Think again if you believe the immediate post-election period will bring relief from the political turmoil that has plagued the nation as seldom before. Whoever wins -- Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump -- the chaos is likely to be as disrupting as it has been the last two years, and maybe more so.Some time back, Trump said among the first things he would do upon capturing the White House for the Republicans is put Clinton in the slammer -- not a tone that encourages bipartisanship. Republicans me

Nov. 8, 2016

Veterans are disproportionately represented on death row, and this election, death is on the ballot in three of our union’s states. In advance of Veterans Day, citizens can show support for veterans with their votes.Any number of good reasons justify abolishing the death penalty in the United States. From 2007-2012, the United States found itself in the company of China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, among the countries with the most executions, which hardly puts us in enlightened company. The d

Nov. 8, 2016

In 2008, incoming President Barack Obama inherited a US financial crisis that was to some degree made in China. The next US president may well confront a Chinese financial crunch with its origins in the US, as China unwinds the credit imbalances built up over the last eight years to defend against that global slump.The causes of the 2008 crisis were many and varied. US policymakers and regulators, as well as rule-bending behavior in real estate and banking, are largely to blame. But China’s merc

Nov. 8, 2016

Over the last several months, a nativist campaign in the US has homed in on a curious target: a brand of yogurt. Chobani faces a boycott, while its founder, Hamdi Ulukaya, has faced death threats -- all because the company hires refugees, and he wants more US firms to do the same.On a personal level, these attacks are reprehensible. On a policy level, they are at best counterproductive and at worst dishonest. If you believe that refugees shouldn’t be a burden to taxpayers and should better integ

Nov. 8, 2016

One word describes this US presidential election: dismal. That has ominous implications for the important tasks of governing over the next several years.Elections in which big issues are joined have value because they provide a governance agenda to be debated and decided. Both sides bear responsibility for the sorry state of politics this year, but the overwhelming blame belongs to Donald Trump. He has largely waged a campaign of venom and cruel insults that was substantively shallow. If you wad

Nov. 8, 2016

If there‘s one thing conservatives should know by now, it’s that there‘s no appeasing the radicals in their midst. Yet not only do they continue to try; in some cases organizations formerly described as “conservative” have moved their firepower to the fringes.Thus, Heritage Action -- the activist sister organization to the Heritage Foundation -- is pushing the view that Democratic presidents should never again be allowed to get a new Supreme Court justice confirmed. If that means keeping the cur

Nov. 7, 2016

India beats China on one national measure at least: Its air has rapidly become more unbreathable. Urgent action is needed to cleanse Indian skies.This week, air pollution in New Delhi has been truly off the charts: Tiny particulates, which are especially deadly, topped 999 micrograms per cubic meter -- 40 times what is considered safe and beyond what the scale was designed to measure. While air quality tends to worsen around this time of year as millions of Indians light firecrackers to celebrat

Nov. 7, 2016

Whoever wins Tuesday’s presidential election will face an assertive, aggrieved Russia whose risk-taking behavior under President Vladimir Putin is increasingly worrisome to American experts. Today’s pushy, headstrong Russia presents a paradox: By most measures, it’s a country in decline, with a sagging economy, an underdeveloped technology base and a shrinking population. Corruption pervades nearly every sector. The collapse of the Soviet Union is still an open wound, and many Russians blame the

Nov. 7, 2016

If it’s upheld on appeal, Thursday’s ruling on Brexit from the UK High Court gives members of parliament a responsibility some might prefer to shirk -- namely, to offer voters they represent their best judgment on Britain’s future in Europe. When the time comes, they need to stand up and do what they’re paid for.The judges ruled against Prime Minister Theresa May and her government, declaring that a vote in parliament is required before May invokes Article 50 of the European Union treaties, whic

Nov. 7, 2016

The more we learn about the recent cyberattack that brought down much of the internet in the United States, the more appalling it becomes.Landing in three waves, the attack temporarily crippled parts of Dynamic Network Services, better known as Dyn, which connects some of the largest web-based companies with their customers. As a result, internet users on the East Coast and later across the country were blocked or delayed when trying to use popular online services such as Netflix, eBay, Twitter

Nov. 6, 2016

I’ve been advocating a lower voting age for some time, but it always seemed a theoretical exercise. Residents of San Francisco on Tuesday have a chance to make it a reality if they support Proposition F, which would lower the voting age for local elections to 16.It has a good chance of passing: The only recent poll shows that a slim plurality favor the measure.San Francisco would be the third US city to lower the voting age to 16, after two Maryland suburbs, Takoma Park and Hyattsville, took the

Nov. 6, 2016

Earlier this year I suggested that there was a problem with the tools we use to measure economic productivity. The way we capture formal productivity data hasn’t kept up with modern ways of doing business. As a result, I believe economists underestimate productivity increases.I have since refined that conclusion: Productivity models don’t properly capture gains created by the application of new technology. Furthermore, without a revamp of Bureau of Labor Statistics’ productivity models, this dis

Nov. 6, 2016

A growing number of Americans are invading Havana’s Malecon -- jogging, strolling and dancing to rumba buskers as waves pound the seawall. Cohibas clenched in teeth, they’re toting away bottles of Havana Club rum, filling up Airbnb rooms and flying back to the states on JetBlue. US hotel chains are planting stakes, as trade missions staffed by politicians and businesspeople stream in and out.Momentum is building in the ongoing detente between the US and Cuba. Yet, something still isn’t right.The

Nov. 6, 2016