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Prosper Australia has rejected calls for new tax breaks and subsidies for developers in Geelong’s CBD, warning that such measures would shift private risk onto taxpayers without addressing the root cause of stalled development. “Governments should not be in the business of propping up private development projects,” said Rayna Fahey, Prosper Australia Executive Director, today. […]

This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.

At the last minute, Iran agreed on Monday to participate in negotiations with the United States in Islamabad, Pakistan. The fragile ceasefire agreement between the two countries ends on Wednesday. Following the US attack on and seizure of an Iranian cargo ship in the Sea of Oman on Saturday, and contradictory tweets by President Trump in recent days, Iran was understandably hesitant to engage in further discussions with the US. There are additional obstacles to a successful resolution of the US-Israeli war on Iran to consider.

Cross-posted from Fresh Economic Thinking By Cameron Murray I explain how a scaled variable royalty does the job of a super-profits tax while avoiding the accounting trickery in order to share risk and get a better public return from resources. Have you heard that Norway taxes their gas at 78% of profits, but Australia’s offshore gas pays […]

Private credit and private equity are suddenly everywhere in the headlines, and if you're taking those headlines at face value, the picture looks apocalyptic. I think those fears are significantly overstated — and it really comes down to one critical distinction that almost nobody in mainstream macro-financial media is getting right.

That distinction is the difference between endogenous money — the actual money-creation engine of the banking system — and what private credit is actually doing, which is something fundamentally different.

In this post, we'll walk through exactly what happens on the balance sheets when a private credit transaction takes place versus when bank credit creates endogenous money. Once you see the mechanics side-by-side, it becomes obvious why private credit stress, while real and painful for investors directly exposed, is not the kind of systemic threat that 2008 was — and why the real thing to watch isn't the private credit headlines at all.

On 12 October 1929, James Scullin led the Labor Party to what was then its largest ever majority. It was unfortunate timing. Over the 1920s Australian governments had become the largest borrowers on the London money markets. In 1925, the United Kingdom returned to the gold standard. And then on October 24, just twelve days after winning its record breaking majority, Wall Street collapsed.

Looking back, this period became a textbook example of what not to do in economic policy. Scrambling to make good on our debts to London, Australian governments desperately tried to balance their books, only to plunge the country deeper and deeper into depression.

Labor faced a difficult set of circumstances. Australia’s identity was bound to the UK. Our defence strategy and economic strategy were effectively subordinate to the UK’s. Labor was also eager to demonstrate its economic credibility. And the dominant economic thinking said the books must be balanced.

In 1931 Labor was wiped out. It had already split internally through the pressures created by the Depression. Federal Treasurer Ted Theodore argued for a new economic orthodoxy, based on what at the time seemed like the radical teachings of John Maynard Keynes. NSW Premier Jack Lang rejected paying London banks over the livelihoods of NSW workers. Both were ignored and Lang was eventually dismissed by the Governor, leading a group of Labor MPs in a split.

New Australia Institute research published today shows that the Japanese Government makes more revenue taxing its imports of Australian gas than the Australian Government makes from the export of our gas.

Key findings:

• Japan has imposed a tax on oil and gas imports since 1978, expanding the tax to cover coal in 2003.
• Over the last five years, Japan’s energy import tax has delivered an average of AUD $8 billion per year to the Japanese Government.
• On average, every year, $1.8 billion of Japan’s energy import tax comes from gas imports, substantially more than the $1.4 billion raised by the Australian Government’s Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT).

“It’s hard to believe how badly Australians have been ripped off by gas export companies,” said Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of the Australia Institute.

“Japan, a country with no gas, oil or coal reserves of its own collected almost $40 billion over the last five years while the Australian PRRT provided only $7 billion to Australians.

“Not only has Australia been literally giving more than half of the gas we export away for free, we now learn that the same Japanese Government that is opposed to us putting a tax on our gas and coal exports, has been raking in billions of dollars per year via their own tax on gas and coal imports.

On this episode of After America, nuclear policy expert Jon B Wolfsthal and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the US-Iran negotiations, the risks of this conflict metastasising, and how Trump is continuing to break down the guardrails around the use of nuclear weapons.

This episode was recorded on Friday 17 April.

The latest Vantage Point essay, Rich Kid Poor Kid: The Battle for Public Education by Jane Caro, is available now for $19.95. Use the code ‘PODVP’ at checkout to get free shipping.

Guest: Jon B Wolfsthal, US Nuclear Policy Fellow, PAX sapiens // @jonatomic

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Shorter America: The consequences of not caring; The enemy of your enemy is not your friend; Visions for the future by Emma Shortis, The Point (April 2026)

What Is the Iran Nuclear Deal?, Council on Foreign Relations

Why did the National Park Service regularly denigrate the events of 1776 prior to the Trump Administration? In the Claremont Review of Books’ 25th anniversary issue, Jeffrey Anderson describes a visit to Independence National Historical Park, situated in the heart of old Philadelphia and run by the National Park Service. Congress created Independence Park for the purpose of “preserving” historic sites associated with “the American Revolution and the founding and growth of the United States,” as Anderson notes.

Anderson found an overwhelming emphasis on slavery and race—25 of 30 signs at the park’s President’s House, where George Washington and John Adams lived during part of their presidencies, “focus on slavery or race relations.” He writes that Washington and other founders “stand accused” of “‘injustice’” and “‘immorality.’” The first U.S. president’s “actions [are] characterized as ‘deplorable,’ ‘profoundly disturbing,’ and as having ‘mocked the nation’s pretense to be a beacon of liberty.’”

How did this situation come to pass?

For decades, the relationship between the United States and the Vatican has played a vital role in promoting individual liberties, religious freedom, and resisting authoritarianism in the West. This partnership, forged by then-President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, helped hasten the dissolution of the Soviet Union and contributed to the liberation of millions from Communism’s grip.

When aligned, America and Rome have exercised a formidable moral and geopolitical influence, representing the best of Western civilization. Yet the current feud between them, as historian Paul Kengor suggests, potentially presents a new cold war that could have deep ramifications for the future of free government.

While tension between political leaders and pontiffs is nothing new in world history, open hostility risks undermining cooperation at a moment when it is badly needed. The path back to stability—and to the renewal of Western civilization—will require both Trump and Leo to draw from the lessons of the past.

Round One

For Trump, who is lobbing derogatory insults at the Holy Father, history offers a clear warning: conflicts with the papacy rarely end well for political leaders.

From our speaking tour with Yanis Varoufakis at the start of the month to multiple press conferences, TV appearances, and launching our Gas Giveaway Tracker, it’s been an eventful month. And that’s just the beginning!

The post March 2026 Media Highlights appeared first on The Australia Institute.

National housing campaign Everybody’s Home is encouraged by reports the Albanese Government is leaning towards scrapping the capital gains tax discount on property and returning to the pre-1999 system. 

Media reports today suggest Treasurer Jim Chalmers is considering returning to the original way of taxing capital gains on homes instead of reducing the current 50 per cent discount on capital gains.   

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said the move would be a turning point for housing affordability and fairness. 

“Scrapping the CGT discount would be one of the most positive steps any government has taken on housing in a generation,” Ms Azize said. 

“We are really encouraged by media reports that the federal government is looking to end the CGT discount and return to a much fairer system.

“The CGT discount and negative gearing are fuelling the housing crisis. Billions of taxpayer dollars line the pockets of property investors every year while first home buyers are locked out and renters are stretched to breaking point.

This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.

On April 16, the Trump administration forced the Israeli military to cease its attacks on Lebanon as part of an agreement with Iran to fully open the Strait of Hormuz. This marked another victory for the Axis of Resistance and the Lebanese people. However, Israel has a long history of violating its ceasefire agreements, and it is unlikely to give up on its fundamental goal of occupying Lebanon by attempting to foment a civil war between Hezbollah and the Lebanese military.

Dystopian novels are not predictions but projections: they imagine what the world will become if a current trend continues uninterrupted. The difference between prediction and projection is vital but often overlooked. The former is a call to fatalism, the latter a call to action.

In a sense, dystopian novels are both optimistic and conservative. They are optimistic in that they do not hold the future they describe to be inevitable and unavoidable. They are conservative in that they imagine a world very much worse than our own, and therefore are an encouragement to political virtues such as prudence and realism. They remind us that, short of extermination camps or other complete disasters, we always have something to lose as well as to gain and that progress often has a dark—even a very dark—side. Perfection is not of this world.

In 1973, Jean Raspail, who died aged 94 in 2020, published his dystopian novel The Camp of the Saints, for which he is now mostly remembered (certainly outside of France, though he was the author of many other well-considered novels and travelogues, and narrowly missed election to the Académie française). The Camp of the Saints is a book that refuses to lie down, so to speak, despite attempts to render it invisible or make it go away.

As the United States celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding this July, it seems fitting to reflect on our national heroes. This country has many monuments honoring important figures from our history, but none loom larger than Mount Rushmore, featuring the faces of four of our greatest American presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Each of these leaders was flawed in his own way, but we honor them together as heroes for the way they served their country.

As human beings, we need heroes. We need not only abstract descriptions of what is excellent, but also individuals we can strive to emulate. Reading the stories of those who pursued excellence in the face of adversity can train us to pursue that which is good in our own circumstances. Stories of human excellence show us that achieving the good is still possible in our time and should prompt us to be better than we would be on our own.

Heroes are not limited to national leaders. They can be found in almost every area of American life—even in classrooms. What if the field of education had its own Mount Rushmore? What four American teachers, out of the millions who have faithfully taught students, should be represented? We propose Booker T. Washington, Anne Sullivan, Jaime Escalante, and Marva Collins.

Cast Down Your Bucket

Join me for a live Q&A on my YouTube channel and X account, Friday April 17, at 7:00 - 8:00pm ET. Questions will be taken from the comment section of this Substack post, as well as during the live on YouTube/X. We will discuss the war with Iran and the ongoing ceasefire negotiations.

Please attempt to keep your questions direct and relatively brief, as I cannot read entire paragraphs during the show.

Trump's On a Jihad Against Everyone (MOATS w/ George Galloway)

 — Author: Chris Hedges — Thursday 16th April 2026

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Pre-order my new book "Requiem for Gaza"

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Mayors of New York Past: Hair Curl Edition

 — Organisation: Climate Town — Thursday 16th April 2026

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Bank Failures: The Roles of Solvency and Liquidity

 — Organisation: Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Publication: Liberty Street Economics — Thursday 16th April 2026

Sergio Correia, Stephan Luck, and Emil Verner

Do banks fail because of runs or because they become insolvent? Answering this question is central to understanding financial crises and designing effective financial stability policies. Long-run historical evidence reveals that the root cause of bank failures is usually insolvency. The importance of bank runs is somewhat overstated. Runs matter, but in most cases they trigger or accelerate failure at already weak banks, rather than cause otherwise sound banks to fail.

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Orbán’s Defeat in Hungary Exposes Rifts on the American Right

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Thursday 16th April 2026

Hungary’s elections earlier this week marked a seismic shift after 16 years of Viktor Orbán’s dominance, as Peter Magyar’s opposition Tisza party won with over half the vote and a supermajority in the legislature.

The attention focused on this small Central European country may seem disproportionate—but Orbán attracted not only the active support of the Trump Administration, with Vice President Vance flying out to rally for him in person, but also equally strenuous opposition from the American Left and its allies in Brussels. In the wake of Orbán’s defeat, left-wing luminaries Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Alex Soros (son of Hungarian native and Orbán arch-nemesis George and inheritor of his left-wing activist empire) were among those sending out celebratory tweets.

“We didn’t go because we expected Viktor Orban to cruise to an election victory,” Vance later told Fox News. “We went because it was the right thing to do to stand behind a person who had stood by us for a very long time.”

I have some personal familiarity with Hungary, having made two multi-week visits as a visiting fellow at the Danube Institute, a conservative think tank that was broadly aligned with (though occasionally critical of) Orbán’s government. 

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Untangling More Details About the People Nashville Enslaved

 — Author: Betsy Phillips — Monday 13th April 2026

What happened to Allen Beasley, a man enslaved at the city's waterworks department?

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Trump chaos driving bleak economic outlook

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — Thursday 16th April 2026

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss the International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s latest World Economic Outlook report, its forecast for Australia, Angus Taylor’s Trumpy immigration policy announcement, and why immigration isn’t causing the housing crisis.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 16 April 2026.

Visit The Point for research, analysis, explainers and factchecks from experts at the Australia Institute and beyond.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

The IMF refuses to name the cause of this global chaos. It starts with ‘Donald’ and ends in ‘Trump’ by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (April 2026)

World Economic Outlook: Global Economy in the Shadow of War, International Monetary Fund (April 2026)

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The American Mind Podcast: The Roundtable Episode 313

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Wednesday 15th April 2026

The American Mind’s ‘Editorial Roundtable’ podcast is a weekly conversation with Ryan Williams, Spencer Klavan, and Mike Sabo devoted to uncovering the ideas and principles that drive American political life. Stream here or download from your favorite podcast host.

Chimping Out | The Roundtable Ep. 313

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The R*–Labor Share Nexus

 — Organisation: Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Publication: Liberty Street Economics — Wednesday 15th April 2026

Sophia Cho and John C. Williams

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Floor-Crossing vs. Party-Democracy

 — Publication: Perspectives Journal — Wednesday 15th April 2026

Only one year after they won a minority in the 2025 election, Prime Minister Mark Carney and the Liberals have achieved a majority government. This majority was delivered (thus far, as of time of writing) by five Members of Parliament who “crossed the floor” since the 2025 election, leaving the party they were elected with to join the governing Liberals.

These events have produced an intense debate over the legitimacy of floor-crossing, which is ultimately rooted in a fundamental disagreement over what an elected representative’s job should be in a democratic system. Two competing theories of representation, the “trustee” and “delegate” models, can be seen in the debate over floor-crossing, in Canadians’ common-sense political discourse, and in different elements of our Parliamentary system. However, both of these models are failing in Canada’s actually existing political practice. Instead, a “party-democracy” model of representation holds the promise of leveraging existing institutions to make Canada’s democracy more deliberative and participatory.

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04/15/2026 Market Update

 — Organisation: Applied MMT — Wednesday 15th April 2026

Update Preview

The market has gone from panic to fresh highs in a hurry, and the big question now is whether this snapback rally still has room to run. In this week’s update, I break down the flow acceleration behind the move, why tariff refunds could add another liquidity tailwind in the months ahead, and why I still think end-of-cycle risk is something to watch closely — just not something the market has to fear yet.

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One Nation Under Providence

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Wednesday 15th April 2026

Spencer Klavan has invited us to contemplate the American age, to think again in civilizational, epochal terms, and to search out the prerequisites for its continuation.

The chaos (good and ill) of the past decade has made it difficult to look beyond the immediate. But Klavan is right: Trumpism, whether embattled or dead, is more a harbinger of a possible future than its fulfillment. To carry on, “Americans will need to recover a sense of their country as an era-defining project, forward-looking but steeped in ancient traditions of faith and law—not just a Western nation, but the Western nation par excellence. Much depends on whether we can learn to see ourselves that way again.” This is a spiritual inquiry as much as an intellectual one.

The singular trait most essential to American renewal—perhaps the most predominant, central belief during the founding period—is what I have called “Protestant Providentialism.” Here we find the American soul that gives shape to the body and governance to the mind, and promise to America’s future.

A Providential Nation

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It's Only Livable if You Can Afford to Live

 — Publication: CityNerd — Wednesday 15th April 2026

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OAA welcomes UNESCO’s commitment to equity in scholarly communication

 — Organisation: Open Access Australasia — Wednesday 15th April 2026

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US allies reassess as Trump undermines global security

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — Wednesday 15th April 2026

On this episode of Follow the Money, Dr Emma Shortis and Ebony Bennett discuss Trump’s genocidal threats against Iran, his efforts to subvert US democracy, his administration’s growing isolation from long-time allies, and why it’s time for the Australian government to reassess its relationship with the United States.

This episode was recorded on Monday 13 April.

Guest: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

After America: Australia and the new world order by Emma Shortis, Australia Institute Press (May 2025)

Vance joyless as US-Iran negotiations fall apart, After America, the Australia Institute (April 2026)

Shorter America This Week: Ceasefire?; Madman theory; Group hugs in space by Emma Shortis, The Point (April 2026)

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The Trump Administration's War on Cuba (w/ Medea Benjamin) | The Chris Hedges Report

 — Author: Chris Hedges — Wednesday 15th April 2026

This interview is also available on podcast platforms and Rumble.

Medea Benjamin, a co-founder of the antiwar organization CODEPINK, speaks with Chris Hedges about her recent visit to Cuba as part of one of the many humanitarian delegations that have visited the island in response to the severe economic blockade imposed by the Trump administration. Benjamin describes the current situation as “dire”, the worst she has experienced in her 50 years of solidarity work with Cuba, referring to the escalation of the blockade as a “medieval siege.”

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Use of Gen AI in the Workplace and the Value of Access to Training

 — Organisation: Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Publication: Liberty Street Economics — Tuesday 14th April 2026

Ali Hashim, Gizem Kosar, and Wilbert van der Klaauw

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Driving in Circles

 — Author: Sarah Kendzior — Tuesday 14th April 2026

This is a republication of an article from February 2024.

Announcement: My dad died two weeks ago. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2023. Every article in this newsletter was written while my dad had cancer, including this one, which is full of good memories of my dad. I’m republishing it in remembrance of him.

I am reeling from his death. But I am slowly getting back to work. The paperback edition of my book, The Last American Road Trip, came out the week he died. I am doing a limited, local tour. Two events are this week. The first is April 15 in St Louis at the University City Public Library, 7-8:30 PM. The second is April 18 at 10:45 AM at the Unbound Book Festival in Columbia, MO. Read a newly published interview about my book here.

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Welcome to Online Censorship 2.0

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Tuesday 14th April 2026

A recent ruling by a German court at first glance could be seen as a victory for freedom of speech. But on closer inspection, it shows why so-called visibility filtering—artificially restricting the reach of online content rather than removing it outright—is the future, and indeed increasingly the present, of online censorship.

As reported by the German alternative media Nius in February, a court in Wiesbaden acquitted defendant Sebastian W. of the charge of having “insulted” Germany’s then-Economics Minister Robert Habeck. (“Insult” is a crime in German law.) In a July 2024 tweet, Sebastian W. referred to the German minister as a “traitor.” Under Section 188 of the German Criminal Code, which is commonly known in Germany as the lèse-majesté law, the penalties for insulting a public official are greater than those for insulting an ordinary citizen.

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Kuwait Must Release the Journalist Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

 — Author: Chris Hedges — Tuesday 14th April 2026

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Building an America First Development Strategy

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Tuesday 14th April 2026

Over a year ago President Trump began dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). While bemoaned by many in the foreign policy community as a mistake, in reality the agency had long ago strayed from its initial purpose, namely, helping developing nations establish prosperous and growing free market economies. Indeed, its initial purpose as envisioned by President Kennedy was to bring the economic promise of America to the poorest nations in the world. Just as with our opening to China in 1972, we were confident that democracy would follow.

Yet the tragedy of USAID was its failure to bring a single new market-based economy to life. After several decades it could produce no examples of even having brokered an alliance between a Third World country and the United States. USAID’s annual core operating budget of $22 billion and its ineffective record rightly proved too much for the Trump Administration’s DOGE review.

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Studying Political Economy at the University of Sydney

 — Publication: Progress in Political Economy — Monday 13th April 2026

“Does it really make sense to perpetuate a system in which disastrous financial risks are built into the profit-driven provision of basic financial products like pensions and mortgages?… Why do the smoke detectors fail again and again? And why is the house not more fire proof? It is time to ask who benefits and who pays the cost for continuing with this dangerously inflammable system.” – Adam Tooze

In a world of global political and economic instability, my studies at the University of Sydney led me to the Discipline of Political Economy. I have been particularly animated by taking one course, or unit of study, which is ECOP1003: Production, Trade and Finance. This is precisely the type of course that gives students a deeper understanding of the problems we are facing today. The unit introduces a wide range of authors, theories and debates spanning trade, development, inequality, globalisation and international financial systems. It is both intellectually stimulating and deeply relevant to the challenges shaping our world.

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Why Hungary Matters

 — Author: Thomas Zimmer — Monday 13th April 2026

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Vance joyless as US-Iran negotiations fall apart

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — Monday 13th April 2026

On this episode of After America, Allan Behm and Dr Emma Shortis discuss the consequences of failure in US-Iran negotiations, the oxymoron of Trump administration “diplomacy”, the future of NATO, and what this all means for Australia.

This episode was recorded on Friday 10 April.

Guest: Allan Behm, Advisor, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute

Host: Emma Shortis, Director, International & Security Affairs, the Australia Institute // @emmashortis

Show notes:

Shorter America This Week: Ceasefire?; Madman theory; Group hugs in space by Emma Shortis, The Point (April 2026)

LIAR, LIAR, CEASE ON FIRE! PEP with Chas & Dr Emma Shortis, Planet PEP on YouTube (April 2026)

The Wrap: A missed opportunity to face reality by Emma Shortis, The Point (April 2026)

Photo: The White House/Flickr (U.S. Government work)

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What Millions of Homeowner’s Insurance Contracts Reveal About Risk Sharing

 — Organisation: Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Publication: Liberty Street Economics — Monday 13th April 2026

Hyeyoon Jung and Jaehoon (Kyle) Jung

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American Citizenship in Crisis

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Monday 13th April 2026

It is fitting that in America’s 250th year of independence, public discourse is centered around the meaning of citizenship.

Last summer brought a debate accompanying the “One Big Beautiful Bill” over whether non-citizens, particularly illegal migrants, should be receiving government welfare benefits. In the winter, new revelations were unearthed regarding the many problems with birthright tourism. Each year, thousands of mainly Chinese nationals visit the U.S. to give birth, obtaining citizenship for their babies under the modern interpretation of the 14th Amendment before returning home. The children are U.S. citizens with the right to receive benefits and vote in American elections, despite being raised in a foreign country and under the indoctrination of the Chinese Communist Party.

On April 1, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on birthright citizenship. Does citizenship extend to any child born in the United States to parents who are in the country illegally? Or does the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment refer only to those who give their full allegiance to the United States?

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A Closer Look at Emerging Market Resilience During Recent Shocks

 — Organisation: Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Publication: Liberty Street Economics — Thursday 9th April 2026

Hunter L. Clark, Jeffrey B. Dawson, and Julian Gonzalez-Murphy

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Facing Down the Far-Right in East Germany

 — Publication: Perspectives Journal — Monday 13th April 2026

Annemarie Wolff is a member of the State Parliament of Brandenburg, Germany, where she is the spokesperson for the Governing Social Democratic Party (SPD) parliamentary group on combating right-wing extremism and youth, among other roles. She first joined the SPD through the Young Socialists (Jusos) wing, campaigning for better transit connections in her hometown. Today, she is a member of the Brandenburg state legislature, and one of the youngest current Members of State Parliament (MdL).

The challenges in Brandenburg, a former state of the East German Democratic Republic that surrounds today’s Federal capital of Berlin, are reaching a crisis point. In the three decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of East and West Germany, the SPD have governed this state. However, the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, designated by Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency (Verfassungsschutz) as a right-wing extremist organization, leads against the SPD in current public opinion polling.

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A simple gas tax has broad support. It could help soften the coming blow

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — Sunday 12th April 2026

The US is supposed to be Australia’s “closest ally, and our principal economic and strategic partner”, but it is clearer than ever that US President Donald Trump represents a direct threat to our security, our economy and our stability, unleashing a global energy crisis. But in politics, you should never waste a crisis – will Anthony Albanese seize the moment?

It is no exaggeration to say the world was preparing itself for the worst last week, up to and including the threat of nuclear war.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, threatening the existence of the roughly 90 million people who live in Iran if the country refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump did not wipe out civilization in Iran, but it still does not feel beyond the realm of possibility, given his past behaviour and pronouncements. Together, the US and Israel have killed many civilians by targeting civilian infrastructure in Iran and Lebanon, the latter of which is not part of the ceasefire agreement agreed to after Trump threatened to annihilate Iran. First Trump sparked a global energy crisis and then he criticised other countries for not helping to fix the mess he and Netanyahu created.

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Remembering Jim Ridley in New Nashville

 — Author: Betsy Phillips — Monday 6th April 2026

The Scene's late editor died 10 years ago this week. I think he would have loved these two recent news items.

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When Oil Gets Expensive, Cities Get Better

 — Publication: Not Just Bikes — Sunday 12th April 2026

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