Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Nima Sanandaji & Klas Tikkanen
“Since 2017, the geography of knowledge-intensive employment in Europe has been closely studied by examining the share of adults in 34 European countries and 244 regions who are employed in highly knowledge-intensive technology jobs—in other terms, roles that rely heavily on expertise, technology, and research as well as advanced information processing and cognitive skills. The results are very clear: countries in Europe with lower taxes have a higher concentration of knowledge-intensive jobs and are also where new knowledge-intensive jobs are growing.” (09/30/26)
https://fee.org/articles/lower-taxes-lead-to-knowledge-gains/
Source: hypertext
by Ryan Avent
“Rebuilding the liberal consensus requires us to go beyond the minimalist version of it.” (09/30/26)
https://hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/meaning-and-the-crisis-of-liberalism
Source: SFGate
“The Department of Justice filed a complaint Wednesday against federal judges in Minnesota over their remarks to the media related to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement surge. The complaint escalates the department’s battle with the federal judiciary, which has halted administration priorities, dismissed high-profile prosecutions and accused government lawyers in some cases of failing to comply with court orders. The department is demanding that the judges recuse themselves from all criminal or civil cases involving the Department of Homeland Security, Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters, because of what he described as ‘obvious bias they have shown’ in recent remarks to The New York Times. At issue is a September article in which seven federal judges in Minnesota — nominated by Democrats and Republican presidents — spoke on the record about their experience dealing with a flood of cases during last winter’s immigration crackdown that led to thousands of arrests.” (09/30/26)
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/justice-department-files-complaint-against-judges-22456559.php
Source: The Bulwark
by Mona Charen
“Trump had the most zealous followers of anyone this side of Osama bin Laden, and in his first term, he did a certain amount of fan service. He cracked down on illegal (and legal) immigration, made gestures toward building a wall on the southern border, cut taxes, withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and the Paris Climate Accords, and insulted and belittled everyone from Hillary Clinton to John Lewis. Was there profiteering as well? Sure. … But it was all pretty low-key compared with the sequel. In his second term, Trump has been a caricature of a plutocrat, gilding the Oval Office, grinding the White House East Wing into dust to build his garish ballroom, plastering his name on everything in his line of sight, issuing commemorative coins with his face on them, and vacuuming up wealth for himself and his family on a scale that has never been seen in American history.” (09/30/26)
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-populist-image-is-dead-corrupt-greed-abuse-midterms
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“Looking into the controversy over Ritalin and related drugs for controlling ADHD I was struck by a puzzle. Currently, about twelve percent of children are diagnosed with ADHD; those so diagnosed are widely claimed to be unable to function in a classroom without medication. The number is twice what it was thirty years ago.” (09/30/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-ritalin-puzzle
Source: Politico
“Romania’s parliament rejected Siegfried Mureșan’s attempt to form a government Wednesday, deepening a crisis that began when the coalition collapsed in May. President Nicușor Dan, an independent moderate, proposed MEP Mureșan for the job — but lawmakers in Bucharest refused to back his candidacy in a crunch vote Wednesday. It is the second time parliament has formally voted down Dan’s nominee, and under Romania’s constitution that means a snap election is now a possibility. But Dan does not want to dissolve parliament for a national vote that would likely benefit the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party, which is currently ahead in the polls. He wants the feuding political leaders to put aside their differences and make a deal to support a new coalition.” (09/30/26)
https://www.politico.eu/article/romanian-political-crisis-deepens-as-parliament-rejects-pm-nominee-siegfried-muresan/
Source: Washington Post
“Is AI taking Gen Z’s jobs? It’s not that simple.” (09/30/26)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/podcasts/impromptu/is-ai-taking-gen-zs-jobs-its-not-that-simple/
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie
“Britain has a million young people doing nothing. Not studying, not training, not working. The ONS counted 981,000 NEETs in April to June 2026, and 393,000 of them were unemployed and looking for work. The number has been climbing for four years. Only one EU country, Romania, now has a higher NEET rate than ours. This is not just a statistic. It is a slow waste of talent, energy and ambition. … We might limit job-seeking benefits for under-25s to six months. After that, the benefit stops and a job starts. Every young claimant still out of work at six months would be offered a fixed-term public service job. … Those who refuse the place would not receive benefit. The deal is simple. Society will not leave you idle, and you will not be paid to stay idle.” (09/30/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/putting-a-million-neets-into-work
Source: Town Hall
by John R Lott, Jr.
“Gun control advocates have condemned the Justice Department’s decision to stop criminally enforcing the nearly 60-year-old 1968 federal ban on licensed dealers selling handguns to law-abiding 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds. They say it will cause the loss of life. ‘That’s because young Americans are disproportionately likely to commit gun violence,’ claims the GIFFORDS Center’s Executive Director Emma Brown. It is true that young people commit crime at relatively high rates, but they are also more likely to be victims of crime. A 20-year-old woman facing a stalker needs protection as much as a 21-year-old woman does. Young adults also face substantial risks of becoming victims: Reported rapes are 32 percent more likely for ages 18 to 20 than for people ages 21 to 23, and the younger group’s homicide rate is 7 percent higher.” (09/30/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/johnrlottjr/2026/09/30/gun-control-advocates-really-dont-think-there-is-any-age-at-which-people-should-own-guns-n2683821
Source: Common Dreams
“A group of Senate Democrats on Wednesday pushed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to pay back the nearly $1 million in Medicare payroll taxes that he reportedly owes from his years as a hedge fund manager. In a letter to Bessent, the senators pointed to a recent court ruling clarifying the scope of a self-employment tax loophole that is widely exploited by hedge fund managers and private equity executives. During his confirmation hearing last year, Bessent cited the then-pending litigation to justify his decision not to pay $910,000 in payroll taxes he potentially owes the Internal Revenue Service, and pledged to set up ‘a reserve fund to address any contingency related to this issue.'” (09/30/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/scott-bessent-payroll-taxes
