Migrating Americans Seek Lower Taxes and Greater Freedom
There are many reasons people move, but overburdening your citizens is a good way to lose them.
Census
California Continues Chasing People Away
California's economy is growing despite Gov. Gavin Newsom's policies, not because of them.
Americans Fled California, New York, and D.C. During COVID
Financial pressure is the main reason why people say they move, and pandemic-era public policy created a lot more financial pressure in certain places.
Temporary Government Checks Produce Better Poverty Numbers…Temporarily
Plus: Mistrial motion granted for Backpage defendants, court halts vaccine mandate for New York workers, and more...
Texas Wins the Census
Plus: Oregon ditches high school proficiency requirements, new vaccine rules in San Francisco and New Orleans, and more...
U.S. Is Becoming More Urban and More Ethnically Diverse, Says Census Bureau
People who checked the "Some Other Race" or racial combination census boxes are now America's second largest ethnic group.
Perhaps the Shortest Standing Opinion You'll Ever Read
The Sixth Circuit made quick work of a district court opinion concluding Ohio lacked standing to sue for overdue Census data.
The California Exodus Is Real
California has morphed from a land of limitless opportunity to a highly regulated land of limits and control. No wonder so many people are leaving.
Illinois' Population Drain Continues for 7th Consecutive Year
The tax- and corruption-heavy state has lost a quarter-million people in the past decade.
Trump Must Actually Exclude Undocumented Immigrants From the Census Before He Can Be Sued for Doing That, SCOTUS Rules
The Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to Trump's plans for being "premature" until the administration actually does what it says it plans to do.
Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Plan to Exclude Undocumented Immigrants from Congressional Apportionment Counts - But the Case Could Soon Come Back
The case was dismissed on procedural grounds that will change when and if the administration actually decides which people will be excluded.
Thoughts on Today's Supreme Court Oral Argument in Trump v. New York
Many of the justices seem intent on avoiding the substantive issues at stake in a case challenging the legality of Trump's plan to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment count for congressional representation.
Americans Are Starting a Staggering Number of Businesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In a year that will be remembered for a deadly pandemic that shut down parts of the economy and cost millions of people their jobs, here's one silver lining.
Supreme Court Considers Whether Trump Can Block Immigrants From Census Counts
Plus: Pennsylvania rejects mail-in vote challenge, Facebook begs for regulation, and more...
Amicus Brief in the Congressional Apportionment Case Currently Before the Supreme Court
The brief filed by Univ. of Texas law professor Sanford Levinson and myself explains why the Trump administration's efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from the apportionment count for allocating seats in the House of Representatives goes against the text and original meaning of the Constitution.
My LA Times Op Ed on Why the Constitution Requires Including Undocumented Immigrants in House Reapportionment Counts
The issue is currently before the Supreme Court in the case of Trump v. New York.
Trump Can End Census Now, Says Supreme Court in Ruling That Could Have Big Impact on House Seats
Plus: DOJ sues over Melania Trump adviser's book, Justice Clarence Thomas wants to limit Section 230, and more....
Court Thwarts Trump's Attempt To Exclude Undocumented Immigrants From Census
Plus: Raleigh cop uses fake evidence in drug cases, caution on CDC study linking restaurants to COVID-19 cases, and more...
Tear Up Your Census Form for a Better America
The government is perfectly capable of counting heads in a less-intrusive and more-hygienic way.
What Happens to the U.S. Population If Immigration Rises Substantially or Halts Entirely?
The Census Bureau sketches out scenarios in which immigration remains about the same, increases by 50 percent, falls by 50 percent, or halts entirely.
What If a Citizenship Question Doesn't Meaningfully Reduce Census Response Rates After All?
Newly released data suggests Census analysts dramatically over-estimated the extent to which a citizenship question would discourage responses.
Illinois Spent the Last Decade Losing Population and Learning Nothing
Our most troubled state enters 2020 having lost residents for six years in a row.
Trump's Census Surrender Hints at the Real Reason He Tried to Add a Citizenship Question
Even if the president's motives were partisan, a more plausible cover story would have been enough to pass judicial muster.
No Citizenship Question on 2020 Census as Trump Backs Down
Instead, the president signed an executive order directing government agencies to sift through documents and databases to determine Americans' citizenship status.
Blame Wilbur Ross's Clumsy Lies for the Census Mess
The commerce secretary could easily have reinstated the citizenship question if he had been less transparently dishonest.
Does Justin Amash Libertarianism Have a Future?
Dissecting the meaning of a congressman's newfound independence
Would Counting Illegal Immigrants Make the Census Pro–Democratic Party?
The Census fight overlooks the fact that the number of unauthorized residents is declining.
The Trump Administration's Double Reversal on the Census Highlights the Difficulties of Dealing With a Mercurial President Who Rules by Tweet
Did Trump change his mind about the citizenship question twice, or did his underlings ignore him? Which is worse?
It's Donald Trump's America, We Just Live in It. Or Is It?
The president's seeming ability to always get what he wants masks the reality that anything is possible in today's political and cultural landscape.
Enumerated Powers and the Census Case
The Supreme Court was right to rule that the administration's rationale for adding a question about citizenship to the Census was bogus. But it would have done better to rule that inclusion of the question was beyond the scope of the federal government's enumerated powers.
SCOTUS Ruling on Adding a Citizenship Question to the Census Shows Wilbur Ross Was Defeated by His Own Lies
The Court concludes that the commerce secretary's "contrived" explanation frustrated "meaningful judicial review."
Census Citizenship Question Pushed for by GOP Gerrymanderer
And that whole Voting Rights Act justification? Kinda the opposite, actually.
Trump's One-Sided War Against New York's Political Elite
Bill de Blasio's coming humiliation is just the latest evidence of the outer-borough president's revenge on Manhattan.
Wilbur Ross Says He Did Not 'Intentionally' Mislead Congress About the Census
The commerce secretary falsely portrayed the decision to include a citizenship question as a response to a Justice Department request.
Why Wilbur Ross's Census Lies Matter
The commerce secretary's phony rationale for adding a citizenship question is inconsistent with the rule of law.
Federal Judge: Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross 'Violated the Public Trust' with Census Citizenship Question
The Trump administration can't ask about citizenship on the 2020 census, Judge Jesse Furman ruled.
Illinois Bleeds Population for Fifth Year in a Row
Skyrocketing debt and pension obligations make for a tough labor environment.
Trump's Obamacare Sabotage Has Resulted In…No Change to the Uninsured Rate
New Census data shows little change from 2016.
Judge Spikes Kansas Voter ID Law, Orders Trump's 'Voter-Fraud' Czar to Take Remedial Legal Classes
Kris Kobach suffers legal, factual, and professional humiliation at the hands of a federal judge, though his conspiratorial cause still lives on at the White House.
Inclusive vs. Exclusive Whiteness in Census Bureau Data
Projections of minority-majority U.S. population are based on outdated and arbitrary ethno-racial Census categories.
I Don't Want to Tell the Census That I'm Gay. Don't Erase Me.
Stop trying to draft me as a data point for your federal lobbying efforts.
Supporters of the Census Citizenship Question Expose the Administration's Dishonest Justifications
A higher non-response rate among illegal immigrants is a goal to be celebrated, not some minor potential side effect to be lamented, Kris Kobach, David Vitter, and other would-be gerrymanderers stress.
Trump Administration to Deliberately Undercount Illegal Immigrants in 2020 Census
The Census Bureau's decision to ask about citizenship in its decennial survey for the first time since 1950 will lead to worse data, but better electoral results for Republicans.
Immigration Restrictionists Seek to Weaponize the Census
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach would prefer to upend the Constitution's directive to apportion House seats based on total population, not voter rolls. So barring that, the author of Mitt Romney's "self-deportation" policy wants Census-takers to ask about citizenship.
