Think Tanks
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Manhattan Institute Issues Commentary to Wall Street Journal: When the Bottom Stories Are the Real News
NEW YORK, June 13 -- The Manhattan Institute issued the following excerpts of a commentary on June 11, 2026, by senior fellow James B. Meigs to the Wall Street Journal:
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When the Bottom Stories Are the Real News
Good news gets buried when it doesn't fit the left's narrative of perpetual crisis.
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Why does negative news dominate our national conversation while positive stories quickly fade away? The traditional explanation is that bad events are newsworthy because they break the norm, while positive trends tend to be gradual. And yes, there's still truth to that old maxim, "If it bleeds
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NEW YORK, June 13 -- The Manhattan Institute issued the following excerpts of a commentary on June 11, 2026, by senior fellow James B. Meigs to the Wall Street Journal:
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When the Bottom Stories Are the Real News
Good news gets buried when it doesn't fit the left's narrative of perpetual crisis.
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Why does negative news dominate our national conversation while positive stories quickly fade away? The traditional explanation is that bad events are newsworthy because they break the norm, while positive trends tend to be gradual. And yes, there's still truth to that old maxim, "If it bleedsit leads."
But there's something else going on as well. In recent years, our news media has expanded its ambit. Reporters are no longer content merely covering events. Now they see themselves as stewards of public morality.
They must nudge readers toward proper beliefs and shield them from dangerous facts. Many Americans first noticed this pattern during the Covid pandemic. News and social-media outlets worked as one to pillory lockdown skeptics, squelch awkward stories (Lab leak? What lab leak?) and stoke a sense of endless crisis.
Today, the media rarely suppresses stories as thoroughly as it smothered inconvenient Covid news. But after an initial burst of coverage, most outlets quickly lose interest in topics that challenge elite opinion or undermine progressive institutions.
Continue reading the entire piece here at the Wall Street Journal (https://www.wsj.com/opinion/free-expression/when-the-bottom-stories-are-the-real-news-8069bfc1?mod=author_content_page_1_pos_1)
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James B. Meigs is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a City Journal contributing editor.
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Original text here: https://manhattan.institute/article/when-the-bottom-stories-are-the-real-news
[Category: ThinkTank]
Manhattan Institute Issues Commentary to Bloomberg Opinion: Don't Rely on the Bank of Mom and Dad
NEW YORK, June 13 -- The Manhattan Institute issued the following excerpts of a commentary on June 12, 2026, by senior fellow Allison Schrager to Bloomberg Opinion:
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Don't Rely on the Bank of Mom and Dad
In today's America, one of the rites of passage that marks the transition to full adulthood is paying your own phone bill. By this standard, many people -- even those well into middle age -- are stuck in an extended adolescence.
A survey released this month by the insurance firm Northwestern Mutual says that many Americans, including some in their 50s and 60s, rely on their parents for
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NEW YORK, June 13 -- The Manhattan Institute issued the following excerpts of a commentary on June 12, 2026, by senior fellow Allison Schrager to Bloomberg Opinion:
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Don't Rely on the Bank of Mom and Dad
In today's America, one of the rites of passage that marks the transition to full adulthood is paying your own phone bill. By this standard, many people -- even those well into middle age -- are stuck in an extended adolescence.
A survey released this month by the insurance firm Northwestern Mutual says that many Americans, including some in their 50s and 60s, rely on their parents forfinancial help. Some 56% of all respondents say it is "harder to achieve financial independence today than it was for previous generations."
The Federal Reserve also conducts an annual survey on financial well-being, and it also reported an increase in the reliance on parents to pay the bills. About 23% of respondents needed some outside help in 2025, compared to 10% in 2017 -- including more than 25% of Americans between the ages of 30 and 44.
In many ways this is not surprising; the US is in the grip of an affordability crisis. The cost of housing has soared, as have energy and food. Wages fell last year after accounting for inflation, and the job market has weakened, especially for new graduates.
Student debt is at a record high. Meanwhile (for now at least), many young people see living in a big, expensive city as critical to launching their career. And older Americans, who have more wealth than ever after a lifetime of saving and healthy stock returns, may think it only natural that they give a little back to their children.
Continue reading the entire piece here at Bloomberg Opinion (https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-06-12/america-s-financial-divide-is-deepened-by-overreliance-on-parents?srnd=undefined)
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Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.
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Original text here: https://manhattan.institute/article/dont-rely-on-the-bank-of-mom-and-dad
[Category: ThinkTank]
Ifo Institute: Clemens Fuest - 'Interest Rate Hike is the Right Move Now'
MUNICH, Germany, June 13 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release on June 11, 2026:
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Clemens Fuest: "Interest rate hike is the right move now"
Clemens Fuest, President of the ifo Institute, welcomes today's interest rate decision by the European Central Bank (ECB).
"Since inflation in the euro area is above three percent and there is little hope for a de-escalation of the Iran conflict, an interest rate increase is the right move now," notes Fuest.
"The ECB is thus following what the markets have already priced in."
With today's decision, the ECB Governing Council has raised
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MUNICH, Germany, June 13 -- ifo Institute issued the following news release on June 11, 2026:
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Clemens Fuest: "Interest rate hike is the right move now"
Clemens Fuest, President of the ifo Institute, welcomes today's interest rate decision by the European Central Bank (ECB).
"Since inflation in the euro area is above three percent and there is little hope for a de-escalation of the Iran conflict, an interest rate increase is the right move now," notes Fuest.
"The ECB is thus following what the markets have already priced in."
With today's decision, the ECB Governing Council has raisedthe interest rate on the deposit facility as well as the rates on the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility by 25 basis points each.
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Original text here: https://www.ifo.de/en/press-release/2026-06-11/clemens-fuest-interest-rate-hike-right-move-now
[Category: ThinkTank]
Center of the American Experiment Issues Commentary: What Will It Take to Lower Housing Costs in Minnesota? Our New Report Has the Answer
MINNETONKA, Minnesota, June 13 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary by economist Martha Njolomole:
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What will it take to lower housing costs in Minnesota? Our new report has the answer
Minnesotans are concerned about the cost of housing, and rightly so. With the median home price exceeding $400,000, the Twin Cities metro is the most expensive housing market in the Midwest. After adjusting for high income levels, the Twin Cities rank as the fourth most expensive among the
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MINNETONKA, Minnesota, June 13 -- The Center of the American Experiment, a civic and educational organization that says it creates and advocates policies, issued the following commentary by economist Martha Njolomole:
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What will it take to lower housing costs in Minnesota? Our new report has the answer
Minnesotans are concerned about the cost of housing, and rightly so. With the median home price exceeding $400,000, the Twin Cities metro is the most expensive housing market in the Midwest. After adjusting for high income levels, the Twin Cities rank as the fourth most expensive among thetop 10 most populous Midwest metros.
Housing costs must come down. But how?
As American Experiment's recently released Affordability Agenda notes, housing is unaffordable due to a mismatch between demand and supply. While money printing during the COVID-19 pandemic fueled price hikes across the board, the U.S. also hasn't built enough housing to keep up with demand. This has created sustainable upward pressure on prices.
Up For Growth estimates a national shortage of 3.8 million homes. Minnesota needs nearly 100,000 homes, with the Twin Cities responsible for approximately three-quarters of that deficit.
Tackling this shortage will require comprehensive reform. State and local governments must remove the various regulatory hurdles they have placed on housing construction and make it easier for developers to work.
I discuss several of the necessary reforms below, and in more detail here (https://www.americanexperiment.org/reports/supplying-hope-and-demanding-real-affordability).
[View figure in the link at bottom.]
How to increase housing supply -- local zoning and land use reform
Through zoning, local governments decide where housing can be built. They also dictate housing features through several land-use regulations, such as minimum lot sizes and setback rules. Taken together, restrictive zoning and land-use rules limit the production of affordable housing options, including smaller-sized single-family homes, duplexes, and townhouses.
So, to encourage housing development while maintaining autonomy, local governments need to take the lead in relaxing zoning and land-use rules.
Beyond zoning, local governments must also streamline the permitting process -- by limiting discretionary approvals. Permitting housing by right, if it meets broader zoning requirements, would reduce uncertainty and delays for developers.
Reducing development fees -- which are generally passed down to homeowners -- would also reduce the cost of new homes.
The role of state policymakers
According to the most recent State Energy Efficiency Scorecard from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEE), Minnesota imposes the country's eighth most stringent energy-saving building codes. Among the 12 Midwest states, Minnesota ranked second only to Illinois
Certainly, tougher energy rules can reduce home energy use. But they also raise housing costs by complicating the building process or necessitating the use of expensive materials. For instance, Minnesota is the only Midwestern state to mandate the installation of balanced mechanical ventilation systems. These can cost up to five times as much as exhaust-only systems allowed in neighboring states.
Minnesota's energy-saving rules will only get tougher and costlier due to a 2024 law that requires frequent energy code updates with the intention of cutting new home energy use by 70 percent by 2038. Estimates from the Housing Affordability Institute show that the 2038 mandate could cost between "$25,773 and $44,171 per home by 2038," further worsening the housing affordability crisis.
To improve affordability, state lawmakers should repeal the 2038 mandate and relax other existing energy rules.
Beyond this, state policymakers should also encourage the construction of multifamily housing by legalizing mid-sized single-exit stairway apartments. With modern safety measures such as smoke detectors, these should be just as safe as other types of housing.
Why incentives don't work
Subsidies do not address shortages; they merely transfer costs onto taxpayers. Even worse, when supply is limited, subsidies intensify competition, further raising prices.
If targeted at developers, as suggested by candidate for Governor Amy Klobuchar, tax credits and grants fail to create extra housing. Instead, developers pocket money for housing that they likely would have built even without incentives. The credits get factored into the final cost of a new home.
Another politically popular solution, demonizing corporate landlords, can also have a chilling effect on housing development. Corporate landlords often increase the supply of rental homes, lowering costs.
Supply-side reforms work because they impose zero costs on taxpayers. They merely address artificial hurdles standing in the way of housing construction.
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Martha Njolomole is an Economist at Center of the American Experiment.
martha.njolomole@americanexperiment.org
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Original text here: https://www.americanexperiment.org/what-will-it-take-to-lower-housing-costs-in-minnesota-our-new-report-has-the-answer/
[Category: ThinkTank]
Capital Research Center Issues InfluenceWatch Wrapup on June 12, 2026
WASHINGTON, June 13 -- The Capital Research Center issued the following InfluenceWatch wrapup on June 12, 2026, by Jonathan Harsh:
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InfluenceWatch, a project of Capital Research Center, is a comprehensive and ever-evolving compilation of our research into the numerous advocacy groups, foundations, and donors working to influence the public policy process. The website offers transparency into these influencers' funding, motives, and connections while providing insight often neglected by other watchdog groups.
The information compiled in InfluenceWatch gives news outlets and other interested
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WASHINGTON, June 13 -- The Capital Research Center issued the following InfluenceWatch wrapup on June 12, 2026, by Jonathan Harsh:
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InfluenceWatch, a project of Capital Research Center, is a comprehensive and ever-evolving compilation of our research into the numerous advocacy groups, foundations, and donors working to influence the public policy process. The website offers transparency into these influencers' funding, motives, and connections while providing insight often neglected by other watchdog groups.
The information compiled in InfluenceWatch gives news outlets and other interestedparties research to use in reporting on significant topics that are often overlooked by the American public.
CRC is pleased to present some of the most significant additions to InfluenceWatch in the past week:
* Trust for Public Land Action Fund is a California-based advocacy group that organizes campaigns supporting state and local ballot measures to create or extend public funding for parks and land conservation. The group was created as the lobbying arm of the Trust for Public Land, a group that acquires and transfers private land to public entities for use as open spaces such as parks or trails. According to its website, as of 2026 the two groups have helped support the passage of 687 ballot measures that generated over $112 billion in voter approved funds.
* Repairers of the Breach is a North Carolina-based activist group that trains religious leaders and community organizers to promote left-of-center electoral and community-based policies. It was founded in 2015 by pastor William J. Barber II, who was previously the president of the North Carolina NAACP as well as a member of the national NAACP board of directors. Repairers of the Breach's funders have included the Foundation to Promote Open Society, the Ford Foundation, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the National Philanthropic Trust.
* People's World is an online newspaper that features "Marxist analysis and opinion developed by the Communist Party" and promotes left-of-center policies on topics such as labor, social justice, environmentalism, and immigration. According to its website, People's World is a continuation of the Daily Worker newspaper founded in 1924 to "raise the standards of struggle against the few who rob and plunder the many." It is a member of the International Labor Communications Association, while its staff are represented by the Chicago News Guild-Communication Workers of America. Some staff members also belong to other groups such as the National Writers Union.
* The African Climate Foundation is a regional climate group that advocates for left-of-center energy and climate policies in African countries. It also provides incubation and fiscal hosting services for local groups including New Economy Hub which has received funding from the Climate Emergency Collaboration Group, the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the ClimateWorks Foundation. The African Climate Foundation has also received grants from the Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
* TechTonic Justice is a technology policy advocacy organization that opposes the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in determining eligibility for public benefits among low-income communities, such as healthcare and public housing. In 2025, TechTonic Justice received a $1.2 million, two-year grant from the Ford Foundation. In February 2025, the group's founder Kevin De Liban wrote an opinion piece for The Hillwarning that the Second Trump administration's embrace of AI to uncover government waste could negatively impact "civil rights, diversity, transgender people, reproductive health care (including abortion)...science, journalism, immigrants and low-wage workers."
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Jonathan Harsh holds a master's degree in political science from James Madison University and a bachelor's degree in political science from Beloit College.
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Original text here: https://capitalresearch.org/article/influencewatch-friday-06-12-2026/
[Category: ThinkTank]
American Action Forum Issues Commentary: Tracker - The Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet Assets
WASHINGTON, June 13 -- The American Action Forum issued the following commentary on June 12, 2026, by Financial Services Policy Director Thomas Kingsley:
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Tracker: The Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet Assets
Introduction
This tracker follows the Federal Reserve's (Fed) total consolidated assets, held on its balance sheet, as the best indicator of the Fed's direct intervention in the economy.
Context
The Fed's dual mandate requires it to ensure both stable prices and maximum employment. The traditional tool the Fed uses to accomplish these goals is the adjustment of the federal funds rate,
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WASHINGTON, June 13 -- The American Action Forum issued the following commentary on June 12, 2026, by Financial Services Policy Director Thomas Kingsley:
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Tracker: The Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet Assets
Introduction
This tracker follows the Federal Reserve's (Fed) total consolidated assets, held on its balance sheet, as the best indicator of the Fed's direct intervention in the economy.
Context
The Fed's dual mandate requires it to ensure both stable prices and maximum employment. The traditional tool the Fed uses to accomplish these goals is the adjustment of the federal funds rate,the short-term interest rate that determines how much it costs for banks to lend to each other overnight. The 2007-2008 financial crisis, however, demonstrated that even lowering the interest rate to zero was considered insufficient to shore up economies in freefall, and the Fed turned to more unusual tactics.
One of these measures was what the Fed refers to as "large-scale asset purchases," which is more commonly known as "quantitative easing." Under this process, the Fed enters the market to buy securities, typically mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and Treasuries, injecting both capital and liquidity into the market. This approach is not without risks - for the first time in its history, the Fed is regulator, supervisor, and now participant in the economy.
The development of quantitative easing as a go-to tool for the Fed in times of crisis has led to an unprecedented focus on one of its traditionally unremarkable aspects - the Fed total assets. Just as with any other firm, securities that the Fed purchases are considered assets and therefore are represented on the Fed's balance sheet. This therefore is the most reflective guide of the state of quantitative easing and, by extension, the degree to which the Fed has deemed it necessary to intervene in the economy.
Each week, the Federal Reserve publishes its balance sheet, typically on Wednesday afternoon around 4:30 p.m.
As of June 10, the Fed's assets stand at $6.7 trillion, up more nearly $14 billion from the prior week and over $48 billion higher than a year ago.
Sources:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WALCL
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/TREAST
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/WSHOMCB
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Thomas Kingsley is the Director of Financial Services Policy at the American Action Forum.
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Original text here: https://www.americanactionforum.org/insight/tracker-the-federal-reserves-balance-sheet/
[Category: Think Tank]
AFPI Congratulates Peru President-elect Keiko Fujimori
WASHINGTON, June 13 -- The America First Policy Institute issued the following news release on June 12, 2026:
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AFPI congratulates Peru President-elect Keiko Fujimori
Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) congratulates President-elect Keiko Fujimori on her victory in Peru's presidential election. We commend the Peruvian people for their commitment to democracy and their success in carrying out a free, fair, and peaceful election.
Fujimori will become Peru's first female president after campaigning on restoring public security, strengthening economic growth, and ending the political
... Show Full Article
WASHINGTON, June 13 -- The America First Policy Institute issued the following news release on June 12, 2026:
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AFPI congratulates Peru President-elect Keiko Fujimori
Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) congratulates President-elect Keiko Fujimori on her victory in Peru's presidential election. We commend the Peruvian people for their commitment to democracy and their success in carrying out a free, fair, and peaceful election.
Fujimori will become Peru's first female president after campaigning on restoring public security, strengthening economic growth, and ending the politicalinstability that has seen Peru cycle through nine presidents in the last decade.
"Peru's election is another sign that the people of Latin America are tired of disorder, insecurity, and false promises and are demanding something increasingly simple: a government that works," said Melissa Ford Maldonado, Director of AFPI's Western Hemisphere Initiative. "President-elect Fujimori has identified a path forward for Peru focused on policies that will restore public safety, strengthen institutions, and create the conditions for long-term economic growth."
Peru's success matters not only to Peruvians, but to the future of security and stability in the Americas. As one of South America's largest nations and a key U.S. partner, Peru plays a vital role in combating transnational crime, securing critical mineral and trade corridors, and resisting the influence of hostile actors seeking to undermine sovereignty in the hemisphere. A safer, stronger, and more prosperous Peru benefits not only its own citizens, but also the broader effort to build a more secure and resilient Western Hemisphere. Stronger partnership between the United States and Peru is an important aspect of AFPI's mission to advance security, economic opportunity, and regional stability throughout the Americas.
AFPI remains committed to advancing policies that prioritize American strength abroad, deepen cooperation with democratic partners, and ensure the Western Hemisphere remains secure, free, and aligned against criminal networks and adversarial regimes.
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Original text here: https://www.americafirstpolicy.com/issues/afpi-congratulates-peru-president-elect-keiko-fujimori
[Category: ThinkTank]
