Gastonia, NC Correspondent — Access is a real word. So is a rulebook that moved after the primary posters went up. A pandemic justifies more absentee options for people who can show a reason and a simpler process for people who already had the right. It doesn't justify a July invention of universal mail in … Continue reading Should states expand no-excuse mail balloting for November on pandemic grounds, or treat late changes to election mechanics as a confidence risk that outweighs access arguments?
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With the extra federal unemployment supplement scheduled to lapse, should Congress extend the $600 add-on, step it down, or let labor-market tightness and state systems take over?
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent — Six hundred dollars on top of a state check was a March instrument. March instruments that pay more than the job they replaced become July problems. A cliff on the thirty-first is ugly if the job doesn't exist. A cliff is honest if the job is posted and the add-on … Continue reading With the extra federal unemployment supplement scheduled to lapse, should Congress extend the $600 add-on, step it down, or let labor-market tightness and state systems take over?
After new Hong Kong sanctions and another tariff round, should U.S.–China policy treat decoupling as a destination or as a limited valve strategy?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent — A destination called decoupling sounds like a slogan that has never had to buy a capacitor. A valve strategy sounds like somebody who has read a bill of materials. The Hong Kong measures are a political and legal matter. You don't treat a city that was promised a different rule as … Continue reading After new Hong Kong sanctions and another tariff round, should U.S.–China policy treat decoupling as a destination or as a limited valve strategy?
After weeks of unrest and federal deployments to protect courthouses and monuments, should the use of federal officers in cities that refuse to hold a riot line be normalized, or reserved as an exceptional remedy?
Prescott Valley, AZ Correspondent — A courthouse is not a suggestion and a monument is not a comment box. When a city won't hold a line around either, somebody else does or the line is a rumor. Normalize is the wrong word if it means federal patrols standing in as municipal police. Exceptional is the … Continue reading After weeks of unrest and federal deployments to protect courthouses and monuments, should the use of federal officers in cities that refuse to hold a riot line be normalized, or reserved as an exceptional remedy?
Should K–12 systems follow July 2020 federal guidance favoring in-person reopening, or treat teachers’ unions and local case curves as the binding constraint?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent — The federal guidance is a preference for the default that children belong in a room with a teacher. That default isn't reckless. It's a ranking of harms after four months of a substitute that wasn't school. A union is a bargaining unit. A case curve is a hospital measurement. Neither is … Continue reading Should K–12 systems follow July 2020 federal guidance favoring in-person reopening, or treat teachers’ unions and local case curves as the binding constraint?
Should professional and college sports resume this summer under restricted protocols, or does a restart impose an unacceptable public-health and labor risk on players, staff, and host cities?
Gastonia, NC Correspondent — A restart is a workplace question wearing a mascot. Players are adults who already accept orthopedic ruin as a condition of employment. Staff are adults who need a shift. Host cities are the people who sell parking and plates. Treating those three as one object is how you get a summer … Continue reading Should professional and college sports resume this summer under restricted protocols, or does a restart impose an unacceptable public-health and labor risk on players, staff, and host cities?
Will the next recession reveal that many post-2008 financial reforms were insufficient to prevent systemic risk?
Owatonna, Minnesota Correspondent — The post-2008 reforms improved capital and liquidity standards at large banks and brought more of the system under supervision. That was real. They didn't eliminate leverage, maturity mismatch, or the tendency of risk to migrate toward whichever entity is regulated differently. The next serious recession will test whether the remaining gaps … Continue reading Will the next recession reveal that many post-2008 financial reforms were insufficient to prevent systemic risk?
Should pharmaceutical companies face stronger liability or pricing constraints when their products contribute to public-health crises?
Clermont, Florida Correspondent — When a product is heavily marketed and later shown to have contributed to widespread harm, ordinary liability should apply with real force. Shielding companies after the fact weakens deterrence for everybody watching. Pricing constraints are a separate and more complicated tool. Blunt controls can reduce future development and create shortages. Stronger … Continue reading Should pharmaceutical companies face stronger liability or pricing constraints when their products contribute to public-health crises?
Is the growing use of executive orders and emergency declarations eroding the constitutional balance between the branches of government?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent — Executive orders and emergency powers have always existed. Their frequency and scope have expanded as congressional capacity to legislate has declined, and the second half of that sentence is the cause rather than the consequence. When major policy is routinely made by executive action, the legislative branch is sidelined and … Continue reading Is the growing use of executive orders and emergency declarations eroding the constitutional balance between the branches of government?
How can the federal government improve the reliability of critical infrastructure against both physical and cyber threats without creating new bureaucratic layers?
Dayton, Ohio Correspondent — Most critical infrastructure is owned privately or by states and localities, which is the fact that determines what the federal role can actually be. Clear performance standards, better threat information sharing, targeted support for upgrades. Cyber requirements can go into existing sector regulators and procurement rules rather than into a new … Continue reading How can the federal government improve the reliability of critical infrastructure against both physical and cyber threats without creating new bureaucratic layers?
