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from Competitive Enterprise Institute
As startups experience high growth, they often face two choices. Founders can decide to sell their company and use the proceeds to start another company or pursue another project. Alternatively, companies can stay independent and seek further financing through loans or an initial public offering. However, strict regulations restrict entrepreneurs’ ability to pursue either option, and thus act as a barrier to entrepreneurial dynamism and innovation. As policy makers consider how to maintain a favorable regulatory environment for America’s tech companies, they should consider expanding the financing and exit options for high-growth startups.
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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization
Did you know that unelected bureaucrats at the Centers for Disease Control have the power to unilaterally commandeer rental properties nationwide? Or, at least, they did until yesterday—when a federal judge ruled that the CDC’s so-called “eviction moratorium” is illegal. ... Back in September, the CDC issued a mandate that landlords could not evict non-paying tenants in most circumstances. Landlords who violated the order faced potential penalties up to a $100,000 fine and a year in jail. In doing so, it essentially permitted renters to occupy their landlord’s property indefinitely without payment. This wrought havoc on the rental market and has financially ruined many middle-and-working class landlords. But even setting the dysfunctional results of the policy aside, the CDC was always relying on razor-thin legal justification for its mandate. ... We can and should continue to have a robust debate over what role the federal government should play in responding to the lingering COVID-19 pandemic. But we should all be able to agree that the government shouldn’t pursue solutions that clearly exceed its legal authority.
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from The Heritage Foundation
RIGHT BIAS, MIXED American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.
RIGHT BIAS, MIXED American conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C.
In the not-too-distant past when America used to make patriotic instead of “woke” films, fictional President James Marshall, played by Harrison Ford, proclaimed in Air Force One that “America will not negotiate with terrorists.” When Air Force One was later hijacked by terrorists, he stuck to his word, telling the ringleader “get off my plane” before literally throwing him off it. Conservatives on Capitol Hill should rewatch this movie—and take its lesson to heart. What the Biden administration and its radical left allies are engaged in is nothing short of political terrorism. Their tactic is simple: give us what we want, or we will blow it all up by packing the court, ending the filibuster, adding new states, and pushing a federal takeover of elections. There is no acceptable amnesty deal for the far-Left that doesn’t include a “path to citizenship,” which is D.C.-speak for getting more votes for Democrats. Conservatives on the Hill shouldn’t give into these threats to compromise and give them anything that will help them achieve their objectives.
The Army and Air Force are locked in battle over missions and the dollars that go with them. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs—an Army guy—has predicted a “bloodletting” with the Army the likely loser as the country grapples with how to manage the growing rivalries with China and Russia. Stopping the rivalries and unifying the country behind the need for a strong military will require both a White House willing to negotiate a higher defense budget with Republicans in Congress, and Pentagon leaders willing to articulate the need for sufficient resources and tamp down infighting. Tight defense budgets have historically caused the services to battle among themselves for scarce dollars and we are already seeing those fights returning. Such brawls unhelpfully distract from the core issue today, namely that the proposed level of defense funding is inadequate to develop the military necessary to counter China and others. When there is real growth in the defense budget, services are generally able to settle inter-service disputes reasonably. The Biden Administration must acknowledge they have placed the defense department in an untenable position and be willing to work with Congress.
It has become a regular practice of the CCP to try to silence Uighur activists abroad by holding their family members in Xinjiang hostage. Their policy is to retaliate against anyone they believe is undermining the Party’s control. The U.S. should continue to press for the release of all political prisoners in China, including the 1.8 million to 3 million Uighurs.
The Big Tech companies consistently hide behind their algorithms when called to account for inconsistent content moderation and account suspension. None of the companies would admit that they thrive on users having these negative emotions and patterns, and most likely never will. Big Tech is likely to face growing calls for legislation and/or regulation. That’s a consequence of their own making.
Does the U.S. spend too much on defense? Many believe that’s the case. They note that, in constant dollars, the Pentagon’s budget is now higher than it has been. And, they argue, much of that money is wasted through mismanagement and excessive overhead costs. They also like to compare U.S. defense spending with that of the next 10 or 12 top-spending countries, claiming that this shows the U.S. is wildly overspending. Defense spending should be determined by how much is needed to produce the type and amount of military power needed to deter or prevail in war. To stop modernizing the military would save a lot of money, but it would also leave the U.S. with a rapidly obsolescing force unable to defend national interests. We need to get serious about what it takes to keep America safe and its interests protected in the real world of today.
Initially, COVID-19 caused more women than men to lose jobs and drop out of the labor force, but that is no longer the case. It does not make sense to enact permanent programs, such as government paid family leave and government-directed and taxpayer-subsidized childcare, in an attempt to correct a disparity that no longer exists. On the contrary, the technological and workplace changes caused by COVID-19 may create more workplace flexibility and family-friendly policies than would otherwise have been achieved over an entire decade. In addition to riding the increased flexibility wave of COVID-19, policymakers should remove barriers to flexibility and opportunities in the workplace while rejecting one-size fits-all, top-down regulations and programs.
from HumanProgress.org
Education Website
An excerpt from the new book detailing positive trends, the problems that remain and what we can do about them.
Louis XIV (the Fourteenth) reigned over France for 72 years, from 1643 to 1715. Calling himself ‘The Sun King,’ he ruled with absolute authority over the most powerful country in Europe. As symbol of his dominance, he built the immense Palace of Versailles, home to more than 350 people and regular host to 6,000 courtiers. Its famed Hall of Mirrors was lit by 3,000 candles. The gardens had a zoo, 400 sculptures and more than a thousand fountains. But for all his wealth and power, Louis’ life was filled with tragedy. He and his wife Maria Theresa had six children but only one survived into adulthood. Three kids died as infants, Philippe Charles died at three of a chest infection and Marie Therese at age five from tuberculosis – a bacterial disease that eats away your lungs. Even their longest-lived child, Louis the Grand Dauphin, did not survive long enough to become king after his father, dying of smallpox at the age of fifty. The Sun King’s wife Maria died at 44, from infection. And he himself died at age 77 when his leg was infected with gangrene, which rots flesh. Beyond good health, King Louis’s family lacked a lot else: their palace may have had a thousand fountains, but it didn’t have a single flush toilet – lucky people went in a bowl that servants would remove, others just squatted in a corner. And while six thousand candles may sound like a lot, they produce about the same amount of illumination as a couple of modern light bulbs. Most of Versailles would have been pitch black as soon as it got dark. When it comes to quality of life, you may have it better than the family of the Sun King. You definitely have it better when it comes to remaining alive: it is doubtful that any of his family would have died as they did if they’d had access to modern medicine. And this was the wealthiest family in the most sumptuous house in the land – the vast majority of French people at the time lived lives that we would simply find unbearable. The world is just a much better place to inhabit than it was 300 years ago. But it is also a much better place to live in than it was 30 years ago.
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from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
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People rarely volunteer without passion, especially for anything with the word “committee” in the title. Others discover their passion after a committee writes a report. In 2019, Spokane’s City Council put out a call for volunteers for a new Sustainability Action Subcommittee to revive and update the 2009 plan. There were about twenty-three applicants, recalled Kara Odegard, City Council manager of sustainability initiatives, and all were invited to participate. The 2021 Sustainability Action Plan is now available for public comment. It’s a good time to find your passion.
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from The Washington Times
News & Media Website in Washington, D.C.
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The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed a federal lawsuit Thursday to force President Biden’s newly created National Climate Task Force to comply with federal open-records laws, accusing the administration of illegally ignoring requests for information. The free-market think tank filed a request Feb. 17 for documents from the task force’s first meeting on Feb. 11, but has received “no response whatsoever,” even though the Freedom of Information Act requires federal agencies to respond within 20 days. “The task force is directing climate change policy for this country, but its workings have remained totally private,” said CEI general counsel Sam Kazman in a statement. “The President may have declared climate change to be an existential threat, but that doesn’t make the Task Force an extralegal entity.”
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