Commonplace

A magazine about what matters in America, from @AmerCompass.

[Commonplace @commonplc]

"What makes the crisis intractable is the other side of the trade. Where people trying to buy their first home want to see a 'decrease in housing prices,' the people who own homes are looking for a prosperity-advancing “increase in home values.' Politicians try to tell both groups what they want to hear. But that latter group is more than twice as large and also votes at a much higher rate. In the 2024 presidential election, homeowners cast nearly four votes for every vote cast by a renter. Notwithstanding the drumbeat in the media, most people are about as excited about lower home prices as they are about seeing their 401(k)s take a dive. Notwithstanding the polling that shows 'affordability' in general to be a top issue, most policymakers understand this." @oren_cass https://t.co/2RdKsUL2Yg

[Daniel Kishi @DanielMKishi]

In 1858, a South Carolina senator defended slavery with what he called the "mudsill theory": every society needs a permanent underclass to do its menial work. His argument survives to this day.

Jasmine Crockett: "We done picking cotton… you can't pay us enough to find a plantation."

Nancy Pelosi: "We need them to pick the crops down here."

George W. Bush, famously, said there are "jobs Americans won't do."

Same logic, applied to immigration policy and updated for the 21st century.

My new essay for @commonplc @AmerCompass

https://t.co/zTAc1eRIXk

[Brad Pearce @WaywardRabbler]

My new article is out at @commonplc about the revival of the local train line!

https://t.co/woefkqOdn0

[Max Bodach @maxbodach]

Had a ton of fun talking Magnifica Humanitas, Butlerian Jihad, my proposal for a whispering earring that is only allowed to say “Memento mori”, and more with @oren_cass, @LeahLibresco, and @Chris_Griz!

[Skyler Adleta @SkylerAdleta]

Economic and labor policy is often nauseating because it reacts to everything after it occurs, and rarely seems to wrestle with cultural, moral and technological shifts with effective premeditation. I really appreciated this @amercompass podcast. https://t.co/dpZQaspMqq

[Commonplace @commonplc]

How human can AI really be?

This week's American Compass podcast brings @oren_cass together with @Chris_Griz, @LeahLibresco, & @maxbodach to discuss Pope Leo XIV’s highly anticipated new encyclical on what AI means for the future of humanity. https://t.co/zap0I1JOxl

[(((Alan Tonelson))) @AlanTonelson]

Link to above: https://t.co/sDrWgyI1k1

[(((Alan Tonelson))) @AlanTonelson]

Brilliant post below in @commonplc by @MarkSKrikorian on the mass deportation measures America really needs. Also chock full of info on how deportation procedures actually work.

[Commonplace @commonplc]

Are we prioritizing high home values? Or affordable costs for home buyers?

Policymakers need to pick one, @oren_cass writes. https://t.co/rcX6eqQmX3

[Mark Krikorian @MarkSKrikorian]

Immigration Enforcement Needs ‘You’re Fired’
https://t.co/JXquk24X9d

"The Trump administration has made significant strides, but there will be real progress only with a significant increase in employment-related enforcement. Stay tuned."

[Commonplace @commonplc]

Read the full piece from @MarkSKrikorian: https://t.co/XyOiYDlXAK

[Commonplace @commonplc]

"In the months since President Donald Trump sent 'Border Czar' Tom Homan to de-escalate the situation in Minneapolis, some immigration hawks have feared that the administration is backing off its commitment to large-scale removal of illegal aliens.

"Everyone remembers the 'Mass Deportation Now!' signs at the 2024 Republican National Convention. But long-time GOP voters also remember decades of betrayals by their own leaders, who talked tough at election time but afterward served the interests of cheap-labor employers.

"Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was notorious in this regard. He led major legislative efforts for amnesty and increased immigration during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations. Yet amid a tough primary challenge in 2010, McCain ran the disingenuous 'Complete the Dang Fence' ad.

"Does the Trump administration’s turn away from ousted Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino’s enforcement approach mean that 'Mass Deportation Now!' was just the 2024 version of 'Complete the Dang Fence'?

"I don’t think so—though time will tell. What’s certain is that significant reductions in the size of the illegal population are both necessary and eminently achievable. And this reduction can be done without theatrical enforcement sweeps that spur equally theatrical insurrectionary violence, which led to the deaths of two 'protesters' and prompted the president to change tactics earlier this year," @MarkSKrikorian on the future of illegal immigrant deportations.

[Commonplace @commonplc]

https://t.co/1mjn3atvnC

[Commonplace @commonplc]

Significant reductions in the size of the illegal population are both necessary and eminently achievable--without theatrical enforcement sweeps that spur equally theatrical insurrectionary violence, writes @MarkSKrikorian: https://t.co/XyOiYDlXAK

[Commonplace @commonplc]

With the Trump-Xi summit set to kick off today, read @oren_cass and @DanielMKishi on what's at stake. https://t.co/C7fyTU1KSR

[American Compass @AmerCompass]

This week, President Trump heads to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, hauling American business leaders in tow. The meeting follows 25 years of bad deals for the United States in pursuit of globalization, which have hollowed out America’s industrial capacity. 🧵

[Gambling is Not Investing @EndBackdoorBets]

Calling sports betting a "derivative" doesn't make it one. @MickMulvaney breaks down how prediction markets are using the CFTC to bypass state and tribal gambling laws.

Read more in @AmerCompass's @commonplc 👇

https://t.co/D3Z62tBO73

[Commonplace @commonplc]

What's at stake in this week's Trump-Xi Summit? @oren_cass @DanielMKishi https://t.co/C7fyTU2iIp

[Commonplace @commonplc]

Mick Mulvaney explains why the CFTC's attempts to end-run state laws on prediction markets are so dangerous. @EndBackdoorBets https://t.co/d3lOxTMTIK

[Drew Holden @DrewHolden360]

Wondering what to make of this week’s Trump-Xi Summit? @oren_cass and @DanielMKishi break it down. @commonplc https://t.co/fJ0BJqERvp