariffs: Trump did not, in fact, reverse his destructive tariff policy, although he blinked in his confrontation with China. But NACHO looks right. Hormuz won’t open until the economic damage from its closure becomes much more severe.” (04/30/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-logic-of-nacho