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Social capital associated with lower COVID-19 rates

“Does social capital help contain COVID-19?” Courtesy of IZA     Since the beginning of this year, the novel coronavirus has rapidly spread throughout the world, affecting the lives, health, and livelihoods of people all around the globe. With no medical solution available yet, the key margin to contain the spread of the pandemic is […]

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Dropping qualified immunity would change police behavior

“Yes, Abolishing Qualified Immunity Will Likely Alter Police Behavior” By Jay Schweikert, courtesy of the Cato Institute     Yesterday, the New York Times ran an op‐​ed by Professor Daniel Epps, titled “Abolishing Qualified Immunity Is Unlikely to Alter Police Behavior.” I’m fully aware that op‐​ed authors generally don’t get to pick the titles of […]

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Washington Beyond the Headlines: Tax Cuts at Stake In November

By Andy Blom, TES Washington Editor   Wow! Busy week. Some states are opening, some states are dragging their feet, the stock market is climbing, employment is rocketing back up but people are still social distancing unless they’re protesting. And, in the true American spirit, some people just have never stopped working through it all, […]

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The absurdity of “self-sufficiency”

By Haig Simonian, courtesy of Avenir Suisse   Healthcare, travel and education are just three of the areas being reassessed following the COVID-19 outbreak. Most momentous of all, however, is the worldwide rethink about globalization.   Come a global disruptor like the corona virus, and the elaborate supply chains developed by industry over recent years […]

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Washington Beyond the Headlines: Admin Has Chopped 570 Regulations

By Andy Blom, TES Washington Editor   America is opening up! Kind of. Different states, curiously reflecting their red/blue political leadership, are opening at different paces. Except, of course, for the House of Representatives which apparently feels that the best way to represent the American people is to not go to work. Oh well, that’s […]

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H-1B Workers are Needed to Temporarily Fill the Domestic STEM Shortfall

By Krisztina Pusok, American Consumer Institute   With the economy still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, there are growing calls to ease competition in the labor market by restricting immigration. But these policies overlook the fact that highly educated foreign graduates from U.S. universities act as a stopgap for a shortage of American STEM graduates. Before taking […]

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Targeting H-1B visas won’t help fight COVID-19, but will delay recovery

  By Oliver McPherson-Smith, American Consumer Institute     The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a significant blow to America’s economy and countless Americans will be looking for jobs in the coming months. To ease competition in the labor force, four senators are pushing for a ban on certain temporary workers. But the plan would also block highly-educated […]

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Washington Beyond the Headlines: Are Businesses Competing with Prison Labor?

By Andy Blom, TES Washington Editor   The number one question in America this week is: When should we open? Thoughtful free market policy people are proposing ways to lead us out of this crisis…and some other crises as well. As Washington goes back to work…and considers spending a whole lot more of your money… […]

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Key workers make 8% less than other Brits, on average

“Key workers’ hourly wages are 8% lower on average than other employees” Institute for Fiscal Studies     The response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has underlined the critical role of the UK’s key workers, many of whom are in relatively low-paid sectors such as food or social care. Overall, a third of key worker employees […]

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Certified COVID immunity is an economic resource

“Certified corona immunity as a resource” Courtesy of IREF   In a new IREF Working Paper, David Stadelmann (Bayreuth University and IREF) and his co-authors discuss how the corona epidemic can be made less burdensome. They focus on the role of those who are immune after recovering from the illness and do not pose any health risks to […]