Senior Lecturer in Economics, Harvard University
Senior Lecturer in
Economics and Director of Undergraduate Studies at Harvard
University and a senior fellow at the
Cato Institute
PROFILE
Jeffrey Miron
Guest
FROM Jeffrey Miron
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
“Ganjapreneurs” and the Case to Reclassify Pot These seem to be booming days for the marijuana industry, as more states move to decriminalize it. Legal pot businesses raised more than $100 million last year, according to one research firm. Even Silicon Valley is getting into the game: A prominent venture capital firm run by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel recently became pot’s first major investor, putting millions into a cannabis company. So is pot the next big moneymaker? Also, a federal judge in Northern California has agreed to hear arguments to reclassify pot so it’s no longer a Schedule I drug. What are the implications of the case?
Which Way, L.A.?
Are the Out-of-Work about to Be Out of Benefits? As the Great Recession rolls on, unemployment benefits have already been extended more than ever before. But the jobless picture has not improved, and the extensions have run out. Weeks ago, the Congress approved another three-month extension , but only two Republicans in the Senate will go along. With a vote expected tomorrow, President Obama made the case today.
To the Point
Are the Out-of-Work about to Be Out of Benefits? As the Great Recession grinds on, more than two million Americans have had their unemployment benefits cut off this moth could get them back. The House has voted another three-month extension , but all but two Republicans in the Senate refuse to go along. Some say benefits discourage the search for work. Others call the $34 billion cost too much to pay at a time when the deficit's rising. With a showdown expected tomorrow when a new Democrat Senator will replace the late Robert Byrd of West Virginia, President Obama made the case at the White House today.
Recommended
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.