Opinion

Most constitutional arguments happen in law schools and appellate briefs. This one happened in my clients’ portfolios. Moore v. United States, decided by the Supreme Court in June 2024, asked a question that sounds technical and isn’t: can the federal government tax income that has never been received? The case involved Charles and Kathleen Moore, […]

Michael Rubin’s case against Azerbaijan is a tidy one: Baku is spending billions on weapons, trades with Iran, and helps Russia evade sanctions — so it must be arming to invade Armenia, and waiving Section 907 only rewards a coming aggressor. It is a convincing argument, right up until you open a map. Azerbaijan is […]

Last summer, Superman was held in a pocket dimension on the verge of collapsing Metropolis. In 2016, Captain America, the symbol of our nation, was on the run from the government. In 2014, a U.N. body was infiltrated by a Nazi organization that survived from the 1940s. In 2012, the World Security Council dropped a […]

“The reputation of Dawn Powell may be doomed to a perpetual state of revival,” wrote John Updike in the New Yorker in 1995. The underappreciated and somewhat forgotten American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter, who was born in Ohio in 1896 and died in 1965, may not have found the fame she deserved during her lifetime. Reading A Time […]

America’s financial aid framework wouldn’t look much different if it were crafted by the late Paul Ehrlich, the false prophet who warned of overpopulation and mass starvation. Ehrlich wanted the tax code to discourage large families: the dependent exemption should apply only to the first two children, and a luxury tax should be levied on […]

The Great Fair of 1876, or the Centennial International Exhibition, was a celebration of 100 years of American achievement. Nearly 10 million visitors traveled to Philadelphia to view intricate exhibits related to agriculture, art, machinery, mining and metallurgy, and more. America’s past, present, and future were all celebrated and on display for the entire world […]

Antisemitism in Philadelphia schools is such a systemic problem that even CNN is paying attention.  The district is under congressional investigation for its failure to handle this rampant antisemitism. Jewish students are bullied, and Jewish teachers are harassed. Now, Jewish organizations are suing the Department of Education for failing to hold the district to prior […]

Whatever else they are, they are not economists. Joseph Stiglitz, Thomas Piketty, and the other 350 signatories of an anti-poverty manifesto have given up on any claim to that name. An economist is someone who studies the production and distribution of goods and services, someone who analyzes the voluntary transactions we make in pursuit of […]

Politicians from both parties have been able to avoid Social Security’s impending insolvency for decades because bankruptcy was still years away. It was a little over the horizon, and for our irresponsible politicians, out of sight has been out of mind. But according to the latest Social Security trustees report this week, bankruptcy is upon us now. […]

For years, policymakers focused on one question: Will Iran build a nuclear weapon? The recent war revealed a different reality. Tehran’s most effective strategic asset may not be its nuclear program at all. It is the Strait of Hormuz. The mere possibility of disruption in Hormuz can move oil prices, increase shipping costs, raise insurance […]