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#IndustrialPolicy – Sen. Marco Rubio has published an op-ed titled “Why I believe in industrial policy done right” This has prompted the predictable reactions on the right. We will have more on this. In the meantime, it should be noted that the biggest “industrial policy” going on is coming from the left, and from “Green New Deal-style” and ESG policies aiming to redirect capital to projects ideologically favored by the left. France’s Emmanuel Macron has called for a “green interest rate”, which, as Bloomberg’s Joe Weisenthal points out, is not a far step from where we currently are.
More soon. In the meantime, you can read our exclusive interview with Senator Marco Rubio from a couple weeks back.
#DigitalLonghouse – From Colorado comes perhaps the worst public policy proposal we’ve ever seen, which is saying rather a lot: a new bill would ensure that if you file a report on a dating app against an ex to get back with them, that would be filed with the attorney general and become public record. Via Shoshana Weissmann If you are offended or just flummoxed by the term “longhouse” we suggest reading this essential First Things article by publisher and pseudonymous commentator L0m3z as an introduction to the concept, which is a convenient shorthand for the feminization of discourse and institutions. This is a real policy issue! As is the decline of men. For example, there is credible suggestive evidence that the rise of women in academia led to the rise of wokeness. Related: “Boys’ reported depression rates have surged by 161%, slightly surpassing the 145% increase in girls since 2010.” (Via)
#Drugs #Healthcare – From Brookings: a guide to policy solutions to the drug shortage.
#Immigration – From CIS: Polls Show 2024 Is Shaping Up to Be an ‘Immigration’ Election – “The only question is which party seizes the issue, because disgruntled voters are blaming everybody.”
#Religion – Reports of American Christianity’s death are wildly exaggerated, according to a new Gallup poll.
#HigherEd – Another poll! We apologize, we try to steer clear of polls in general since we try not to be focused on day-to-day politics, but when we see a poll that is relevant to the public policy landscape, we do think it’s appropriate to include it, as here, via Cato: “Gallup found that between 2015 and 2023, the percent of adults with a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in higher education fell from 57% to 36%.”
#BigGovSucks – From AIER: “Roughly 50 cents out of every dollar of economic activity in the US is controlled by a government, rather than an entrepreneur, consumer, or investor. That is bad news for efficiency and growth. It’s also bad news for liberty.”
#Energy – One big problem with solar farms is simply the space they occupy. “Reducing the land we need for human civilisation is surely a vital ecological imperative,” writes biologist Matt Ridley, with what seems like unimpeachable common sense, concluding “Solar farms are taking us back to the dark ages” (and not in a good way).
#AmericanManufacturing – “TSMC plans to begin pilot production at its 1st Arizona, USA fab by mid-April in preparation for mass production by the end of 2024 – ahead of schedule, media report, citing industry sources. TSMC originally said mass production would begin in the 1st half of 2025.” (Via) Speaking of, it looks like the recent Taiwan earthquake will not appreciably affect chip production, but it highlights the strategic risks involved in putting all global chip manufacturing in one place.
#AgTech – “Evidence confirms that the adoption of GM crops in the mid 1990s have reduced herbicide use by 45%. This has reduced the impact of these chemicals on the environment by 65%.” (Via Cambridge University Press)
#IntellectualDiversity – Yale Law School hires young conservative scholar Garrett West on its faculty. We hear that West, a former Alito clerk, is an intellectual star.
#Marriage – From the Institute of Family Studies‘ Brad Wilcox, the factors that most reduce risk of divorce: “College degree, date nights, husband’s stable employment, shared religious attendance & commitment” How many boxes do you check?
#Longread – “Bukele’s War For Peace – How El Salvador Fought the Gangs and Won” by Benjamin Braddock for the excellent new right-wing journal IM-1776.
Chart of the Day
PMI vs Employment under Biden’s tenure. The Biden Administration has made much of relaunching manufacturing, but the results seem inconclusive, at least at the macro level. (Via)
Meme of the Day
