What's the issue? In the United States, there are substantial tax benefits to home ownership. One of these is the mortgage interest deduction (MID). With the MID, taxpayers can deduct any interest on the mortgages they pay for their first and second homes, up to one million dollars. Although there is no sign yet that... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? On Trump's 4th day in office, he reinstated the Mexico City Policy, also known as the global gag rule, which was originally enacted by Reagan in 1984 and had been most recently been repealed by Obama in 2009. The policy states that the US government can only give family planning aid to organizations that “neither perform... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Trump's first education budget is expected to be released on Tuesday (May 23rd). Although the documents are not yet finalized, an Education Department Employee described them to the Washington Post. As described, the budget represents large cuts to the federal education budget, and a big push to advance school choice as the education priority... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? The E.M.W. Women’s Surgical Center in Louisville is Kentucky's only abortion clinic, and it is at risk of closing. If it were to close, Kentucky would become the only state in the USA without an abortion clinic. Neighboring Louisiana, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia all have a 24 hour waiting period before... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Last week the House of Representatives passed a revised version of the American Health Care Act (AHCA). If it passes in the Senate, it will replace the Affordable Care Act and become law of the land. Why do I care? This is a terrible bill. An older version of the AHCA failed... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Juan Manuel Montes had been living in the United States for 14 years, since he was nine years old. Under President Obama, Juan Manuel was granted legal permission to stay in the country under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (commonly known as DACA). DACA is a two-year, renewable work permit and... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Recently, we all saw this video of airport security personnel violently dragging a doctor off of a United Airlines flight after he refused to give up his seat on the overbooked flight for a United employee. This was an admittedly terrible incident, but it resonated deeply with many of us who fly.... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Every week on this blog I talk about a different issue, and outline what we can do to act on that issue and make our voices heard. Almost every week, I recommend contacting your representatives in Congress. But what is the most effective way to contact Congress and does it actually make a... Continue Reading →

What's the issue? Last week Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, used chemical weapons against his own people, killing dozens, including children. It was a terrible crime that was immediately condemned by people around the world. Trump, rightly, was horrified by the attack. "I will tell you that attack on children yesterday had a big impact... Continue Reading →

Heavy rains, flooding, and mudslides in Peru have devastated the country and killed over 100 people. What can we do to help? Let's start with sensible environmental policies here in the USA.