Jeffrey A. Singer On July 7, the Washington Post ran a story by Anthony Faiola and Catarina Fernandes Martins with the headline, “Once Hailed for Decriminalizing Drugs, Portugal is Now Having Doubts.” The authors report that Portuguese policymakers are beginning to doubt the country’s landmark drug decriminalization
Jennifer Huddleston For the millions of consumers who enjoy the benefits of their Amazon Prime membership, Amazon’s annual Prime Day has effectively become a new Black Friday in July. But while Prime Day may be a chance to grab a great deal, Amazon’s popular Prime program has, at times,
In recent months, Americans were treated to a particularly cheap political spectacle: negotiations over the debt ceiling. “Extreme right-wing Republicans have hijacked the debt ceiling process,” said Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. “The fight over the debt ceiling could sink the economy,” intoned National Public Radio. Florida representative Matt
Chris Edwards Congress will consider a new farm bill this year, which will likely be a logrolling extravaganza costing $1.5 trillion or more over the coming decade. Just as Lollapalooza had a diverse lineup of bands, the farm bill will include a diverse lineup of subsidies for farms, food programs,
With each iteration of the banking crisis, the Federal Reserve System and federal regulators gain in power and authority. Maybe the banking crisis isn’t an accident. Original Article: "Is the Banking Crisis Being Orchestrated?"
On June 28, President Joe Biden took to the stage in Chicago to drum up support for his economic agenda, which his own team has taken to calling “Bidenomics.” The speech was part of a broader publicity tour, “Investing in America,” with the president and
Jeffrey A. Singer Last May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the HALT Fentanyl Act, a futile attempt to address the overdose crisis by classifying as Schedule 1 drugs any new analogs of fentanyl (called “fentanyl‐related substances” or “FRSs”) that the drug cartels synthesize in clandestine labs, and
On June 20, the Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed a bill to raise the commonwealth’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026. Although the bill is unlikely to pass the state senate, it seems only a matter of time before the minimum wage is
Chris Edwards Food stamp fraud is rising, particularly through EBT card skimming, as I discuss in this op‐ed. EBT numbers and PINs are a great target for theft because the cards do not have chips. This is one of many failures that should prompt Congress to downsize the
Marc Joffe CDC data show that Medicaid beneficiaries visit emergency rooms more frequently than individuals with private coverage, Medicare beneficiaries, and even the uninsured. Because ER visits are so expensive, federal and state governments could realize large savings by reducing the gap in ER utilization between