Good morning:
This week, Manhattan Institute scholars looked at some of the major economic, political, and health systems that make our nation work in New York State and across the country. Some of them clearly need a tune up.
Tax increases should go through the legislative process and be held up to public scrutiny. But because New York State’s income tax system is not indexed to inflation, residents face a constant and undemocratic “hidden inflation tax.” In a new MI report, cities policy analyst Paul Dreyer, former MI collegiate associate Victoria Freeman, and junior web developer Matias Ahrensdorf argue that an unindexed system lowers the value of existing tax deductions and creates bracket creep, in which more and more of taxpayers’ income is pushed into higher brackets and taxed at a higher rate. New Yorkers deserve to have a system that reflects the real value of money.
They also deserve a functioning mental health system. In a column for the New York Post, senior fellow Stephen Eide and Paulson policy analyst Carolyn D. Gorman argue that last week’s Midtown shooting, in which a police officer and three others were killed, never should have happened. The shooter’s deteriorating mental health should have prompted sustained interventions multiple times, but the system failed him and his victims.
Warning signs are also appearing in the National Science Foundation. President Trump’s administration started off strong by terminating grants that promoted the politicized ideology of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and racial victimhood. But the latest budget request overprioritizes science fields that have an immediate economic use at the expense of exploring some of the deeper mysteries of the universe, writes Thomas W. Smith fellow Heather Mac Donald in the Wall Street Journal.
In City Journal, fellow Danny Crichton looks at the statistics bureaus responsible for studying developed economies across the world and weighs the tradeoffs governments face between collecting data and managing economic messaging. Also in City Journal, director of research Judge Glock reviews how Presidents Obama and Biden tried to push the limits of the Clean Air Act to regulate emissions, and how a recent proposal by President Trump restores Congress’s original meaning of the act.
Finally, City Journal economics editor Jordan McGillis traveled across Ohio recently and found that reports of the Rust Belt’s decline are overblown. That’s important to know when policymakers consider reviving manufacturing in Midwest towns and regional hubs. Hear the highlights of his analysis and reporting in a new video.
Continue reading for all these insights and more.
Kelsey Bloom
Editorial Director
