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NEW: Check out our exclusive interview with AEI’s James Pethokoukis on his book on how to kickstart American breakthrough innovation back to levels not seen since Apollo.
#Immigration – Nearly half of CBP encounters in FY 2024 involved “extra-continental” aliens, i.e. aliens not from Latin America. The entire world is entering America through the Southern border, reports the Center for Immigration Studies. This ‘extra-continental migration’ presents significant challenges for future administrations aiming to regain control of the border, because of established smuggling routes and diplomatic hurdles in obtaining travel documents for deportation. For more information on this and more, read our exclusive interview with Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian.
#Immigration – Relatedly, South American gangs are “using US immigration law to create a burglary industry,” reports the Washington Times. “Some arrive in the US legally on short-term visas specifically to steal, while others are part of the ongoing border surge & are recruited into sophisticated theft operations.” This is a policy outcome.
#Immigration – The immigration system is broken top to bottom. On the other side, Cato reports that legal immigrant workers eligible for a green card now face a wait time of three years just to see their application processed. Whatever immigration system we may believe we should have, it should be administered competently and efficiently.
#Debt – CBO’s latest Long-Term Budget Outlook projects that federal debt held by the public will rise from 99% of GDP at the end of FY2024 to 166% of GDP by the end of 2054. American Action Forum’s Jordan Haring has more highlights from CBO’s report. For more on our long term fiscal challenges, read our exclusive interview with American Action Forum President Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
#Trade – Interesting article from the very astute international economic scholar Dan Drezner. Economic interdependence used to be seen as a magic pill that would usher in perpetual peace. Now Washington policymakers have realized that that’s not true. But, argues Drezner, we shouldn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater. “Fears of malevolent interdependence can be self-fulfilling—if policymakers continue to view globalization as a threat, then the collective policy responses will increase the likelihood of great power conflict.”
#PublicHealth – Over at RealClearHealth, Manhattan Institute’s Carolyn Gorman bids farewell to “Mental Health Awareness Month.” (You didn’t know that was a thing? Neither did we.) In doing so, she asks an important question: is “emotional awareness,” the superficial approach to US mental health policy over the past decade is actually effective? Probably not.
#Men – More and more working-age men are dropping out of the workforce. Reforms to unemployment insurance might help.
#K12 – Summer school is a popular idea to close achievement gaps. One problem: in 2023, less than half of eligible students enrolled. As we seek ways to climb out of the dismal education numbers we are seeing post-Covid-era school closures, RAND studies what happened with summer schools in 2023.
#FinReg – R Street’s Caroline Melear makes a perfectly fine economic policy argument: banning so-called “junk fees” will probably lead to banks recouping that money in other, hidden ways. That may be true, but it’s still a vote-winner…
Chart of the Day
The most important chart in the world…?
Meme of the Day
