RealClearPolicy Articles

The conviction of famed short seller Andrew Left in June, days before SpaceX's IPO drew Elon Musk into a public fight with the industry, has reopened an old argument about whether short sellers keep the market honest or seek to profit from the destruction they inflict. With Mr. Left’s sentencing due later this August, it is important to reexamine the role these companies play in the marketplace.  A federal jury convicted Mr. Left of securities fraud. He was accused of using his reputation and media position to manipulate shares in a way that rewarded his trades. Short...

Eighty years ago, the uranium that powered America's victory in the Second World War did not come from Nevada or New Mexico. It came from Congo, specifically the Shinkolobwe mine in Katanga, in the country I hope to lead. American and Congolese effort, joined together, helped end the War. That partnership is one of the great untold stories of the twentieth century. This week, it became a warning for the twenty-first. A new investigation by Lighthouse Reports, covered by Semafor, alleges that between 2,000 and 5,000 tonnes of uranium were exported from the Democratic Republic of Congo to China...

In today’s digital world, it might be surprising to hear that checks have become one of the most vulnerable entry points for fraud in the U.S. financial system. Fraud losses in the U.S. totaled at least $16 billion in 2025. Check fraud accounted for a growing share. A decade ago, most people assumed checks were becoming obsolete.  Direct deposit, Venmo, and tap-to-pay seemed likely to make paper payments a niche tool for landlords and grandparents. But that’s not the case. Checks are still used a lot. A check-fraud scheme is embarrassingly simple. Basically, it involves a...

Four years after TotalEnergies vacated its Afungi site in northern Mozambique amid civil unrest, the company restarted its $20 billion liquefied natural gas project. The gas had not moved. The geology had not improved. What changed sat 8,000 miles away at the U.S. Export-Import Bank, where a newly appointed board reauthorized a $4.7 billion loan that had been gathering dust. With every day, a surge in oil and gas development is becoming the norm across Africa. Two factors are responsible for the change in the continent’s energy politics. The first came from Washington. The...

The development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the most significant scientific breakthrough since man split the atom. It has the potential to revolutionize the way we live, do business, even think in ways that heretofore have been the stuff of science fiction. Predictably, as is usually the case with changes of this scale, its arrival has generated a climate of fear into which the guardians of our culture tap, then spread, so they can drive the narrative that the only wise course for us to follow is to allow them to regulate what happens. No thank you. Even though I understand well the...

Under U.S. federal policy, wood pellets are classified as carbon neutral renewable energy. That label, assigned in an overlooked 2018 rider buried in a massive appropriations bill, is worth billions of dollars. The people who lobbied hardest to put it there were not scientists. They were investors who may make billions as a result of that controversial decision. Enviva, the world's largest wood pellet producer, was built with private equity money. Riverstone Holdings first invested in 2010 through its $4.3 billion Riverstone/Carlyle renewable energy fund, then led a recapitalization worth...

The September Effect says the stock market tends to slump after Labor Day. This year’s Effect would likely be triggered by the bond market. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon says the stock market is overvalued and overleveraged. In July, he said bonds were overvalued too, with10-year U.S. Treasury Notes yielding only 4.5%. Since then, it has hit 4.75%. Stock prices are based on prevailing U.S Treasury rates used to discount future company earnings; the higher the rate, the lower stocks’ value. Also, Treasuries are competitive investments; the higher their yield, the more attractive they...

Planet Earth is as dangerous place as it’s been since World War II, with hostile powers convinced that the Pax America is ending, thereby opening the door for all kinds of mischief. China’s saber-rattling about taking over the world, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Turkey’s desire to rebuild the Ottoman Empire, the Iran’s attacks on, well, everyone. The way to prevent wide-scale conflict is for America to maintain its military superiority – particularly air dominance. It’s not 2005: defense contractors can’t continue gorging themselves at the trough...

The Clarity Act, which would bring a regulated Crypto market to the United States, would help reduce theft, collusion, and close regulatory and ethical loopholes for consumers and investors. Yet while it passed by the Senate Banking Committee on May 14, 2026 by a vote of 15-9 it has been met with a blind eye, causing it to be stalled in the Senate. Some of that delay is driven by a misconception that this bill somehow weakens law enforcement's ability to police digital asset markets. However, that is not the case. The Clarity Act gives law enforcement more flexibility to respond to...

In late April, United Steelworkers (USW) members got a text message that should have been reassuring but, instead, raised more questions than it answered.  Union leaders told members U.S. Steel had floated the idea of starting bargaining early, that the two sides had gone “back and forth” over what that would take and, in the end, bargaining would “take place as usual, starting later this summer.”  Reading between those careful lines: An opportunity to get ahead of the clock came and went.  Reporting later showed the sticking point...

After failing its past eight audits, the Department of War is on track to pass an audit by 2028, the Pentagon said recently. Achieving this goal will meet a statutory requirement and demonstrate sound stewardship of the half-trillion dollars American taxpayers annually entrust to the Pentagon. On the way to achieving this goal, defense officials have rooted out mistakes and wrangled massive numbers of independent operations. In one case, a capital O typed in place of a zero caused the Army to believe it had more trucks than it actually did. Until recently, the Navy and Air Force operated...

Feel good legislation pending in the U.S. Senate that imposes harsh sanctions on countries that purchase Russian oil has a provision included that would greatly expand tariff authority for the Trump Administration. Section 113 of the bill authorizes up to 100% tariffs on the top five counties that purchase Russian oil and gas to increase the pressure of sanctions on Russia. This is a problematic idea, because it likely would reignite a trade war while doing little to nothing to end the war in Ukraine. The Senate is likely to take up this legislation soon. Axios reported on July 23, 2026,...

AI threatens to take all our jobs, starting with radiology – or, at least, that’s what some have predicted. Contrary to what has become common wisdom, however, new research suggests the job market for radiologists is safe and AI might make humans more valuable across the labor market, not less. Many technologies replace the need for human action. Humble payroll software, for example, has eliminated the task of organization, calculation, and recordkeeping once performed manually. In much the same way, AI has the potential to take over the work a human could do on a broad...

Nutrition is in the spotlight as an essential part of preventing and managing chronic and acute diseases. Across the country, an increasing number of people are recognizing that nutrition must play a larger role in improving health and reducing the burden of chronic illness. But recognition alone is not enough. Nutrition cannot be seen as a national health priority while the policies, funding, and infrastructure supporting the nutrition workforce move in the opposite direction. For nutrition to play a larger role in healthcare, the federal government must invest in qualified...

A São Paulo judge convicted a homeschooling family not because their daughters were failing, but because they were thriving without state-approved ideology. Audato and Ieda Denardi are a Brazilian couple who began homeschooling their two daughters in 2020. Their girls are accomplished pianists who speak multiple languages. They were thriving academically, socially, and personally. A São Paulo criminal court sentenced their parents to 50 days in prison anyway. The charge was intellectual neglect. The crime? The Denardis had not included state-mandated programs on gender and sex...

Trade policy is often debated in terms of tariffs, supply chains and market access. Labor issues are typically discussed separately, focusing on wages, workplace conditions and collective bargaining. Alejandro Martínez Araiza believes those conversations can no longer be separated. The Mexican labor leader and National General Secretary of SNAC, the oldest private-sector union in Mexico, argues that labor policy has become central to North America's economic competitiveness, border security and long-term stability. That message recently brought him to Washington, where he...

I applaud President Donald J. Trump for pushing hard to reshore manufacturing, yet I am worried that a new contemplated expansion of tariffs on semiconductors would do great economic harm to the American economy. A high tariff on imported semiconductors will hike costs and limit access to all the American interests reliant computing, smart phones and data storage. It is good policy to promote a vibrant domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity, but new tariffs will not miraculously create that manufacturing capacity overnight. The Trump Administration is considering using Sec. 232 of the...

I lived with spondylolisthesis and spinal stenosis for more than 10 years. Walking even 100 yards became nearly impossible because both of my legs would go completely numb. The active lifestyle I loved had gradually slipped away. When I met with my surgeon, I learned about an FDA-approved alternative to spinal fusion that stabilizes the spine while preserving its natural motion. Instead of permanently fusing part of my spine, I had the opportunity to choose a treatment designed to relieve my symptoms while maintaining mobility. The evening after surgery, I was already walking through...

In this era of hyper partisanship, an opportunity for two-party, commonsense legislation is always welcome. The recent passage of the bipartisan affordable housing act, for example, was a welcome respite from the usual Congressional acrimony and a huge win for both Congress and the American people. Now, another bipartisan opportunity is on the horizon, one that could deliver a substantial win by paving the way to boost U.S. jobs, manufacturing and competitiveness. It could also help secure our nation’s status as a leader in advanced manufacturing and recycling technologies. Earlier this...