It’s a running joke across many college campuses that economics is the “dismal science”. For those who are not economists, it can be hard to connect abstract terms like “absorptive capacity” and “nonp…
You Will Not Benefit From Social Security (Unless Changes Are Made)
It is likely you have been paying social security taxes for a large portion of your life. It is also likely you haven’t received any benefits because, even though social security benefits cover about …
The World’s Largest Security State Has Created its Own Security Problem
Violence In Western China The capital of the Chinese province of Xinjiang, Urumqi, looks like many Chinese cities. The horizon is full of construction machinery creating new factories, high-rises, and…
How Catalonia Can Help Itself and the Rest of Spain
In a Business Insider political piece, “Here’s why Catalonia should secede from Spain, and why it won’t” former Catalan MP Alfons López Tena argues in favor of Catalonia’s independence mov…
GOP Going Green: The Power of Economics and National Security on Republican Support for Renewables
On Feb. 26th, 2015, Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, a climate change skeptic, decided to put an end to the global warming debate once and for all using a peculiar prop to convey his message on the Sen…
Lebanon: Too Beautiful for its Own Good
National pride has historically been founded on biases and ignorance of a country’s flawed history. But of course, it is also founded on some merit. It takes one visit to understand why so many in Leb…
The United States… And Territories: America’s Paradise Lost
On October 13, one news headline stood out among the rest: “Trump says he spoke to U.S. Virgin Islands’ ‘president’ — which is him.” “Must’ve been a one-sided conversation,” one Twit…
Blood for Trees: The Plight of Uncontacted Tribes in Brazil
Last month, around the Jandiatuba river in the Amazonas region of Western Brazil, a small cohort of illegal gold miners happened upon a group of indigenous people, members of one of many uncontacted t…
Bolivarianism: A Fanfare for the Common Man?
Hugo Chávez clapping in front of a portrait of Simón Bolívar Not long ago, Venezuela sought to brand itself as a leader, a resurgent power eager to lead the escape from U.S. imperialism towards true L…
What Happens to the Workers?: The Economic Implications of the Technological Revolution
Drones delivering packages, self-driving vehicles, artificial intelligence answering phone calls, food being prepared at the touch of a screen – this may all seem like science-fiction, but in reality,…
We Need to Talk About Sovereign Debt
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, a key figure in sovereign debt restructuring. Featured image source: World Economic Forum. A brief summary of sovereign debt c…
The Election Effect
Every election year, the fate of the American people is up for grabs. Tensions run high, and nearly half of the nation is bound to be unsatisfied by the result. Uncertainty plagues the months leading …
The Nordic Model: No Universal Holy Grail
Nordic countries have become somewhat of an international sensation. In the last decade, they seemed impervious to the economic and social woes that ossified economic growth in Europe and Asia and ref…
California’s Drought: A Trickling Time Bomb
In early March senior NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory water scientist Jay Famiglietti reported that the state of California has approximately a single year’s supply of water in its reservoirs, with bac…
#VaiaDilma: President Rousseff’s Trust Deficit
Less than five months after voting President Dilma Rousseff into office last October, the Brazilian people have demanded her impeachment. On March 15th, 2015, approximately one million Brazilians, wea…
An Agri-Culture of Settlement
Increasingly serious labor shortages are putting America’s conveniently low food prices at risk. Yet, Obama’s recent executive action on immigration does little to assuage the agricultural labor crisi…
What makes us special is what makes us open to special interests
“What Makes Us Special is What Makes Us Open to Special Interests” was originally published in the Davis Political Review on February 4, 2015. Recent allegations about lying during the gathering of s…
The Afghan Honeymoon: Why Post-Election Optimism Won’t Last
The international community has recently showered Afghanistan with much praise. Yet, despite the handful of developments that call for celebration, the nation’s future is nonetheless littered with obs…