Agriculture
H-2A bill looks to update the program for the better
The H-2A farmworker visa program might finally be headed for the overhaul it has needed for a long time. The U.S. House of Representatives has an opportunity to take up the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act (SAWA) currently being championed by House Agriculture Chairman G.T. Thompson. Under the current program, farmworkers ...
Blog
California’s Bad Energy Policy Is the Real Threat to the AI Boom
In early 2026, data centers consumed roughly 1,000 megawatts of electricity, about 2% of California ISO’s peak load. The California Energy Commission projects that figure will reach 4,500 megawatts, or 9% of peak demand, by 2040. That projection sits on top of overall peak demand the CEC expects to rise between 42 and ...
Blog
Alternative Catholic Education Models Gain Popularity and Attention
Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on alternative Catholic education models at a retreat conference for the Order of Malta, which is a lay order of the Catholic Church founded a millennium ago and which focuses on medical, social, and humanitarian aid projects. The panel gave insight ...
Blog
Who Wants To Ride California’s Bullet Buses?
With a grand high-speed rail project struggling to lay its first track nearly two decades after voters approved it, California seems to be moving on to its next transportation fiasco: A high-speed bus system connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco that reaches an implausibly brisk 140 mph along the way. It seems more likely ...
Blog
California flips out over investors who flip distressed properties
California flips out over investors who flip distressed properties Government efforts that rig the system to produce more affordable housing are neither effective nor noble — especially when policymakers target a trend that has captured the public’s imagination while improving and increasing the housing stock. Home flippers have become prominent ...
Blog
Indiana’s Bears play could put taxpayers behind an $8 billion franchise
Illinois has plenty of problems. Its tax system is complicated, its approval process is slow, and its politics made the Arlington Heights path harder than it needed to be. In this case, though, Illinois not rushing into a special deal for the Bears was not the main policy failure. Indiana ...
Blog
California’s Death Penalty: The Decision No One Wants to Make
After nearly twenty years without an execution, the more pressing question is whether the state is willing to decide what should happen to the 573 – and increasing – number of inmates already sentenced to death. Executions have stopped while death sentences continue to be imposed, and politicians of both ...
Blog
California’s Regulatory Blob
On the surface, it might appear to be minor. Nothing too big. But from seemingly insignificant rules come sweeping, burdensome regulatory frameworks. The plan is to only outlaw a particular type of automobile tire for fuel economy purposes, but it sets up regulators to police anything they wish to, from engine displacement ...
Biosimilars
PBM’s Drug Cut Exceeds the Total Cost of Medicines In Most Other Countries
Another fundamental problem is these comparisons rely on U.S. medicines’ gross (or list) price. But list prices do not account for the complex U.S. drug supply chain, where manufacturers receive only a portion of the gross price and intermediaries, such as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), receive a disproportionate share. As ...
Agriculture
New World Screwworm is here, let’s put those Checkoff dollars to work
It is about 1,500 miles from the Imperial Valley of California to Zavala County, Texas, where the invasive pest was discovered recently. The announcement of the 3-week-old calf carrying the insect caused a ripple of alarm through the livestock industry nationwide. There are a few things to note immediately. First, ...
H-2A bill looks to update the program for the better
The H-2A farmworker visa program might finally be headed for the overhaul it has needed for a long time. The U.S. House of Representatives has an opportunity to take up the Securing Agriculture’s Workforce Act (SAWA) currently being championed by House Agriculture Chairman G.T. Thompson. Under the current program, farmworkers ...
California’s Bad Energy Policy Is the Real Threat to the AI Boom
In early 2026, data centers consumed roughly 1,000 megawatts of electricity, about 2% of California ISO’s peak load. The California Energy Commission projects that figure will reach 4,500 megawatts, or 9% of peak demand, by 2040. That projection sits on top of overall peak demand the CEC expects to rise between 42 and ...
Alternative Catholic Education Models Gain Popularity and Attention
Recently, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on alternative Catholic education models at a retreat conference for the Order of Malta, which is a lay order of the Catholic Church founded a millennium ago and which focuses on medical, social, and humanitarian aid projects. The panel gave insight ...
Who Wants To Ride California’s Bullet Buses?
With a grand high-speed rail project struggling to lay its first track nearly two decades after voters approved it, California seems to be moving on to its next transportation fiasco: A high-speed bus system connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco that reaches an implausibly brisk 140 mph along the way. It seems more likely ...
California flips out over investors who flip distressed properties
California flips out over investors who flip distressed properties Government efforts that rig the system to produce more affordable housing are neither effective nor noble — especially when policymakers target a trend that has captured the public’s imagination while improving and increasing the housing stock. Home flippers have become prominent ...
Indiana’s Bears play could put taxpayers behind an $8 billion franchise
Illinois has plenty of problems. Its tax system is complicated, its approval process is slow, and its politics made the Arlington Heights path harder than it needed to be. In this case, though, Illinois not rushing into a special deal for the Bears was not the main policy failure. Indiana ...
California’s Death Penalty: The Decision No One Wants to Make
After nearly twenty years without an execution, the more pressing question is whether the state is willing to decide what should happen to the 573 – and increasing – number of inmates already sentenced to death. Executions have stopped while death sentences continue to be imposed, and politicians of both ...
California’s Regulatory Blob
On the surface, it might appear to be minor. Nothing too big. But from seemingly insignificant rules come sweeping, burdensome regulatory frameworks. The plan is to only outlaw a particular type of automobile tire for fuel economy purposes, but it sets up regulators to police anything they wish to, from engine displacement ...
PBM’s Drug Cut Exceeds the Total Cost of Medicines In Most Other Countries
Another fundamental problem is these comparisons rely on U.S. medicines’ gross (or list) price. But list prices do not account for the complex U.S. drug supply chain, where manufacturers receive only a portion of the gross price and intermediaries, such as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), receive a disproportionate share. As ...
New World Screwworm is here, let’s put those Checkoff dollars to work
It is about 1,500 miles from the Imperial Valley of California to Zavala County, Texas, where the invasive pest was discovered recently. The announcement of the 3-week-old calf carrying the insect caused a ripple of alarm through the livestock industry nationwide. There are a few things to note immediately. First, ...