Policy

A Brief History of a Bullheaded President

Franklin Foer’s new book about Joe Biden reveals a president whose ambitions have exceeded his mandate.

Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela, Explained

Almost 500,000 additional migrants will be able to legally live and work in the United States.

Americans’ Grim Views of the Decent U.S. Economy Are Perfectly Understandable

High prices for food and gas and elevated interest rates are more visible than more encouraging big-picture indicators.

A Historically Bad Day for Kevin McCarthy

Plus: How one New Jersey senator’s alleged crime could benefit Sweden’s NATO bid.

It Didn’t Start with the Jones Act

Maritime protectionism has a long and stupid history.

Has the Medicare Cost Problem Gone Away?

Focusing on per capita expenditures ignores many factors that push costs both up and down.

Subprime Donny

‘I paid them back’ is not a defense when it comes to defrauding banks.

Congress Avoids a Shutdown

After pushing through a last-minute stopgap measure to keep the government open, Kevin McCarthy’s speakership may be at risk.

A Madisonian Proposal for Filibuster Reform

It’s possible to restore the Senate to a place of cool, reasoned deliberation.

Who Wants to Buy a Monorail?

The soft utopianism of easy choices.

Shutdown Incoming

Breaking down lawmakers’ options for breaking the stalemate.

The Impending Government Shutdown Is Nothing but Theater

The loudest Republicans have failed to produce any coherent strategy to rein in deficits.

How Well Is Rural America Doing? You’d Be Surprised

Elizabeth Currid-Halkett’s ‘The Overlooked Americans’ rejects grim depictions of rural life.

Getting Real About the Family

We are in a self-perpetuating cycle of intergenerational inequality, and too many Americans are just fine with the root cause.

Fiscal Wishes Meet Shutdown Realities

A government shutdown won’t actually improve America’s fiscal trajectory.

The UAW (and Bidenomics) vs. Economic Reality

How policy fuels a needless conflict that may have no long-term winners.