This week, Ivan Eland argues that, although President Trump frequently compares himself to Andrew Jackson, his presidency more closely resembles that of William McKinley. Trump has exercised inflated powers associated with an imperial presidency, made similar mistakes, and operated with a comparable sense of hubris to McKinley.

Kristian Fors and Scott Beyer each pen separate pieces on what has been learned a year out since the massively destructive LA wildfires.

Raymond March questions if Trump’s executive order really is a “historic policy shift” … or just more of the same.

Allen Gindler challenges the effectiveness of the minimum wage.

Christopher J. Calton highlights how, contra Zohran Mamdani’s “affordability crisis” narrative, Austin is a major city that has successfully lowered rents using market incentives, not mandates—and is a great case study for other cities facing affordability issues.

And finally, Scott A. Burns and Caleb S. Fuller use a Stranger Things analogy to describe the potential for a volatile and “upside-down” economic future.

Happy reading!

Jonathan Hofer
Managing Editor