Quick Read

A mechanic stares down a destroyed machine

Interest rates have become like rent control.

By Justin Katz | April 25, 2024 |

And they’re both artificial thresholds created by interventionist policies.  realEstateTrent makes a great point, here:   Progressive policies, which shift decision-making to the blunt tool of government, create these unhealthy thresholds everywhere.  People stay on the public dole because they’d have to earn so much money for a job to be worthwhile that no job…

A man dreams of depopulation.

Land use may be the dog that’s not barking in the housing debate.

By Justin Katz | April 24, 2024 |

Catching up on email, I came across this October article from the American Stewards of Liberty about a federal push for conservation areas: The Service is planning to acquire 250,000 acres of private land in the new federally designated area by offering “voluntary” conservation easements in perpetuity to landowners. Those who do not want to…

Comparison of the two covers of Mountain Music by Alabama

Rewriting history, especially to erase the stages of progress, is a dangerous practice.

By Justin Katz | April 18, 2024 |

The featured image of this post compares the original cover of Mountain Music by the band Alabama with the censored version now used for music streaming services.  I should specify that I’m not alleging the band and the companies that manage its music were forced to make the change by a government agency, but censorship it…

A man in a suit shoots a basketball at a city bus

How should we compare Scott Avedisian’s severance package and Caitlin Clark’s basketball salary?

By Justin Katz | April 17, 2024 |

The short answer is that we shouldn’t, but Bill Bartholomew’s attempt is worth a double-take and some thought about what he’s missing: at nearly 68k, Scott Avedisian’s termination payment is almost as much as the contract that the most exciting player in college basketball, Caitlin Clark, signed after being selected first overall in the WNBA draft…

Artwork of a worker transforming into a boss

Increased productivity is a communal good.

By Justin Katz | April 12, 2024 |

Somehow, despite ample reason for civic disappointment, I find I’m becoming less cynical as I get older, not more.  Even now, when I come across reasoning like that expressed by young progressive Democrat Representative David Morales, I can’t help but feel hope that we can salvage reason from the flames of ideology: Here’s the reality:…

A prison warden hides his keys behind his back during a fire

Days of Reckoning for the Salt of RI’s Earth

By Justin Katz | April 11, 2024 |

The point can’t be stressed enough that Rhode Islanders should understand the Washington Bridge debacle as a representative lesson on our state government.  For that reason, not the least, Mark Patinkin’s conversations with local affected business owners is an article to print and review periodically in the future.  Restauranteurs and venue owners bought and built…

A yacht sails toward an almost entirely submerged city.

The Maher life can’t be representative of human needs.

By Justin Katz | April 10, 2024 |

Arguably, Eric Abbenante— overstates the degree of “debate” in this clip featuring Dr. Phil and Bill Maher, but the difference in point of view he highlights is the crucial one.  Here’s Abbenante: Bill Maher and Dr Phil debate the importance of family and religion: “You think family and faith are a big fix to the…

A teacher at the blackboard in a cage

Freeing teachers means freeing them from an inapt industrial employment model.

By Justin Katz | March 27, 2024 |

Brandon Busteed’s argument in Forbes well taken: U.S. teachers are dead last among all occupational groups and professions in feeling their opinions count at work, that their supervisor creates an open and trusting environment and that they are treated with respect each day. Teachers are also the highest of all professions in experiencing burn-out and…

A farmer in a suit admires his corn with graduation caps

Student loans are another crisis for the benefit of government.

By Justin Katz | March 20, 2024 |

Whatever one’s political leanings, the incentives of government must be understood as simply reality.  Government agencies don’t have to create a product or service that people will voluntarily purchase.  Rather, they must find activities for which they can justify forcing people who are not the direct beneficiaries to pay.  This model is justified, in some…

A homeless mother pushes a baby carriage in Providence, RI

The details are the important part in the “housing crisis.”

By Justin Katz | March 13, 2024 |

By its nature, advocacy journalism glosses over the details that many would consider crucial.  Headlines from a pair of such articles by Katie Mulvaney in the Providence Journal illustrate the point: Six months pregnant with nowhere to go – an unhoused woman’s plight on RI’s streets After months of sleeping on the street, pregnant woman finally…