Source: Free Association
by Sheldon Richman

“Congress long ago began to create independent agencies — the so-called alphabet agencies — with the power to regulate our peaceful pursuits. As many people have long pointed out, Congress has in effect illegally created a fourth branch of government by fiat, not by constitutional amendment, which seems to be required. That needs to be reversed — but not autocratically, unless a specific statute permits it. The new president has been signing executive orders apace. Some of them are to be applauded (for instance, the end of DEI, the ban on censorship); but some not so much (the attempted abolition of constitutionally acknowledged birthright citizenship). He’s done some of this by declaring national emergencies, which is doubly worrying. The record of governments abusing people after declaring emergencies is horrible.” (02/14/25)

https://sheldonfreeassociation.blogspot.com/2025/02/tgif-emergency-emergency.html

Source: Town Hall
by Duggan Flanakin

“When New York Governor Kathy Hochul, whose state has banned natural gas pipelines because of ‘climate change’, goes all in for nuclear energy, you know the revolution is under way. For decades, the anti-nuclear movement moved from protesting nuclear weapons to oppose nuclear energy as well. But not today. Gov. Hochul, in an adjunct to her state of the state speech in January, said her administration supports a grant request by Constellation Energy for federal funding to build one or more small modular nuclear reactors at its Nine Mile Point site in Oswego. Constellation’s four New York State reactors provide about a fifth of the state’s electricity. Hochul’s announcement dovetailed the release of a state ‘Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies,’ crafted by the Brattle Group for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.” (02/15/25)

https://townhall.com/columnists/dugganflanakin/2025/02/15/the-future-of-clean-energy-looks-increasingly-nuclear-n2652144

Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille

“More than one issue boosted Donald Trump ahead of main rival Kamala Harris and back into the White House, but inflation was key among them. A federal spending spree diminished the purchasing power of the dollar and sent prices higher, inducing sticker shock among Americans that influenced their choices on Election Day. Now we’re seeing indications that inflation is back, and the new administration will have to live up to promises to bring the cost of living under control.” (02/14/25)

https://reason.com/2025/02/14/trump-may-have-to-grapple-with-returning-inflation/

Source: The Daily Economy
by Jason Sorens

“‘Free’ parking has a huge cost. That’s the message that UCLA planning professor Donald Shoup, who died last week, took to the world. He lived to see his research gain credibility and influence, bit by bit, until just a few years ago a nationwide parking reform movement burst onto the scene and started winning policy victories. Shoup was trained as an engineer and an economist, but he made his mark in urban planning, which he taught at UCLA for over four decades. He is best known for his 2005 book, The High Cost of Free Parking, published when he was 66 years old.” (02/14/25)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/donald-shoups-crusade-to-reimagine-urban-parking/

Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton

“Several of us here at TPOL have been chided by family and friends because we ‘hate’ public schools. Of course, it is difficult to briefly explain to someone the failings, risks, and consequences of public schools – or as we more accurately call them: government-run, tax-funded (GRTF) schools. (And when particularly irritated with them, ‘government-ruined, theft-funded’ institutions. Especially when people assume that (a) being opposed to GRTF schools is hatred of them, the teachers, the parents that send their children to them … and sometimes the children themselves. We here at TPOL do oppose GRTF schools – very much so. To some people, our opposition may seem to be so strong as to constitute hate. But one of the many reasons we opposed these institutions in out of love.” (02/14/25)

https://thepriceofliberty.org/2025/02/14/public-schools-again-demonstrate-their-dangers/

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“The fog of war is a good analogy for what has transpired the past few days in the federal workforce. After getting a favorable ruling to move forward, the so-called ‘deferred resignation’ program closed Wednesday night, with 75,000 workers signing up. This represents about three percent of federal employees, short of the administration’s goal of 5-10 percent. Some agencies saw higher pickup, like the eight percent of staff at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation who opted for it. But some IRS employees who took the offer were then told they had to stay until May 15 because their jobs were ‘essential’ to tax filing season. It’s the first documented shenanigan of a program that is still being challenged in court.” (02/15/25)

https://prospect.org/labor/2025-02-15-federal-employee-red-wedding-firings-government/