Matters of Policy & Politics

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: Indulgent Dodgers, Indebted San Francisco | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

San Francisco’s office values plummet as the city/county face a myriad of financial woes including a gaping budget shortfall and a public-transportation system approaching a “fiscal cliff.” Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including what policies San Francisco could implement to rejuvenate its business sector, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ dust-up with a “progressive order of queer and trans nuns,” plus the left’s efforts to force a frail senator Dianne Feinstein into an early retirement.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Eye on the Prize: John Cochrane on Monetary Policy, the Fed’s Evolution, and Career Achievements | Bill Whalen and John Cochrane | Hoover Institution

What are we to make of the debt-ceiling drama in Washington and why is there a need for the Federal Reserve to engage in greater self-examination? John Cochrane, the Hoover Institution’s Rose Marie and Jack Anderson senior fellow and a recipient of the 2023 Bradley Prize for his contributions to the study of economics, reflects on lessons learned from inflation, institutional drift, and the art of economic storytelling.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: California Update: What’s a Stay-at-Home Governor To Do? | Bill Whalen, Lee Ohanian, and Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

San Francisco’s fentanyl “crackdown” begins; California’s budget drama heats up inside the State Capitol; and Governor Gavin Newsom’s ongoing obsession with national politics prompts a media backlash back at home. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including what policy urgencies Newsom faces other than fiscal triage, plus a window into California’s cultural disparity that is the Lakers-Warriors NBA playoff series.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Africa’s Future: The Great Powers’ “Second Scramble” for Influence and Leverage | Bill Whalen and Thomas Henriksen | Hoover Institution

At the dawn of the 20^th Century, control of the African continent centered around European colonial desires – national pride, natural resources, and manpower. Hoover senior fellow emeritus Thomas Henriksen, author of America’s Wars: Interventions, Regime Change, and Insurgencies After the Cold War, describes what differs in this century other than the former colonies being independent nations—Russian and Chinese influence (think war financing and debt traps), terrorist-related “forever wars,” and a question of direct American involvement (such as special forces operations). Henriksen also offers analysis on last weekend’s evacuation of US embassy staff in Khartoum.

Matters Of Policy & Politics: Did He Act Alone? Kevin Hassett on the Death of Curiosity, and the Birth of Economic Policy | Bill Whalen And Kevin Hassett | Hoover Institution

One economist believes that what is lacking in America today is too little in the way of intellectual curiosity. Kevin Hassett, a Hoover Institution distinguished visiting fellow and past chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisors (and a man very curious about the motives behind JFK’s assassination as well as a recent book about the assassination, The Oswalds: An Untold Account of Marina and Lee by Hoover colleague Paul Gregory), ponders why some topics – climate change and CO2 emissions, social justice, and income inequality – don’t receive the re-examination they should. Finally, Hassett offers a few thoughts on how to talk about economic policy in the current political landscape.

2024’s Elephant Parade: Who Plays the Trump Card? | Bill Whalen and Ben Ginsberg | Hoover Institution

Should he formalize his candidacy, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott would be the fifth Republican looking to unseat President Biden in 2024. How many other Republicans will join the field – and what are their odds of denying Donald Trump the GOP nomination? Ben Ginsberg, the Hoover Institution’s Volker Family Visiting Fellow and a nationally recognized political law advocate and veteran of past Republican presidential efforts, discusses the current state of the GOP “establishment,” Trump’s loyal base and influence over the primary electorate, plus his current Hoover projects devoted to election integrity and re-instilling voter confidence.

A California Update: San Francisco’s “Doom Loop,” Newsom’s Wanderlust, Harris’ Bad Luck | Lee Ohanian, Bill Whalen, Jonathan Movroydis | Hoover Institution

A lurid homicide in an upscale neighborhood underscores San Francisco’s various crises. Meanwhile, California governor Gavin Newsom tours America’s red states – begging the question of his interest in his day job. Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, join Hoover senior writer Jonathan Movroydis to discuss the latest in the Golden State, including why Newsom’s promise to build millions of new homes has fizzled as well as vice president Kamala Harris’ inability to catch a break – her tour of Africa is overshadowed by Donald Trump’s legal woes.

As the World Turns: Macron’s China “Sweet Tooth”; Politics or Realpolitik for Biden? | Bill Whalen and Russell Berman | Hoover Institution

Amidst his country’s turmoil over pension reform, French president Emmanuel Macron courts Chinese president Xi Jinping, while Israel and the US are at odds over the Israel’s proposed judicial reform. Hoover senior fellow and former State Department senior advisor Russell Berman discusses the latest in Europe and the Middle East, including NATO’s commitment to arming Ukraine, Iran’s regional ambitions, and the Saudi government warming up to Chinese diplomacy – and currency – while cutting back on oil production.

Campaign 2024: Waiting for Kohoutek, What’s Behind Door Number 3 | Bill Whalen, Dave Brady, and Doug Rivers | Hoover Institution

Donald Trump’s legal woes aren’t the only unknowns as the 2024 election cycle begins. There’s a question of the identity of today’s GOP; a Democratic void should President Biden surprisingly not run; plus the wild card of a domestic crisis (an economic recession) and a foreign crisis (Ukraine). Hoover senior fellows Dave Brady and Doug Rivers, both Hoover senior fellows and Stanford political scientists, whose polling tracks the health of the two parties’, reflect on the state of the next presidential race.

California High-Speed Rail: More “Loco” Than “Motion” | Bill Whalen and Lee Ohanian | Hoover Institution

Why has California governor Gavin Newsom taken to denouncing Walgreens’ drug policy (hint: abortion-pill availability) and what should happen with the Golden State’s problematic high-speed rail project that’s more “loco” than “motion”? Hoover senior fellow Lee Ohanian and distinguished policy fellow Bill Whalen, both contributors to Hoover’s “California on Your Mind” web channel, discuss the latest in the Golden State including why Newsom chose not to deliver a State of the State address, fentanyl-plagued San Francisco revisiting its sanctuary policy, and California bracing for (sigh) another round of battering rainstorms.