Clermont, Florida Correspondent — Security had to take priority this winter and Europe proved it can be done at a cost. They filled storage to nearly full by autumn, bought liquefied gas at prices that would have been unthinkable two years ago, and got a mild December. That's a reprieve rather than a solution, because … Continue reading How should Western nations balance energy security with climate objectives after the disruption of Russian supplies, and should the United States expand domestic production more aggressively?
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Is the current rate of inflation primarily the result of supply shocks, excess demand from fiscal and monetary stimulus, or a combination that requires different policy responses?
Owatonna, MN Correspondent — A combination, and the useful thing about answering in December rather than in June is that the shape has become visible. Goods inflation has come down sharply. Used cars are falling, freight rates have collapsed back toward pre-pandemic levels, and the supply side is healing on its own. Services inflation has … Continue reading Is the current rate of inflation primarily the result of supply shocks, excess demand from fiscal and monetary stimulus, or a combination that requires different policy responses?
Was the appointment of a special counsel on November 18 an insulation of the documents and January 6 files from electoral politics, or an admission that the Department could not be trusted to finish those files in daylight?
Gastonia, NC Insulation is what you call it when the referee leaves the field so the game can be honest. Admission is what you call it when the referee changes shirts because nobody believes the old one anymore. Last Friday looked more like the second thing, and the calendar tells you why. Trump announced his … Continue reading Was the appointment of a special counsel on November 18 an insulation of the documents and January 6 files from electoral politics, or an admission that the Department could not be trusted to finish those files in daylight?
Is the current system of public-health emergency declarations still appropriate given the evolving nature of the pandemic?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent — Emergency declarations are built for acute, time-limited conditions. Two years is neither. The federal public health emergency has now been renewed something like eight times in ninety-day increments, and the renewals have become administrative rather than deliberative. Nobody votes. A signature continues it. That's the structural objection independent of anyone's … Continue reading Is the current system of public-health emergency declarations still appropriate given the evolving nature of the pandemic?
Is the current regulatory approach to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology adequate, or is a more anticipatory framework required?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent — The present approach is reactive — rules written after harm appears or after deployment is already widespread. For these two the speed and the scale make pure reaction too slow. An anticipatory framework would identify high-risk applications early, require transparency about capability and limitation, and set baseline safety standards before … Continue reading Is the current regulatory approach to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology adequate, or is a more anticipatory framework required?
Does the New York civil-fraud complaint filed last week against the Trump Organization belong in the same “accountability” story as the federal criminal files, or is it a state-law valuation fight being asked to do national political work?
Myrtle Beach, SC A civil case about how a building was described to a bank is not a cousin of a documents warrant merely because the caption contains the same surname. That is where I start, and last Wednesday's filing makes the point better than any argument I could construct. The complaint is brought under … Continue reading Does the New York civil-fraud complaint filed last week against the Trump Organization belong in the same “accountability” story as the federal criminal files, or is it a state-law valuation fight being asked to do national political work?
Did the August search of Mar-a-Lago — and the way information about it reached the public — strengthen public confidence that no one is above the law, or teach half the country that the law now arrives with a media package?
Myrtle Beach, SC Confidence is what you have when the same tool would be used on a man your side still likes. I want to test that standard against the actual sequence, because the sequence is more damning than the version most people are shouting, and it is damning in a different place than they … Continue reading Did the August search of Mar-a-Lago — and the way information about it reached the public — strengthen public confidence that no one is above the law, or teach half the country that the law now arrives with a media package?
Are midsummer state referenda and ballot-qualification fights over abortion a better test of post-Dobbs democracy than a federal statute neither chamber can pass?
Myrtle Beach, SC Correspondent — Democracy that can actually close a question beats a national bill that exists as a fundraising header. The decision didn't create a consensus. It created a venue, and venues that can vote are the test of whether a country can live with disagreement. Ballot-qualification fights are ugly — signature vendors, … Continue reading Are midsummer state referenda and ballot-qualification fights over abortion a better test of post-Dobbs democracy than a federal statute neither chamber can pass?
How should Congress treat the pending rail-labor dispute so that a national freight stoppage is avoided without simply imposing terms that neither side will own?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent — A national stoppage isn't a seminar about feelings. It's groceries, chemicals, cars, and a plant that runs out of a part on Tuesday. The road is narrow. Force the last mile of bargaining under a clock that's real. Put the disputed items on a small table — attendance policy, time off … Continue reading How should Congress treat the pending rail-labor dispute so that a national freight stoppage is avoided without simply imposing terms that neither side will own?
Has the student-loan payment pause now lasted long enough to become a political entitlement rather than pandemic relief?
Myrtle Beach, SC Correspondent — Relief has a date. Entitlements have a constituency. March 2020 was a shutdown of the labor market that pays the note, and a pause then was a bridge. This isn't that labor market. Hospitality on this coast is hiring in the same month the pause is being defended as though … Continue reading Has the student-loan payment pause now lasted long enough to become a political entitlement rather than pandemic relief?
