Iowa has the largest Pay Gap in the nation.

From a small pilot program created by John F. Kennedy’s first executive order in 1961, the food stamp program (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) has grown to be the largest federal food assistance program. However, there have always been major questions about whether the hunger and nutrition goals of the program justify its design.

In the wake of the contentious confirmation hearings for Betsy Devos as Education Secretary, Kentucky Congressman Thomas Massie offered a solution: abolish the Department of Education. 

The Hill reports: 

Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s bill is only a page long, after merely stating the Department of Education would terminate on Dec. 31, 2018

I’ve written before on government attempts to stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation through subsidies, prizes, tax incentives, state-funded science parks and incubators, and similar policies. Both theory and evidence suggest that these programs are unlikely to be successful, for a variety of reasons. Government actors lack the information to pick winners and the incentives to try.

In a recent appearance on CNN, David Stockman suggested that Trump might best spend some time actually addressing economic issues instead of the administration’s travel ban for immigrants from Middle Eastern countries, which Stockman called “a giant misfire.” 

Donald Trump appeared deeply confused this week as the president declared today that “the murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years.”

Perhaps Trump confused the word “highest” with “lowest” since he would be far closer to the truth if he said the homicide rate in the US is “the lowest it’s been in 47 years.”