In early September, Dario Amodei of Anthropic published an essay to urge the slowdown of AI development. As the CEO of one of the leading AI companies, his call for more regulation is telling. Within days, competitors in the AI industry, such as Sam Altman of OpenAI and Elon Musk of xAI had endorsed his views. Soon after, on September 13th, House Speaker Mike Johnson argued that “If Congress just races in and does some sort of emergency session to try to regulate AI, we will lose the race to China, and that is a threat to every single American.…

On September 13, a Russian drone struck a passenger train near the Polish border, minutes after a delegation of senior Western officials – among them former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt – had passed through the station. Two days later, NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that entered Lithuanian airspace overnight. While officials are investigating the origins of this drone, they have also said that these drones were carrying explosives, and that this was the first interception of this kind done in Lithuania’s history. Lithuania, a small nation in eastern Europe, borders…

Is Universal Basic Income a policy worth pursuing? Universal Basic Income (UBI) is a policy proposal that provides income to every citizen. UBI has 2 main principles: unconditionality and universality. Unlike means-tested programs, where you have to be below a certain income threshold to qualify, everyone is supposed to get the benefit, and it is often flat. This means if a UBI policy gave $100 a month to all American citizens, it would not matter if you have no income to your name or if you were a wealthy billionaire; we’d all get the same benefits. There is a certain…

(Image Source: Gavin Allanwood, Unsplash) On September 2nd, two of the largest school districts banned generative AI, pulling it out of the hands of young students. While the subject converged in some ways, the application of the policy differs. It is yet to be seen which approach will prove to be more or less effective. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Public Schools Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels announced a new policy on AI in public schools. The policy is “a moratorium on student-facing generative artificial intelligence (AI) in grades 2K–8, with limited use in high schools…”. This means Large Language…

Most coverage of the economic data will lead with the unemployment rate. It is the wrong number to lead with, and the recent July report already showed why. In July, nonfarm payroll employment fell by 23,000, according to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). The BLS also reported the unemployment rate at 4.1 percent, with the number of unemployed people sitting at 6.9 million. A 4.1% unemployment rate is not particularly high, and not a cause for concern. It indicates a relatively stable job market, but one that has a soft underbelly. We look one layer deeper, and the picture…

Trump’s 90-day beef tariff suspension rests on a simple bet: cut a tax on an imported ingredient, hamburgers get cheaper, and approval ratings improve before November midterms. Ranchers see a problem with this approach, while economists support the direction and are skeptical about scale. What Was Announced On Friday, August 21st, President Trump announced a new policy that will allow up to 300,000 metric tons of product for ground beef to be imported over the next 90 days without being subject to out-of-quota tariffs. Trump framed it as a deal, wherein importers would agree to sell the beef at 25%…

Is economic growth a goal or a means? If a policy raised human wellbeing while lowering GDP (Gross Domestic Product), would that be good economic policy?The general argument in favor of policies that boost the GDP is that when you make the pie bigger, there is a bigger slice for everyone to enjoy. The other metaphor that is often used is that a rising tide lifts all boats. Effective economic policy, thus, is one that creates economic growth, so that everyone within a nation can benefit from that new economic activity.However, the pie getting bigger does not guarantee that your…

In the age of abundant information, where consumers can shop for information that confirms their biases, how is speech regulated, if at all?In the United States, we have the 1st Amendment, which states the following:“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Essentially, the Constitution prohibits the government from making certain forms of speech illegal. If Congress were to pass a law that…

Last week, the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws panel recommended that South Carolina again hold the first Democratic presidential primary on January 22nd in 2028 ahead of Nevada, New Hampshire, and other states. The impulse is understandable and, in part, admirable. The Democrats are trying to show loyalty to Black voters, who reliably vote for Democratic candidates and comprise a significant portion of South Carolina’s electorate. But, this is a mistake.The move of putting South Carolina first is based on two main arguments: The first argument, which I have already alluded to, is that Black voters reliably vote for Democrats and…

America is rich, but many Americans are not, and a middle class that stops believing the system works will eventually stop consenting to it.  Free-market capitalism is often defined, within economics, as the rational framework. More precisely, individualistic, self-interested behavior is the “realist”, rational view. To be opportunistic is to be clever and resourceful, one may say. The word “capitalize” means to make use of the opportunities before us. The word “capitalism”, by extension, means a system that rewards the opportunity-takers. In an ideal world, a well-functioning, capitalist society is thus one that is meritocratic. If you have the skills…