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October 25, 2023

The Freedom to Choose

When appraising American social cleavages, we should avoid lapsing into two unfortunate trends in conservative thinking: despair and polarization. In “Conservatism and Class,” Bruce Frohnen argues that conservatives should embrace class analysis albeit in a more heterodox and less exclusively economic way than we typically think of it. His argument makes compelling points, especially in the way it extends the Madisonian principle of…

By Brent Orrell

September 29, 2023

How Well Is Rural America Doing? You’d Be Surprised

Elizabeth Currid-Halkett’s ‘The Overlooked Americans’ rejects grim depictions of rural life. “Why are we so divided?” That’s probably the most asked question in American politics, especially since that Divider-in-Chief descended the golden escalator and announced that he alone could bring an end to America’s decline. Donald Trump’s election, however, is not the origin of America’s almost decadelong cosmopolitan-country sneer fest. It’s been…

By Brent Orrell

August 28, 2023

Here’s a Kind of Job-Training Program That Works

JOB-TRAINING AND WORKFORCE-DEVELOPMENT programs have long been plagued by weak wage and job-persistence outcomes. Since the United States spends markedly less on these types of programs than do other developed nations, it’s reasonable to ask whether the weak outcomes are a function of the programs or the funding. Likely, it is a combination of both. The good…

By Brent Orrell | David Veldran

July 27, 2023

Time to Do Something About the NILFs

The overall employment situation looks great in the United States—so why are so many men not working? The Wall Street Journal reports that work among prime-age Americans—those between 25 and 54 years of age—is at the highest rate in two decades, driven by rising wages and worker shortages. After years of decline in labor force participation, this is certainly welcome…

By Brent Orrell

July 27, 2023

Perspective: Can artificial intelligence teach us to be better workers?

So-called ‘soft skills’ are in short supply in the workforce and society at large. AI could help us get better A few weeks ago, McKinsey & Company published updated estimates on when key anticipated characteristics of artificial intelligence might arrive — including things like creativity, logical reasoning, and social/emotional reasoning, sensing and output. McKinsey’s timeline for increased capacity across a range of such capabilities…

By Brent Orrell

July 7, 2023

With Affirmative Action Gone, We Should Focus Admissions Policies on Poverty

If history is any guide, Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard won’t mark the end of the struggle over the constitutionality of race-conscious policies. It won’t even mark the beginning of the end. Most likely, it will just be another in a long series of inflection points. To borrow from one of the…

By Brent Orrell

June 28, 2023

Yes, College Is Still a Good Investment

A four-year degree still pays dividends—but now’s a great time for young people to snap up some on-the-job experience, too. Another graduation season is in the books. Some students have finished high school and are thinking about their next steps while others have just finished college and are wondering if it was worth it. They…

By Brent Orrell

May 23, 2023

An Unexpected Role for AI in the Workplace

WHEN MICHAEL POLANYI, the underappreciated twentieth-century physicist, philosopher, and economist, is remembered nowadays, it is most often for having observed that much of human knowledge, in both practical and abstract matters, is “tacit” rather than explicit. Most of what we know is not written or verbalized anywhere, yet it nonetheless exists as a foundation for our consciously…

By Brent Orrell

March 31, 2023

AI and the Future of Work: Preparing the Workforce for an AI-Driven Economy

AI is best positioned to augment the workforce, not replace it. The U.S. Chamber’s Commission on Artificial Intelligence Competition, Inclusion, and Innovation report outlines recommendations for preparing the workforce for the continued integration of AI tools across our economy. To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the “end of work” have been greatly exaggerated – more…

By Brent Orrell

March 27, 2023

Here Are the Kinds of Jobs Chat AI Is Likeliest to Affect

A new analysis estimates that a fifth of all U.S. jobs are in the category most vulnerable to disruption. Researchers at OpenAI—the company behind ChatGPT—and the University of Pennsylvania came out last week with a first look at the potential labor market impact of chat technology. If these initial “guesstimates” hold up, we might be looking at…

By Brent Orrell