Executive Summary A surge in unemployment during COVID-19 caused more families to become eligible for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children (WIC). Yet, national program participation barely budged. Many “online” states that digitized enrollment and benefit reloading processes for WIC saw increases in WIC participation, ranging from 2% to 20%. However, … Continue reading →

Executive Summary Canadian wildfires spread smoke from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic United States last week, prompting some policymakers to renew calls for massive climate change initiatives such as the Green New Deal.   The Green New Deal, the Inflation Reduction Act, and other similar initiatives impose massive costs and institute inefficient programs for mitigating climate … Continue reading →

I. Introduction + Background  The Federal Reserve (Fed) has a dual mandate: keep unemployment down and prices steady. At this moment, in a post-covid environment, with messed up supply chains, inflation has proven to be the focus. The Fed has been tackling inflation as prices have been the highest since the 1970s and don’t seem … Continue reading →

Introduction  During a time of declining bipartisanship in Washington, one law continues to enjoy the backing of members in both parties: The Merchant Marine Act of 1920, better known as the Jones Act. The law requires that shipping between U.S. ports is conducted by ships that are U.S.-built and at least 75 percent U.S.-owned. Proponents … Continue reading →

Introduction Early last week, President Biden introduced new export controls that further heightened tensions with China, as the rule is directed to undermine Beijing while uplifting the American technology industry. While the controls have many consequences for China (and perhaps some unintended ones for the US, as well), it is mostly a tell-tale sign of … Continue reading →

Introduction  Last month, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) released the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022, a comprehensive permitting reform text meant to be included in the government funding bill. The proposal faced bipartisan opposition, with Senate Republicans still tiffed with Manchin’s decision to support the ironically named “Inflation Reduction Act” and progressives opposing the … Continue reading →

Introduction: On Monday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that Joe Biden’s executive plan- put in place in August- to forgive thousands of dollars of student loan debt for millions of Americans will cost more than $400bn over three decades. While the White house has been reluctant in providing its own fiscal assessment of the plan, … Continue reading →

Jordan Peele’s horror/sci-fi film Nope debuted in theaters late last month. I’ve yet to see the movie, but its release offered a welcome change of pace to the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas in July special my mom watches every night. Nothing against Hallmark, but I’m thrilled Halloween in August has arrived.   Last year, Americans spent a … Continue reading →

Taxpayers spend between $400 million and $800 million each year (approximately $1 to $2 million per day) on nuclear waste storage due to the federal government’s failure to dispose of spent fuel sitting at nuclear power plants across the country. For the past 35 years, nuclear power plants have accumulated over 3,000 dry used fuel … Continue reading →