November 21, 2023
Defining Poverty Up
Thirty years ago, the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D., N.Y.) wrote a seminal essay titled “Defining Deviancy Down.” He argued that Americans had “become accustomed to alarming levels of crime and destructive behavior” such as soaring out-of-wedlock childbearing behind increased welfare dependence. Policy-makers responded to Moynihan’s call, and the bipartisan 1994 crime bill (which Moynihan…
November 17, 2023
Male Malaise Is Not Just About ‘the Culture’
You are familiar with the litany of ills blighting our society: declining rates of work and marriage; rising rates of obesity and loneliness; soaring deaths of despair. All of these trends reflect the falling fortunesof the American male, a malaise magnified when we look at boys and men in poor and working-class communities. When the male malaise…
November 16, 2023
“Harm Reduction” Is No Solution
Advocates of so-called safe-injection sites are seizing on a new study that finds crime has apparently not increased in East Harlem and Washington Heights neighborhoods featuring overdose-prevention centers. The decline in arrests is welcome news, of course, but not necessarily proof that crime has lessened; the study found a rise in 311 calls about drug activity, for…
November 14, 2023
Did Child Poverty Really Increase Last Year?
In 2021, Democrats succeeded in temporarily expanding the child tax credit (CTC) as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. Previously, the maximum CTC of $2,000 per child was available only to workers with income tax liability and who exceeded an earnings threshold. The expansion gave every family $3,000 per child—$3,600 for younger children—regardless of whether…
November 13, 2023
The Jobless AI Future Is Still a Long Way Off
Tech billionaire Elon Musk recently prophesied that there “will come a point where no job is needed,” owing to advances in artificial intelligence. But the fear that AI will cause mass unemployment is rooted in a zero-sum mentality that fundamentally misunderstands how economies evolve. WASHINGTON, DC – In a recent discussion with British Prime Minister Rishi…
November 13, 2023
How The IRS Discourages Boomer Charity
Americans like to call ourselves the most generous nation on earth — but charitable giving is on the decline. In 2022, it fell 3.4% (10.5% when adjusted for inflation) to fall under $500 billion. It was only the fourth such decline in 40 years. What’s more, individual giving — distinguished from that of foundations and corporations…
November 11, 2023
Why is NYC Telling Teachers to Not Keep Kids Safe?
When you see something, should you say something? According to the Office of Children and Family Services, it depends on the race of the victim. New guidance released last month for New York City teachers offers some unusual bits of advice. Rather than reporting suspected cases of abuse to the Administration for Children’s Services, teachers should actually…
November 9, 2023
What Dems — And NYC — Can Learn From The GOP’s Bronx City Council Win
Some will attribute Kristy Marmorato’s election as the first Republican to represent The Bronx in City Council in 40 years to selfish NIMBY-ism. And there is no doubt her opposition to two subsidized- (a k a “affordable-”) housing developments in the northeast Bronx (District 13) were a key factor in her defeating incumbent Democrat Marjorie Velazquez —…
November 8, 2023
Perspective: The 4-Year Dividing Line
New survey shows the compounding benefits of college degrees. Here’s how to help those without degrees to catch up When it comes to jobs and work, the past three years have been among the most tumultuous in decades. From mass layoffs in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to surging reemployment and wages as the country…
November 3, 2023
A Postcard from Ashkelon
Ashkelon, in the Hamas-targeted south of Israel, a few kilometers from Gaza, is the region’s largest Israeli city. It’s also the Israeli city that has been struck by more rockets than any other—more than a thousand. As I read about that, I think of my grandmother and the postcard she sent me from her trip…