Source: Reason
by Veronique de Rugy
“Another Tax Day has come and gone, and most Americans believe they pay too much. One recent poll revealed that 56 percent say they pay more than their fair share. Unfortunately, I fear this is just the beginning considering the insane level of debt Washington policymakers have accumulated over the years. With this in mind, here are some important facts about our tax system that you might not know.” (04/18/24)
https://reason.com/2024/04/18/this-tax-week-remember-that-the-federal-income-tax-is-relatively-new/
Source: New York Post
by Kirsten Fleming
“An incredible thing happened this week. A whopping 2.45 million people watched the WNBA draft Monday, as University of Iowa shooting sensation Caitlin Clark — dressed in head-to-toe Prada, the only time the label has ever dressed an athlete for a basketball draft — was selected first overall by the Indiana Fever. Last year, an audience of 500,000 tuned in — that’s nearly a 500% increase in viewers. And they all seemed shocked to learn the truth about WNBA salaries, especially rookie ones. Despite her captivating play, astounding range and marketing prowess, Clark will only earn $338,056 over four years: $76,535 annually. … ‘For somebody who is now the face of women’s basketball, it seemed kind of ridiculous,’ Hoda Kotb said on the ‘Today’ show, adding that it was ‘disturbing’ and ‘like picking at an old scab for many women.'” (04/18/24)
https://nypost.com/2024/04/17/opinion/no-joe-biden-caitlin-clark-does-not-deserve-more-money/
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“The US and UK have imposed a new wave of sanctions against Iran, following its drone attack on Israel. Washington targeted 16 people and two entities that produce engines for the drones. The UK Foreign Office imposed a travel ban and asset freeze on seven individuals and six entities, including those involved in drone and missile programmes. Both countries already have hundreds of sanctions in place against Iran. The latest move follows Israel’s call for support from the international community after Iran’s direct assault on Saturday, involving more than 300 missiles and drones fired from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. Almost all were downed by Israel and its allies. Tehran has maintained the attack was in retaliation for a presumed Israeli air strike on its consulate in Syria on 1 April, in which 13 people were killed.” (04/18/24)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68848438
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“Drug shortages are a ‘new normal’ in the UK and are being exacerbated by Brexit, a report by the Nuffield Trust health thinktank has warned. A dramatic recent spike in the number of drugs that are unavailable has created serious problems for doctors, pharmacists, the NHS and patients, it found. The number of warnings drug companies have issued about impending supply problems for certain products has more than doubled from 648 in 2020 to 1,634 last year.” (04/18/24)
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/apr/18/drug-shortages-normal-in-uk-made-worse-by-brexit-report-warns
Source: Hoover Institution
“America’s Economic Riddle.” (04/18/24)
https://www.hoover.org/research/americas-economic-riddle
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob
“There are long-standing debates among those who oppose big government. One is whether we should promote every budget cut and any tax cut, or whether we should more-or-less carefully support only some cuts — on the grounds that some possible cuts might scuttle future reforms. This came to mind upon hearing Michigan Governor Gretch Whitmer’s plan to reduce the budget of one of her state’s bureaucracies by 28 percent. Hooray! But wait a moment: the department to be cut is the Office of the Auditor General!” (04/18/24)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2024/04/18/less-oversight/
Source: Freeman’s Perspective
by Paul Rosenberg
“Millions of decent people are wasting their time and energy, trying to identify the secret bad guys of the world, then prove that they’re right. What I want to say is that it’s a magnificent waste. Even worse, monster hunts keep people with strong ethics on the Establishment Plantation. So, here are five reasons why I’m not interested in secret bad guys …” (04/18/24)
https://freemansperspective.com/why-i-dont-care-about-the-secret-bad-guys/
Source: Axios
“Members of the Kennedy family will appear en masse and in force to endorse President Biden at a campaign event in Philadelphia on Thursday. It’s a public display of support that reveals a weakness Democrats privately acknowledge: Biden is likely more at risk from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s third-party challenge than former President Trump is. With a substantial number of voters telling pollsters they are dissatisfied with both Biden and Trump, Democrats are increasingly petrified that a Kennedy name on the ballot will throw the election to Trump.” (04/18/24)
https://www.axios.com/2024/04/18/kennedy-family-biden-endorsement-rfk-jr
Source: Axios
“Avril Benoit: Is ignoring humanitarian law the new norm?” (04/18/24)
https://www.axios.com/2024/04/18/hospitals-war-humanitarian-law-doctors-without-borders
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Alex Little
“As NATO commemorated its 75th anniversary this month, the direction of the alliance’s posture toward the Arctic region has been called into question. The recent accession of Sweden means that seven of eight of the world’s Arctic nations fall under NATO’s security umbrella, with Russia being the outlier. While some analysts see the addition of Sweden and Finland as an opportunity for NATO to ‘increase its footprint’ and ‘deter Russia,’ the last thing the alliance needs is to scour for another avenue for confrontation with Russia. Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership undoubtedly affects the alliance’s influence in the Arctic.” (04/18/24)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/arctic-nato-russia/
