Systems Under Strain
This week, upcoming Fall Symposium speakers Kimberley Strassel, Stephen Moore, Allison Schrager, and Daniel Turner examine pressure on four critical systems: the courts, federal finances, global markets, and the electric grid.
Kimberley Strassel ’26
Kimberley Strassel argues that the media routinely presents legal challenges against the Trump administration as constitutional crises—even as many ultimately fail on appeal. She contends that this persistent framing enables politically motivated litigation and misleads the public about the administration’s legal record.
Does This Look to You Like the Government Has a Revenue Problem?
Stephen Moore ’24 & ’26
Stephen Moore and the Committee to Unleash Prosperity argue that America’s growing debt reflects excessive federal spending—not insufficient tax revenue. Pointing to rising federal receipts, they contend that new taxes would fail to address the underlying cause of persistent deficits.
A Stupid and More Honest Place
Allison Schrager ’26
Allison Schrager challenges claims that rising Treasury yields represent a singular warning about America’s debt. She argues that rates are returning toward historical norms across developed economies. In Germany, she welcomes pension reforms that would give savers greater exposure to stocks as weak growth and an aging population make higher returns increasingly necessary – a reform that could help our Social Security program.
What Is Really Straining America’s Power Grid?
Daniel Turner ’26
Daniel Turner argues that America’s power-grid problems predate the growth of AI data centers. He attributes much of today’s strain to the retirement of reliable coal and natural-gas plants without sufficient replacement capacity, warning that intermittent energy sources cannot provide dependable baseload power on their own.