Category: Policy
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Tenure protects bad teachers more than free speech
Tenure was designed to protect academic freedom, but in K-12 and parts of higher education it now mostly insulates underperformers from accountability.
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Student loan forgiveness was regressive and progressives won’t admit it
Broad student loan forgiveness disproportionately benefited higher earners. Here’s why progressives’ reluctance to acknowledge the math undermines their own goals.
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The IRS needs more funding, not less
Cutting IRS funding sounds like small government, but the math points the other way. Audit yields, compliance, and tax fairness all suffer when staff shrinks.
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Short-term rentals are killing housing supply
Zoning gets the blame for housing shortages, but Airbnb-style rentals have quietly removed millions of homes from the long-term market in tourist cities.
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Employment-at-will makes the US an outlier and not in a good way
Most developed nations require cause to fire workers. The US stands alone in defaulting to at-will employment, and the costs are larger than usually admitted.
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Tenure is the only thing keeping universities from becoming corporations
Tenure is criticized from every direction, but it remains the structural feature that keeps universities from operating purely as market entities.
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California fire insurance refusals are economic redlining
When insurers withdraw from California fire zones en masse, the effect mirrors historical redlining — collapsing property values and exposure for whole communities.
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Withholding is a behavioral trick the government uses to keep you docile
Tax withholding feels normal, but it was designed to make taxes painless and politically invisible. The behavioral economics behind it are worth understanding.
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Medicare for All would destroy the best parts of American medicine
Single-payer reform addresses real failures, but it would also dismantle the research, specialty care, and innovation pipeline that American medicine actually does well.
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Child support formulas are decades out of date
State child support guidelines were built for a different economy. The formulas misprice modern custody, healthcare costs, and dual-earner households.