Conservatives often disagree about wars, but virtually no one likes nation-building. President Donald Trump has so far managed to avoid it in his military interventions. Trump would surely like to do so again in Iran, but whether he will be successful raises the question of why the United States so often finds itself engaged in […]

“Reclaiming Affordability” is an op-ed series in partnership between the Independent Women and the Washington Examiner. Each day this week, a policy expert at Independent Women will tackle the top concern on the minds of voters this election cycle from a different angle, putting forth realistic solutions to the affordability crisis. All issues are women’s issues, […]

Betting on elections and economic data may be the newest frontier in “finance,” but it is still gambling. And while Congress has the power under the commerce clause to regulate that interstate activity, it has not clearly handed the Commodity Futures Trading Commission a blank check to bulldoze 50 states’ gambling regulatory regimes in the […]

Average tax refunds are reportedly up 10% this year, but easing Americans’ distrust of how Uncle Sam spends the money it keeps is not disappearing anytime soon. According to 2025 polling from the Cato Institute, the average adult believes that 59 cents of every federal tax dollar is “wasted” — up from 38 cents in […]

U.S. policy toward Iraq continues to rest on an assumption that no longer reflects reality: that Iraq functions as a coherent partner with centralized authority over its security institutions. It does not. What exists instead is a fragmented system in which formal state structures operate alongside powerful internal networks, including actors aligned with Iran’s Islamic […]