Benchmark Blog

Unemployment vs. direct cash payments

Federal policymakers have responded to high levels of unemployment by expanding unemployment benefits and sending direct cash payments.

How the education system can adapt to COVID-19

The education system can adapt to COVID-19 and even end up working better for students in the future. Here’s how.

The US is deporting coronavirus

ICE's pre-deportation screening, as well as the detention center conditions, aren't ideal for stopping the spread of COVID-19.

Cash for COVID?

Research suggests that the CARES Act will ensure that workers can keep their jobs, making it easier for everyone to get back on their feet.

Licensing in the age of COVID-19

There are many ways to improve policies in the wake of the pandemic. An area relevant in all states is occupational licensing reform.

Improving the Magna Carta of environmental law

We are strongly in favor of environmental protection. But we question whether it is a good idea to distribute veto rights so widely.

Innovation’s green thumb

Technological innovation has improved economic outcomes and has also reduced our dependence on dirtier, less efficient forms of energy.

Three Cheers for Density

Density is maligned because of traffic, pollution, health, etc. But we should celebrate density for its environmental benefits.

Immigrants are essential

Trump’s motivation for suspending immigration was clear: COVID-19 necessitates more restrictions to protect U.S. jobs.

Antitrust can’t fix social media bias

It doesn’t take much to find accusations of bias by today’s big tech companies, but rewriting antitrust laws is a bad idea.

Remote work is here to stay

The post-COVID-19 world may be a world of greater flexibility, higher productivity, and more autonomy to choose how we spend our time.

Did an 8-year-old merger cause today’s ventilator shortage?

The government should’ve been ready to purchase ventilators as a call option, just like airlines buy fuel hedges and farmers buy insurance.

Regulatory uncertainty made COVID responses difficult

The COVID response of workers on the front line, public health officials, clinicians, and government leaders were slowed by regulatory hoops.

Should state lines stop doctors?

In response to COVID, 43 states have temporarily suspended requirements for physicians to be explicitly licensed within their state.

ICE should release detainees

Releasing non-violent and low-risk detainees will be a public health boon by helping to flatten the curve of COVID-19’s spread.

NYC lifted its ban on e-bikes

New York allowed previously illegal e-bikes to operate in the city during COVID. So why were they banned in the first place?

Cooperation over isolation

Cooperation will better protect public health and prevent the spread of COVID-19 than other immigration enforcement policies.

Why are we so slow today?

We used to do things fast, and Patrick Collison has proof. He maintains a list on his personal web page of feats of rapid, decisive action.

Targeted help or universal income?

A better way to empower families and workers to address their problems would be through Universal Basic Income.

Welcome to the kill zone?

While policymakers should be concerned about impediments to innovation, a drastic overhaul of antitrust laws isn’t currently needed.

Waste storage or waste of money?

Instead of being treated as the pressing environmental issue that it is, Yucca Mountain has become a political tool to be wielded.

Immigrants give more than they get

By making immigration more difficult, the public charge rule will likely reduce the US’s economic resilience in the long-run.

We should be tackling disinformation

Senator Elizabeth Warren created an eleven-step plan to tackle election disinformation. If only it were that simple.

The Space Launch System is an irredeemable mistake

How does NASA's SLS compare to SpaceX Starship? The private alternative offers the same capabilities at a tenth of the cost or less.

Is 2020 the year of micromobility?

Last week the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) announced the extension of its electric moped pilot program in Washington DC.

Bringing home the virtual bacon

VR social spaces, defined as fully artificial, multi-user, digital environments, are being used as a new medium for commercial interaction.

Lessons from the ashes

Much like 2018 here in the United States, this fire season is setting records in Australia for all the wrong reasons.

Sanctuary for immigrants?

Across the country, hundreds of cities, states, and counties are having the same conversation about sanctuary policies for immigrants.

All I want for Christmas is a shorter commute

The great American commute continues to get longer, and has negative impacts on workers, the environment, and overall economic productivity.

The end of shopping as we know it?

Online shopping is fundamentally changing the way we buy. More than half of all Thanksgiving weekend sales took place online.