Source: Foreign Policy
by Julian E Zelizer

“Social Security faces a major fiscal challenge. The program, which has provided retirement, survivor, and disability benefits to millions of Americans since its creation in 1935, is projected to soon cost more than its total income. The budgetary shortfall is already prompting the government to draw down reserves, which will reach unsustainable levels by the early 2030s. … In the early 1980s, Congress faced a similar crisis and acted. Although the solution that a bipartisan coalition put into place in 1983 has itself contributed to the challenges policymakers face today, the political approach they took remains instructive. Indeed, it is the only viable path forward.” (10/19/26)

https://archive.is/RiwNz

Source: Christian Science Monitor
by staff

“Expectations of a quality education and decent job prospects are common to many around the world. The notion that these are slipping away has brought young people into the streets across Asia, Africa, and Europe over the last three years. Their distress often resonates with fellow citizens who share concerns about unresponsive institutions and unethical governance. This week, for example, France began a national self-examination after youthful protests led to looting and destruction. In India, meanwhile, a Generation Z-led protest movement succeeded in forcing the resignation of the country’s education minister in July, over repeated corruption in the highly competitive national examination system. Now, that loosely organized, satirically named Cockroach Janta Party has taken on the even larger issue of election integrity in the world’s largest democracy.” (10/19/26)

https://www.csmonitor.com/Editorials/the-monitors-view/2026/1019/Indians-reach-for-an-identity-beyond-caste-and-creed

Source: Law & Liberty
by Zachary Chambers

“Originalism’s position seems unassailable, with both a majority of Supreme Court justices pledging fidelity to some variant of the theory, and tremendous institutional backing within the conservative legal world through institutions like the Federalist Society Despite this dominance, a number of conservative intellectuals and academics have for years expressed deep skepticism of originalism. A 2021 article coauthored in part by Professor Hadley Arkes labels originalism a positivist theory that ‘ignores both our broader Anglo-American tradition and the influence of natural law on our nation’s founding,’ forcing judges to act as ‘technocrats focused entirely on the text, with no attention to the underlying principles that give meaning to that text.’ This is not a new critique.” (10/19/26)

https://lawliberty.org/the-modernist-case-for-originalism/

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“Trump says that he won’t order a strike [on Iran] before the midterms. But Robert Pape, author of the Substack Escalation Trap, argues that we shouldn’t believe him — that the bombs may well drop before the midterms. And while I am not a strategic expert, I believe that Pape may well be right, because his analysis of Trump’s political position is something I recognize from financial economics. You see, it’s a well-understood proposition that the owners of businesses that are on the verge of going bust often engage in destructive behavior. And Trump is about to go bankrupt — not financially (he’s made billions through corruption) but politically. So he, like a failing businessman, has strong incentives to wreak havoc.” (10/19/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/donald-trump-is-politically-bankrupt