The data on Obamacare has started to flow hard and fast into the public square. Three new resources out this week should be very helpful in piecing together the law’s effects. Avik Roy has a comprehensive analysis of state-by-state premium shifts under Obamacare, including an interactive map and revised estimates. Across the 13 states currently reporting rates, […]

Germany’s green energy revolution—it’s energiewende—has been a disaster. The solar panels and wind turbines meant to replace the nuclear reactors and fossil fuels the country previously relied on have come at a premium, and these costs have been passed on to consumers. Both industries and households are struggling under the yoke of high electricity prices, and […]

Apologies for another Syria post after this morning’s essay, but sometimes the news gives you no choice. From the Times this morning, we see that the President is still floundering, unwilling or unable to level with himself or the public about just how ugly his self-created Syria predicament has become: “I didn’t set a red line; the […]

Colleges are facing a problem they haven’t faced in nearly a decade: declining enrollment. New Census Bureau data reports that college enrollment dropped by about a half-million last year for the first time since 2006. Some of this may simply be a result of students who went to school in the late 2000s to avoid […]

The tea leaves aren’t easy to read, but at this point Congress appears to be inching reluctantly towards granting President Obama some manner of authorization to bomb Syria. But even as they come closer to authorizing acts of war, our elected representatives seem to be trying to evade the harsh truth about what they are […]

Shale’s rising tide is lifting all boats, says a new study. The wealth brought on by America’s recent shale revolution hasn’t been confined to the companies drilling the wells and the landowners leasing the property: the average American’s household income is up more than $1,200 last year thanks to fracking. The report, released by the energy […]

Mitchell Duneier, Princeton professor and creator of one of the most celebrated MOOCs, “Introduction to Sociology”, has announced that he is discontinuing his course until further notice. Duneier, an early adopter who has called his course “one of the greatest experiences of my career,” isn’t your garden-variety MOOC naysayer. In fact, he’s not pulling out due […]

The price of oil has risen significantly in recent weeks, and though many are attributing the spike to the prospect of a US strike on Syria, severe supply disruptions in Libya could be the more likely culprit. Armed protesters have shut down oil export ports, leading some analysts to deem the disruption “as bad as […]

How polluted is a 19-mile stretch of the Fu River downstream from a local chemical plant in central China? Absurdly polluted. Toxic runoff killed approximately 100,000 kilograms of fish, environmental protection officials said today. NYT: Tests conducted by environmental protection officials from Xiaogan City revealed ammonia concentrations in the river waters downstream from the plant […]

This week, Spain is pushing a new pension reform plan that could help put the country’s shaky pension system on stronger footing. Amid a number of minor tweaks, the plan’s major change would be to link pension payments to life expectancy—meaning that as life expectancy rises, the annual payout would decrease to make the funds […]