This Friday, Eugene Volokh previews his forthcoming article on the First Amendment’s protections for “addictive” speech, press, and religious activity; Barry Strauss speaks with Andrew Roberts about two centuries of ancient Jewish revolt against the Roman empire; and Joshua Rauh explains why addressing entitlement spending will be key to restoring America’s fiscal balance and preserving the nation’s prosperity.
Law & Policy
At his blog on the Reason site, Senior Fellow Eugene Volokh previews a forthcoming article he is preparing for an Emory Law Journal symposium, on the constitutional concerns raised by lawmakers seeking to regulate “addictive” practices that are protected by the First Amendment. Volokh notes that when it comes to regulating behaviors like gambling or consuming alcohol, legislatures must ask, “When should the freedom of some (even of many) be restricted to prevent harm to others?” But when “behavior is also constitutionally protected, the problem becomes more difficult: Restricting the constitutional rights of some in order to prevent harms—especially self-inflicted harms—to others generally requires much more justification.” Volokh’s article will focus on “free exercise rights and free speech/free press rights,” to illustrate that whether a behavior is “addictive” or not is not a sufficient basis for justifying government restrictions on that activity. Read more here.
Revitalizing History
Why did the Jews keep fighting Rome for over 200 years—long after the Great Revolt ended in disaster? Speaking with Distinguished Visiting Fellow Andrew Roberts for Secrets of Statecraft, Hoover Senior Fellow Barry Strauss discusses the epic story of Judea’s rebellions against the world’s most powerful empire, as told in his new book, Jews vs. Rome: Two Centuries of Rebellion Against the World’s Mightiest Empire. From the fall of Jerusalem and the siege of Masada to the guerrilla war of Bar Kokhba, Strauss reveals the key players, stunning twists, and surprising alliances—including ancient Iran’s role as an ally of the Jews. Strauss also describes unforgettable characters like Herod the Great, Josephus the historian-turned-traitor, and fearless queens who shaped the fight. Packed with ancient drama and lessons for today, Strauss’s book brings one of history’s most remarkable struggles to life. Watch or listen here.
Answering Challenges to Advanced Economies
Entitlements drive federal spending, and without reform, deficits will mount, testing the nation’s fiscal resilience. A new short video from Hoover’s Tennenbaum Program for Fact-Based Policy features Senior Fellow Joshua D. Rauh discussing the challenge of fiscal policy improvement absent entitlement reform. Focusing on Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, Rauh says, “without addressing these entitlements, we will not be able to restore fiscal balance.” Rauh encourages Congress to look for ways to make these large programs more cost-efficient. While noting that spending cuts are a possible solution, Rauh maintains that Congress is unlikely to raise taxes directly to fund entitlement programs. This raises the concerning possibility that “we’re going to continue on a path of large deficits, until the consequence is inflation.” Watch here.
On Wednesday, September 24, Hoover’s Economic Policy Working Group hosted an event on “Supply Constraints Do Not Explain House Price and Quantity Growth Across US Cities,” a recent paper by Johannes Wieland (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and University of California, San Diego) with Schuyler Louie (UC Irvine) and John Mondragon (San Francisco Fed). The authors write that the “standard view of housing markets holds that differences in the flexibility of local housing supply—shaped by factors like geography and regulation—explain differences in how house price and quantity growth respond to rising demand across US cities.” But the authors find that higher income growth “predicts the same growth in house prices” across cities. This suggests that “relaxing regulatory housing supply constraints may not materially affect housing affordability.” Read more here.
Determining America’s Role in the World
What does it take to negotiate nuclear arms deals with Vladimir Putin? Diplomat and Research Fellow Rose Gottemoeller, one of America’s foremost leaders on nuclear diplomacy and also a former deputy secretary general of NATO, knows firsthand. In a conversation with Joel Rubin at The Siren, Gottemoeller responds to Putin’s recent announcement of Russia’s willingness to extend the New START accord—the very agreement she negotiated with Moscow as chief US arms control negotiator during her service in the Obama administration. Gottemoeller explains the high-stakes world of nuclear diplomacy, what Putin’s recent proposal really means, why his timing matters, and how democratic systems can enhance negotiation effectiveness against autocratic counterparts. She also explains why nuclear negotiations must be kept separate from other geopolitical conflicts like Ukraine to be effective, and why Putin’s offers may be strategic distractions. Watch or read more here.
Related Commentary