Democrats proposed subsidies do not make the rent any less high

Democratic Senators and Presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have both recently proposed legislation to address the issue of rising housing costs. Senator Harris’ bill ‘The Rent Relief Act’ and Senator Booker’s bill ‘Housing, Opportunity, Mobility, and Equity Act’ both focus on assisting people who pay more than 30% of their gross income on rent or, in the case of Senator Harris’s bill, rent and utilities. Continue Reading...

Alejandro Chafuen in Forbes: Bolsonaro and the new Brazil

Yesterday in Forbes, Alejandro Chafuen, Acton’s Managing Director, International, weighed in on Jair Bolsonaro’s new administration in Brazil. Bolsonaro’s coalition includes people of many different backgrounds and ideas, and collaboration among them will be key for the administration’s success. Continue Reading...

‘Social justice’ as a postmodern religion

Has “social justice” become a new religion in what many believe to be an irreligious age? Andrew Sullivan recently reflected on the decline of Christianity and the rise of “personal spiritualties” and “political religions,” noting the weaknesses of our modern orthodoxies. Continue Reading...

How progressives are turning the ‘unthinkable’ into ‘policy’

Last week two Congressional Democrats, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey, unveiled their Green New Deal. The resolution claims that environmental and economic conditions require the federal government to take drastic action, such as updating or replacing every building in the country and guaranteeing jobs to all Americans. Continue Reading...

Socialism, by any other name

At the end of January I had the pleasure to speak with my friend of many years Ricardo Ball about the ongoing crisis in Venezuela.  The conversation was livestreamed from the Acton Institute allowing an international audience to listen in as we discussed recent developments from the streets of Caracas. Continue Reading...