What, Increase Legal Immigration? With Millions of Americans Unemployed?Center for Immigration StudiesWith all the Americans looking for jobs, what evidence is there of a labor shortage that justifies President Obama’s plan to increase the number of legal immigrants? In Defense of the Citizen LegislatureGoldwater InstituteStates with citizen legislatures — part-time, shorter sessions, lower salaries, smaller…

As it becomes increasingly apparent that the United States model of education is broken, some libertarian thinkers have begun challenging fundamental assumptions about the way schooling is organized and delivered. Two new essays trample upon the conventional wisdom. In “The Costs of Compulsory Education,” published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute, author Aaron Smith questions…

There’s something odd about The Federal Emergency Management Agency and this spring’s spate of intense tornadoes that all but leveled the cities of Joplin and Tuscaloosa. And for once, I have to come down on the side of Gov. Bob McDonnell. In April, as many as 30 tornadoes whipped through Virginia, killing 10 people and…

Ideas for Closing the Justice GapCenter for American ProgressThere is a huge gap between the legal needs of the poor and the ability of the legal assistance community to help them. Americans need to spend more money on legal assistance and spend it more effectively. Time for Evidence-Based Funding of Legal AidCenter for American ProgressOne…

If you don’t believe taxes influence human behavior, then you won’t put much stock in the just-published edition of “Rich States, Poor States” published by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). And you won’t get very excited about Virginia’s rise from the 8th most competitive state in the union last year to the 3rd most…

I could find material for a dozen blog posts in the 2011-2012 Virginia Economic Forecast prepared by Chmura Economics & Analytics and just published by the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. But there are so many other pressing matters to write about that I will confine myself to the fascinating data presented regarding the…

In 1997 Jared Diamond published Guns Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. The book was a best seller, won a Pulitzer Prize and garnered wide acclaim. It was panned by some academics whose niche claims to fame and pet theories Diamond demolished. However, for most who read the book, it was an important…

The most important job of the state corrections system is to keep criminals locked safely behind bars where they pose no threat to the public or themselves. That’s pretty much of a no brainer. The second most important job is helping prisoners re-enter society as productive citizens. That’s a lot harder to do. Nationally, according…

Former Postmaster General John E. “Jack” Potter has been appointed as CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. “Jack is … the right person at the right time to meet the challenges of building Metrorail in the Dulles Corridor and improving the Dulles Toll Road to promote mobility and economic development for our region,” said…

How Health Care Reform Will Benefit Small Business EmployeesUrban InstituteDespite widespread fears to the contrary, Obamacare will have “generally positive” effects on small businesses and their employees. Addressing the Uneven Geography of OpportunityUrban InstituteRecognizing that out-of-school factors impact educational achievement, planners, community developers and educators need to bust out of their silos and collaborate to…

From the Brookings Institution MetroMonitor: The Washington metropolitan area has ranked among the 20 strongest-performing regions among the nation’s largest 100 since the beginning of the economic recovery. The Richmond and Hampton Roads metro areas ranked in the middle 20. The MetroMonitor tracks employment growth, change in unemployment rate, change in gross metropolitan product, and…

EMR will be noting the stupendous mismatch between Chinese infrastructure and citizens Mobility and Access needs and the gross overbuild in ‘new city development’ in Chapter 2 of ENOUGH?. In the mean time go to “New Satellite Pictures of China’s Ghost Cities” and check out the incredible 29 photos of empty projects. There were 64…

Last week, I had an unpleasant surprise. I was in my car and wanted to drop by the Food Lion I patronize because it is on the south side of the major thoroughfare in my exburban region. I’ve been going there for ten years and I also drop off my dry cleaning and get my…

Virginia Rates A- in P&C InsuranceHeartland InstituteIn marked contrast to the miserable performance of its schools (see previous post), Virginia rates an A- in the Heartland Institute’s ranking of the states by the freedom of its property and casualty insurance markets. Hawai’i’s P-3 Initiative: A First-Year EvaluationRand CorporationHawai’i’s P-3 initiative in two demonstration schools hopes…

For the most part, Virginians are satisfied with their schools. There are pockets of excellence (the Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County) and pockets of dysfunction (Petersburg city schools), but overall we do pretty well. Our educational achievements aren’t stellar, but they’re better than the national average. There is no groundswell…