Written

A water drop and ripples

We have to take the reality of meddling billionaires into account.

By Justin Katz | September 14, 2024 |

Last night, I read a business case about a handful of billionaires who’ve been trying to make lab-grown meat a viable consumer product, and I wondered something tangential.  Imagine if a handful of billionaires decided they needed to have a pliable big-government progressive in the White House. They might flood her accounts with hundreds of…

A water drop and ripples

The point of government seems to be as a way to make politicians feel like celebrities.

By Justin Katz | September 13, 2024 |

It’s a passing thought, of course, but Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee’s mild lament that a State House celebration of a basketball trophy is happening during school hours bugs me.  Somehow, it emphasizes the point that our government officials see the well-being of children — of all regular Rhode Islanders, for that matter — as…

A water drop and ripples

Oh, Democrats have a plan for you, alright.

By Justin Katz | September 12, 2024 |

Something more like a cookbook or plantation.  I’ve heard complaints that conservatives have “no plan for you” — or “no vision for what the town should be” — repeatedly over the years, and I think it’s the most disturbing complaint progressives make. Chris Rufo articulates my view: Where do I see the town, state, or…

A crowd argues and riots in a large, dark hall

What should we conclude from Attorney General Neronha’s support for historical violence against police?

By Justin Katz | September 12, 2024 |

Democrats’ acceptance of violence from their own partisans, especially labor unions, is a major warning sign that they’ll turn away when it happens again in the future, but it’s especially disconcerting to see Attorney General Peter Neronha celebrating violence against police officers: If I seem to be exaggerating, it’s only because I’m not accepting as…

A water drop and ripples

Neronha’s being silly about electric vehicle charging ports.

By Justin Katz | September 11, 2024 |

With the caveat that we have to infer what he’s trying to suggest, I think we can conclude Attorney General Peter Neronha is implying Rhode Island isn’t keeping up on electric vehicle charging ports: Well, yeah.  Rhode Island is a small state, geographically, meaning people are never very far from home, and in any event,…

A Providence neighborhood through a Statehouse window

The DOJ’s RealPage lawsuit shows the sloppy thinking behind progressive activism.

By Justin Katz | September 11, 2024 |

As I understand it, RealPage offers landlords software for renting out and managing their properties.  Like other such software across industries, it uses automation and analytics to help its clients conceptualize their assets and their businesses and squeeze out inefficiencies.  Among those services is an algorithm that uses local real estate data, including from its…

A water drop and ripples

Yes, the Republican North Smithfield School Committee candidate’s comment on Tim Walz’s son is uncomfortable.

By Justin Katz | September 11, 2024 |

But we have to be wary of the political whipsaw.  Evan Masse’s tweet was dumb and insensitive, but his practical problem was that he was caught up in what we might call a Democrat call for evidence. It would be a very normal reaction to pause upon seeing Walz’s son at the Democrat National Convention…

A water drop and ripples

Does it really matter who runs the RIGOP?

By Justin Katz | September 10, 2024 |

Katherine Gregg took a look at the current state of the race for leadership of the Rhode Island GOP, and the question that comes to my mind is whether it really matters.  On a surface level, the uncertain proposition is that even a functioning GOP could make a difference, which I’m not sure the Rhode…

A statue of blindfolded justice over a riot in a public park

How can we renew a sense of shared trust?

By Justin Katz | September 10, 2024 |

Not long ago, the ladies of The View displayed the number of associates of Donald Trump who have recently* gone to prison as evidence that “the system is working.”  We’d be in better condition as a country if more people realized that the very same visual leads to opposite conclusions for different people, creating a dangerous…

A water drop and ripples

A quick summary of my latest thinking on taxes.

By Justin Katz | September 10, 2024 |

We should repeal all federal income taxes.  Income taxes are a great evil that has changed the nature of our relationship with government. Instead, the federal government should be funded through a capitation (per-person) tax payable proportionally by each state. That is, our states would be responsible for collecting a tax calculated based purely on…