Today, Peter Berkowitz previews his new book on Israel’s recent political history and its relationship with the United States; the GoodFellows discuss turning points in Ukraine as well as America’s domestic political climate; and Jennifer Burns tells The Wall Street Journal why she believes American capitalism will continue to deliver prosperity 50 years from now, even as she anticipates a shake-up in the state’s relationship to the economy.
The Middle East
In his weekly column at RealClearPolitics, Senior Fellow Peter Berkowitz gives readers a preview of his new book, Explaining Israel: The Jewish State, the Middle East, and America, set to be released tomorrow, September 23. Berkowitz opens by describing Israel in 2014, which was enjoying unprecedented prosperity after decades of economic growth and urban development. But as “external threats intensified in 2014 and in the following years, internal strife in Israel mounted.” Berkowitz writes that domestic divisions between various Jewish communities and between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority population, as well as growing political discord, undermined Israel’s “political cohesion—the sense among citizens that their remarkably diverse population formed one people devoted to a common national enterprise.” Berkowitz suggests that a “constitutional crisis” over proposed judicial reforms “was averted on October 7 by a terrifying national security crisis,” which saw Israelis rally for a collective self-defense. Berkowitz’s book examines Israel’s role in the region and relations with the US in light of this recent history. Read more here.
Politics, Institutions, and Public Opinion
On the latest episode of GoodFellows, Senior Fellows Niall Ferguson, John Cochrane, and H.R. McMaster join Distinguished Policy Fellow Bill Whalen to talk about the current state of affairs in Ukraine, drawing on the observations of Sir Niall, fresh off a visit to Kyiv. The panelists also discuss Charlie Kirk’s murder as a watershed moment in a potential new cycle of political violence, and whether America has reached a tipping point regarding free speech. Noting the tendency of government meddling to advance partisan aims, Hoover’s resident “grumpy economist” calls for the elimination of the Federal Communications Commission, to get it out of the business of influencing or controlling protected speech. Finally, the crew ends on a sunnier note, with the three fellows sharing their favorite Robert Redford movies in honor of the recently deceased screen legend. Watch or listen here.
Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
As part of a yearlong series exploring the story of “the world’s greatest economy,” leading up to the 250th anniversary of American independence next July, The Wall Street Journal asked seven economic experts what capitalism in the United States might look like 50 years from now. In response, Research Fellow Jennifer Burns argues that despite headwinds, in 50 years, “American capitalism will remain a dynamic, innovative engine of growth.” What will change, says Burns, is “the relationship between capitalism and the American state, and the importance of geopolitics to economic policy.” Burns suggests “soaring budget deficits and an inevitable entitlements crunch” will, likely in the next decade, “accelerate the political and economic exhaustion of the regulatory administrative state.” Burns sees a renegotiation of the relationship between capital and labor, as well as possible national security imperatives to decentralize and disperse innovation hubs across the country, as pillars of an emerging postindustrial economy. Read more here.
A new short video from Hoover’s Tennenbaum Program for Fact-Based Policy features Research Fellow Lanhee J. Chen discussing the trade-offs involved in Medicare expansion. While expanding Medicare by lowering the eligibility age may sound compassionate, the video shows how it risks massive costs. Expanding Medicare could displace private coverage yet still fail to target those truly in need. Chen notes that expanding an entitlement program like Medicare “into perpetuity,” in the hopes of expanding coverage to only a few million individuals lacking adequate insurance, will increase costs and reduce coverage options for many millions. Chen argues that creating “competitive markets that lower the cost of healthcare” and expanding the availability of benefits is the better solution to expanding access to health coverage and care. Watch here.
In a post for the Promarket blog, published by the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Visiting Fellow David Neumark and coauthors share findings from their recent research into the effects of minimum-wage laws on employment. The authors note that proponents of higher minimum-wage laws have tended to base their arguments on a small number of studies claiming to show that “higher minimum wages increase low-wage employment or, more commonly, do not affect employment at all.” The authors write that their “recent research shows, however, that this evidence fails to account for the fact that in larger cities, wages are higher and, as a result, minimum wages are binding for fewer workers.” Neumark and coauthors explain further that once city size is accounted for, “there is much less evidence that a higher minimum wage can increase employment in less competitive labor markets.” Read more here.
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