#Populism #Elites – In many ways, your correspondent founded PolicySphere in an attempt to get the various factions of the right to talk, and to talk productively and concretely. A man not averse to controversial statements is Oren Cass of American Compass. While his views on economic policy have generated controversy, and rightly so, the views he espouses in this recent New York Times essay, we hope, should generate universal agreement in the right-of-center universe: that the first of our problems is “the American political class’s self-righteous detachment from the economic and social conditions of its nation.” We can debate on how to fix the problem, but we should agree on what the problem is, which is that the elites of the West have (for whatever reasons) grown disconnected, and then contemptuous, over their non-elite fellow citizens. Cass’s essay is important reading.

#Nicotine – (Almost) as important as elite failure and populism is nicotine, a wonderful chemical with no downsides whatsoever (this is not legal/medical advice). A new NBER paper provides a case study on Australia’s novel approach to e-cigarette regulation, which is to require a doctor’s prescription to obtain a nicotine e-cigarette.

#FamilyPolicy – At the Institute for Family Studies, Dixie Dillon Lane reviews the new book “The Opt-Out Family”, which is just what it sounds like: author Erin Loechner “and her husband gave it all up, stepping away from their intensely digital lifestyle almost entirely to re-envision themselves and their three young children as an ‘opt-out family.'” May be of personal interest to some of our readers! But in these days where we fret on the impact of social media on families, there is also a policy angle.

#FamilyPolicy – If you talk to any person versed in economics or public policy, they will take it as an article of faith that working mothers suffer a wage “penalty” for having children, and that this has been proven through numerous empirical studies. What if it’s…simply not true, however? A growing body of evidence suggests that the opposite is true, even though much of it doesn’t get past peer review, writes Rachel M. Cohen at Vox.

#Trade – “Americans have bought more than 40,000 cars made in China so far this year. The biggest sellers are from American brands, too.” More.

#LGBT – Heartbreaking testimony from IWF of detransitioner Prisha Mosley, who find out when she got pregnant that the hormone treatments she had undergone put her pregnancy at risk. This is a major public health issue.

#Energy #EVs – Important article from Duggan Flanakin: EV Boosters Cannot Do Math. Flanakin does the math: if we switch out the current vehicle fleet for EVs, the electricity demands will be such that it’s not imaginable that the grid will be able to cope. A taste: “All this costs money that most Americans today do not have, especially at the generation end. Especially with the push to eliminate electric generation from coal and natural gas and even nuclear energy. It also requires massive construction of electric infrastructure, from transmission lines to transformers to in-home charging stations accompanied by larger electric fuse boxes. One might see all this as a great booster of the economy. One problem with this is that the U.S. is projected to have a shortfall of 550,000 electricians by 2027. Who will do all this work?”

#Academia #Culture – At City Journal, D.G. Hart points out that patriotism is considered gauche and taboo in professional academic history. Imagine, however, a different world. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one…

#DataSecurity – At the Ripon Forum, tech expert Aron Solomon advances ideas on how to protect American data beyond forcing TikTok’s owners to divest.

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