Source: Semafor
by David Weigel

“Nearly one year after the official end of the federal COVID-19 emergency declaration, the regular use of face masks for non-immunocompromised people has faded from American life. Outdoor masking, mandated in many states during the peak of the pandemic, became even rarer after a 2022 CDC advisory scaled it back. But that gradual return to barefaced life never reached left-leaning protests, where face masks are widely used and encouraged. Part of the reason, say organizers, remains an attempt to make a point about exposure to COVID-19 and other health risks, which some in the left-wing protest movements believe remain dire. And part is the threat of a different kind of exposure — from being captured by facial recognition technology or becoming doxxed (their personal information being shared online) by counter-protesters.” (04/23/24)

https://www.semafor.com/article/04/23/2024/the-rise-of-the-masked-israel-gaza-protester

Source: The American Prospect
by David Dayen

“The Federal Trade Commission is working to prevent every store in a moderately upscale Southern California mall from having the same owner. More specifically, it wants to prevent the workers who staff those stores from enduring lower wages and benefits. Those are some of the primary stakes in a merger challenge to a proposed $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri Holdings by Tapestry, Inc. Few would recognize these two parent companies, but you probably know their associated brands: Versace, Jimmy Choo, and Michael Kors are part of Capri, while Kate Spade, Coach, and Stuart Weitzman are in the Tapestry empire. All would come under the same corporate owner if the deal were to go through. … The prospect of another U.S. monopoly was enough for all five FTC commissioners (including the two new Republicans, who were just brought aboard in the last month) to vote to block the merger.” (04/24/24)

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-04-24-challenge-fashion-merger-new-antitrust-philosophy/

Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak

“A key factor that constrains people’s ability to generate goods and services is the scarcity of funding. Contrary to popular thinking, funding is not about money as such but about real savings.” (04/24/24)

https://www.cobdencentre.org/2024/04/government-outlays-and-economic-growth/

Source: Niskanen Center
by Matt Darling

“The United States funds unemployment insurance (UI) in an unusual way. Most nations fund unemployment insurance through a flat payroll tax — similar to how the United States funds programs like Social Security and Medicare: Every person who works has some fixed percentage taken out of each paycheck1 (up to a certain amount) to fund the unemployment insurance program. The United States uses a different system called experience rating. Under experience rating, unemployment insurance is paid for by a tax on firms, and the level of that tax depends on each firm’s history (or ‘experience’) sending laid-off workers into the unemployment insurance system.” (04/23/24)

https://www.niskanencenter.org/creating-a-more-dynamic-unemployment-insurance-system-the-case-for-eliminating-experience-rating/

Source: The Federalist
by David Harsanyi

“‘I condemn the antisemitic protests’ Joe Biden told reporters after days of anti-Jewish demonstrations at Columbia University and other Ivy League schools. ‘I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians.’ Any morally clearheaded American already has a very good idea of what’s going on. Biden is both-siding the actions of Kafiya-wearing terror cheerleaders on Columbia’s Gaza Quad (who target American Jews who have absolutely no bearing on Israel’s actions) with those who refuse to accept the blood libel of ‘genocide’ in Gaza. It is the kind of odious moral relativism one expects to hear from a ‘squad’ member or clout-chasing far-right ‘influencer,’ not the president.” [editor’s note: There was a time, long ago, when Harsanyi seemed to lean kinda sorta a little bit libertarianish. Apparently the lobotomy was a complete success – TLK] (04/23/24)

https://thefederalist.com/2024/04/23/joe-biden-says-there-are-very-fine-people-on-both-sides-of-the-oct-7-debate/