RWL #281
post-Dobbs, student debt, the pursuit of happiness, and more!
Greetings from the LHH! With summer officially in full swing, we’re having a hot one here - it’s about 90 degrees, which means we’ve got the window units running and we’re all melting. But the heat isn’t slowing down the bees, who are busy as usual (pic above is from the LHH side garden).
Like many of you, I suppose, my wife and I talked at length about the Dobbs decision (see a link to the decision in Read below). We are both pro-choice, so we were both concerned about this outcome, though obviously we all knew it was coming. The main thing we discussed was whether the right to an abortion is or is not a constitutional right. If it is a constitutional right, where in the Constitution do we find the right? I think most people find it in section 1 of the 14th Amendment which reads:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The 14th Amendment was passed in 1866 with the people recently freed from slavery in mind, so the first part of section 1 of this amendment was making it clear that anyone born in the US was a citizen, regardless of whether they had been enslaved.The second part is the “due process clause”, which is relevant to the abortion debate. Some advocates of legal abortion claim that outlawing abortion is a deprivation of liberty under the due process clause of the 14th Amendment. I haven’t read the Dobbs decision yet, but it will be interesting to see how the Court dealt with that. This ruling will have significant impact on women’s health going forward. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.
So with that, willing good for all of you, I present you with the links!
Read
What: SCOTUS, DOBBS, STATE HEALTH OFFICER OF THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ET AL. v. JACKSON WOMEN’S HEALTH ORGANIZATION ET AL.
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf
Why: We knew it was coming.
Held: The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.
The decision is 213 pages long. There has already been a lot of misinformation put out about what is in it - principally that this ruling itself makes abortion illegal. It does not. One of the great things about the United States is we, as citizens, can read these decisions. I have only glanced at it, but I plan to spend some time reading it over the next couple of weeks to understand what it says and does not say. As you read the memes and wild statements from the media, do take some time to fact check what you are hearing by looking at the source document.
**
What: Bryan Caplan, Canceling Student Debt Is Unforgivable
Why: Caplan was one of my professors when I did my PHD studies at GMU. He’s an interesting character, but he’s always interesting. He has been arguing against higher education for a long time now - he has a book out called The Case Against Education - which I have not read, mostly because I heard him talk about the topic enough that I don’t think I would get anything new from it. Here he continues his argument against public funding of college. I happen to agree, and see a lot of this in my own students. I’m not sure they are better off for having completed my program, vs. if they went into an apprenticeship program. It’s too bad such apprenticeship programs don’t exist.
We also need more people in trades. I paid $200 to a technician the other day to make some modest adjustments to a new gas stove I bought. It took him about an hour. That’s a pretty decent paycheck, even assuming he is only keeping a portion of that revenue.
Worth a quick read.
**
What: Fortune, It’s time for data-first diversity, equity, and inclusion
Why: The author is Roland Fryer, a Harvard economist who studies education. He is also Black. He suggests a different approach to DEI than the one popularized by the likes of Kendi and DiAngelo.
**
What: Inc.com, Why DoorDash Asks for Sexual Orientation on Applications
https://www.inc.com/suzanne-lucas/doordash-job-application-sexual-orientation.html
Why: The title caught my eye because I thought, Oh no, that’s a big no-no. Not so (with caveats), and maybe soon it will be required. After all, how do you know you are being Inclusive if you don’t ask?
**
Watch
What: Conversations with Bill Kristol, Eric Edelman on Ukraine, NATO, and Confronting Our Strategic Challenges (82 min)
https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/video/eric-edelman-viii/
(this is also available in podcast form at https://conversationswithbillkristol.org/podcast/eric-edelman-on-ukraine-nato-and-confronting-our-strategic-challenges/ )
Why: Putin is still murdering civilians in Ukraine, so I thought I’d share this update from Bill Kristol’s interview with former ambassador Eric Edelman. From Eidelman’s Wikipedia page:
Eric Steven Edelman (born October 27, 1951) is an American diplomat who served as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005–2009), U.S. Ambassador to Turkey (2003–2005), U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Finland (1998–2001), and Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001–2003).
Insights are excellent.
**
Listen
What: The Knowledge Project, Laurie Santos: The Pursuit of Happiness (100 min)
https://fs.blog/knowledge-project-podcast/laurie-santos/
Why: The Knowledge Project is always a thoughtful and useful interview. Santos is a Professor of Psychology and the Head of Silliman College at Yale University, and teaches a course called Psychology and the Good Life, one of the most popular undergraduate courses at the University. She’s a happiness researcher and in this pod she drops a lot of useful wisdom.
**
What: The Dispatch Podcast, How Gas Prices Got So High (40 min)
Why: Wondering why gas prices are so high? Remember the Keystone Pipeline that President Biden tanked as soon as he came into office? Plus all the other restrictions on oil production that his administration has put in place? Those are restrictions on supply. When supply goes down, prices go up. Add to those self-inflicted wounds Putin’s murderous war, and things get even worse. Gas tax holiday stimulates demand. When you stimulate demand, prices go up. So the gas tax holiday isn’t a good idea, either. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading and see you next week! If you come across any interesting stories, won't you send them my way? I'd love to hear what you think of these suggestions, and I'd love to get suggestions from you. Feel free to drop me a line at mark.bonica@unh.edu , or you can tweet to me at @mbonica .
If you’re looking for a searchable archive, you can see my draft folder here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jwGLdjsb1WKtgH_2C-_3VvrYCtqLplFO?usp=sharing
Finally, if you find these links interesting, won’t you tell a friend? They can subscribe here: https://markbonica.substack.com/welcome
See you next week!
Mark
Mark J. Bonica, Ph.D., MBA, MS
Associate Professor
Department of Health Management and Policy
University of New Hampshire
(603) 862-0598
mark.bonica@unh.edu
Health Leader Forge Podcast:
http://healthleaderforge.org
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.” – Pablo Picaso
Mark, I really enjoy reading your newsletter and learning about a somewhat different, but always well-informed, take on today's issues, whether or not I agree with your conclusions. Often I do not. However, I felt compelled to react to something you wrote at the end that I found flippant and lazy: "When supply goes down, prices go up." Yes, it's the economy, stupid. (I always hated that condescending impatience, from the moment it hit the press.)
You are incorrect to blame the fall in supply fully on the restrictions introduced by the Biden administration, who enacted what they were elected to do. Canada has excess pipeline capacity and not enough oil to supply the United States in any case. Keystone XL would have diverted Canadian oil from refineries in the Midwest to the Gulf Coast where it could be refined and exported to international buyers without paying U.S. taxes. The supply is restricted because we have given enough latitude to oil companies that they can, quite naturally, choose to sell to the highest bidder, no matter where they are in the world.
Oil prices in the U.S. (and elsewhere) continue to increase, despite a large increase in U.S. crude inventories this spring. The problem is not the Biden administration but the oil industries' worries about tight global supply and its own bottom line.