September 27, 2024
Justice at Any Cost?
“Almost 9,000 children in California foster care could soon be taken from homes over insurance crisis,” reads one among a dozen similar headlines that have appeared in West Coast media over recent weeks. The stories all suggest a situation that snuck up on the child-welfare establishment and political leaders. Yet this problem has simmered for…
September 25, 2024
The Promise — and Danger — of Kamala Harris’s YIMBYism
Vice President Kamala Harris is not wrong to emphasize that the best solution to our housing shortage is the construction of new homes. She’s actually enunciated something close to a program to do so: tax credits for small “starter” homes, as part of a push for 3 million new houses. It’s encouraging that the Democratic presidential candidate shows a basic knowledge…
September 23, 2024
The Kamala Harris Plan for More Housing Shortages
A signature feature of Kamala Harris’s housing plan is providing first-time home buyers with $25,000 in down-payment support, at a total cost of $100 billion over four years. Absent a severe recession, this policy is all but certain to lead to higher home prices. That’s because the four million program recipients would become price setters for…
September 21, 2024
Why Is Race Still a Factor in Adoption?
“I know you really want to be parents, and I can tell that you would love and dote on the child,” Angela Tucker, a consultant for an adoption agency, told Todd and Tammy. “But adopting a Black child requires more than love. I will not be recommending that you proceed with adopting a Black child.”…
September 20, 2024
How Public Housing Fueled Boston’s Busing Riots
This month marks the 50th anniversary of the North’s worst episode of school desegregation–related racial violence: Boston’s busing riots. Mobs hurled rocks at buses filled with black students newly assigned to South Boston High School, set on the “heights” of that largely white neighborhood. At the time, and in retrospect, the violence was blamed on…
September 20, 2024
Don’t Believe the Doomsayers. The American Dream Is Still In Reach for Young People
The American dream is still alive and can be achieved in just one generation, even among the most economically disadvantaged young people. That finding is among the most promising takeaways from new research produced by Harvard University’s Raj Chetty and his collaborators. These analysts studied economic outcomes for 57 million children born between 1978 and 1992, whose…
September 17, 2024
The Blue State Family Exodus: Families Are Migrating to Red and Purple States
You would think that Minnesota is a mecca for families, judging by the adulatory press coverage that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s family policy record in the state has received from liberal professors and pundits. Celebrating the vice presidential nominee’s moves to expand the child tax credit for poor families, advance paid family leave, and provide…
September 12, 2024
Surgeon general’s dour picture of parenthood misses the mark
Fifteen years ago, after we had adopted five children, I thought my wife and I were done having children. Boy, was I wrong. She got pregnant with twins in 2009 and, after the girls were born, I was shellshocked by the double dose of diapers, late nights and extra parenting demands — not to mention…
September 11, 2024
As America’s housing crisis intensifies, the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2024 has emerged as a high-profile yet expensive solution.
The bill comes with a $500 billion price tag and endorsements from leading Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris. Moody’s, a major financial services company, has also blessed the act, predicting it will lower rents and significantly boost the supply of affordable housing. But before the country embraces this rosy outlook, it must confront a stark reality: Government interventions in housing…
September 9, 2024
The Nanny State Is Not the Answer to Parents’ Challenges
The chaos of summer is over. Kids have gone back to school. But fall brings a whole new set of challenges. We parents have spent the past few weeks creating complex matrices — schedules for child care, after-school activities, and car pools. But by next week, someone will get sick, or a babysitter will quit, and…