Commonplace
@commonplc
A magazine about what matters in America, from @AmerCompass.
Teen summer jobs are vanishing. @herandrews talks to leading conservative voices about what the summer jobs of their youth taught them, and explains why we should be concerned by the decline of this former rite of passage. 🧵👇
Really smart piece from @AFergusonFTC in @commonplc about keeping kids safe online, and how part of the equation needs to be better equipping parents. commonplace.org/2025/07/21/the…
Wall Street editor for @TheEconomist ⬇️
I now think in a few years, certainly after the next presidential election, cross-party elite opinion will have gravitated towards a soft consensus that the Trump tariffs, while slapdash and sometimes misdirected, were net good and trade barriers should have been higher earlier.
My thoughts on the long arc of US-China economic relations and the origins of the second China shock ... youtube.com/watch?v=7yszOq…
I must confess: We kept going hunting for more bison meat than our wagon could carry because shooting bison was fun, not for what it taught us about fragile prairie ecosystems and weight-to-calorie ratios. understandingamerica.co/p/bring-back-t…
"To combat the threat of weaponization and exploitation of our children’s data online by these emerging technologies, we need updated laws, regulations, and enforcement powers that not only protect our nation’s children from fraud and reputational harm, but also assist parents in…
The summer/part-time job ecosystem taught me and my friends that there is a reality on the other side of school where you could win or lose based on work ethic, reliability and your ability to collaborate. Crucial experience. @herandrews via @commonplc commonplace.org/2025/07/16/are…
Read this piece, but also what were your summer jobs commonplace.org/2025/07/16/are…
An important piece by Helen at @commonplc. I wrote on this topic during Bush's push for unlimited immigration, in response to Karl Rove defending the bill because "I don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas": web.archive.org/web/2007021602…
“The most common response I got from the people I talked to for this article to what they got out of their teen summer job was appreciation—for how hard these jobs are and for how little respect they get.” commonplace.org/2025/07/16/are…
I am blessed this week to be speaking with the author of America's #1 non-fiction book, @ZitoSalena, on Beyond the Polls! Whether or not you've read BUTLER, listen and hear Salena talk about that day and Trump, the person! ricochet.com/podcast/beyond…
Are Teen Summer Jobs Obsolete? this is a great piece from @herandrews. commonplace.org/2025/07/16/are…
"The best argument one can make for the Fed’s posture is that tariff-induced changes in the price level will be perceived by consumers and businesses as inflation, and either the fear of those increases or their realization will shift inflation expectations higher, which can…
I really enjoyed this @herandrews @commonplc reflection on summer jobs, which ignores the "kids these days" Boomer-talk to dissect the underlying (Boomer-promoted!) forces that are pushing young people away from a vital opportunity. commonplace.org/2025/07/16/are…
"But tariffs are not inflationary. Obviously, tariffs can cause changes in prices. In some respects, that’s their entire purpose. But a change in relative prices, or even a one-time shift upwards in the overall price level, is not 'inflation' of the type cognizable for monetary…
The 1986 Reagan amnesty bill made it a crime to knowingly employ illegal immigrant labor. Yet in the 39 years since that bill passed, "there has not been a single year ... that more than 25 people have been prosecuted under the statute." That should change. People respond to…
"The weather is warm, the pool is calling, and lifeguards are reporting for duty all across America, along with camp counselors, ice cream scoopers, and other traditional teen workers. But how many of these jobs are still held by teens? "The teen summer job is an American…
“The most common response I got from the people I talked to for this article to what they got out of their teen summer job was appreciation—for how hard these jobs are and for how little respect they get.” commonplace.org/2025/07/16/are…
In some places, the teen summer job has been replaced by math camp and SAT prep. I think that’s a very bad development. commonplace.org/2025/07/16/are…
Teen summer jobs are squeezed by both low-skilled immigration (because immigrants take the jobs teens would otherwise hold) and high-skilled immigration (because it pressures kids to spend their summer padding their resumes instead of lifeguarding).
You will not be surprised to learn that @realchrisrufo has always had that hustle. commonplace.org/2025/07/16/are…
For @realchrisrufo, it was washing windows: "'I recruited a friend and we went around the wealthiest neighborhoods in town and pitched our services door-to-door...we were the kings of the summer—and learned how to sell, which is a universal skill.'”