Eric Yang

The following brief covers the pros and cons of tariffs. From a political point of view, tariffs are an appealing policy if policymakers wish to preserve domestic industry from foreign competition. However, from an economic perspective, we must always consider: what are the opportunity costs behind such a policy, and are the trade-offs a worthy sacrifice of potential benefits?

The Social Security program is best known for its retirement benefits and is primarily funded (89.6 percent) by payroll taxes. The longevity of Social Security has been put under question as of late and this brief will attempt to address the conflict regarding Social Security (with a focus on its funding) as well as a recommendation for how it should be approached.

Modern precedents regarding congressional debates have been politically dramatic. Despite its bipartisan history, the debt ceiling has been a center for partisanship since the opening of the century. Take two instances, then Senator Joe Biden and fellow Democrats refused to increase the debt ceiling during George W. Bush’s presidency in protest of the Iraq War. In the next administration, Republicans sought to make spending cuts in attempts to choke out Obama’s Affordable Care Act in 2013 which ultimately led to a government shutdown. Today, President Biden attempts to lift the debt ceiling to fund his administration’s federal programs. One of the only bipartisan agreements on the debt ceiling in the past decade was when Trump tentatively abolishing the debt ceiling to sidestep a major political showdown before the 2020 election.

Now, how necessary are price controls? How much control is too much? Is it more important to protect the consumer over the provider and risk sincere quality?‍

In November of 2021, the Federal Reserve began to taper which translates to gradual reduction in asset purchases in order to maintain economic stimulus at a more sustainable pace. It is a question as to if the Fed should taper, contract, or engage in different practices.

The federal minimum wage serves as the baseline for how much workers will receive as compensation. Recently, many Americans have advocated that the federal government ought to increase the minimum wage $7.25 to $15 per hour.