Supreme Court Restores the Rule of Law and, for a Moment, Increased Economic Freedom
The Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources v. Trump is a landmark reaffirmation of one of the Constitution’s most fundamental principles: the power to tax belongs to Congress alone. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution explicitly vests in the legislative branch the authority “to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.” Tariffs are taxes, and the Court […]
State Legislation on AI: How a Courageous Governor’s Veto Averted Regulatory Crisis
Artificial intelligence (AI) is progressing rapidly and powering solutions previously unimaginable. At the same time, AI legislation is on the rise and a patchwork of state restrictions looms over the momentum of innovators and US leadership. This Monday, HB 2094, the High-Risk Artificial Intelligence Developer and Deployer Act, was vetoed by Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA). HB […]
The ‘Black Jobs’ Narrative Harms the Black Community
While most of the post-debate news coverage is still rightly focused on the mental acuity (or lack thereof) of President Biden, the use of the term “Black jobs” by former President Trump in the context of low-income, unskilled jobs that will be impacted by our open southern border, bothers me almost as much. This type of […]
Rent Control, Collective Bargaining, Class Action Lawsuits, Virginia’s Business Climate in the Crosshairs
The Democrats now running Virginia’s General Assembly are not just more progressive, but far more ambitious than their predecessors. To fully understand how ambitious you must compile the entire list of progressive bills advancing in the 2024 session and consider their total impact on the cost of living and the cost of doing business in the […]
Virginia hits highest labor force participation rate in a decade; Unemployment Decreases
Work isn’t just about a paycheck. At its core, work is about freedom, accomplishment, respect, human dignity, and even companionship. Work gives purpose and is essential to a thriving community, and thriving communities are essential to a thriving state. That is why it is not surprising to see Gov. Youngkin focus so intently on creating a job-friendly […]
Virginia Ends the Subminimum Wage; Jeopardizes Disabled Workers
There are few issues with more economic consensus than the negative impacts of the minimum wage. Originally designed to mimic racially discriminatory laws in other countries, the minimum wage continues to be a means of picking certain classes and geographic locations over others. For example, the minimum wage benefits the high-cost-of-living areas in the Northeast over the lower-cost-of-living […]
Virginia drops from A+ to C in worker freedom largest decrease in the country
Virginia’s ranking fell more than any other state in the in the Commonwealth Foundation’s 50 State Labor Report “The Battle for Worker Freedom in the States: Grading State Labor Laws.” Virginia plunged from an “A+” ranking in 2019 to a dismal “C” this year. This was due to what the report called “[t]he most dramatic […]
If U.S. Copies Europe, “It Will End in Tears”
“Don’t follow our path. Don’t copy the Europeans. It will end in tears,” Peiser said.
Green New Deal Still Rules in Virginia
The elections of a Republican Virginia governor and a new Republican majority in the House of Delegates have not changed Virginia’s status as one of the greenest of Green New Deal states in the country. Every effort to reverse the course set during the previous period of Democratic hegemony has failed at the 2022 General […]
Mason-Dixon Poll: Virginia Voters Support Collective Bargaining Reforms
With several localities in Virginia having passed ordinances allowing government unions a monopoly on representing public employees, the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy today released results of Mason-Dixon poll commissioned to measure certain provisions commonly contained in those ordinances. Those provisions are unpopular with Virginia voters. The results may be found by clicking here. The […]