Blazer Briefs

  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has spent more than two decades as a Supreme Court justice, and during that time he has cultivated a reputation for pragmatism, optimism, and cooperation with both political parties. On a September 17 event hosted by my own George Washington University, Justice Breyer answered questions from students. Among them was a question on criminal justice reform I thought appropriate for this year's Policy Debate Resolution: "Resolved: The United States federal government should enact substantial criminal justice reform in the United States in one or more of the following: forensic science, policing, sentencing." Justice Breyer proposes potential reforms, but many of them are arguably not "substantial." Among his recommendations are training for prosecutors either in the form of training to be a judge or practicing as a defense lawyer as well as a prosecutor. He also indicates his dislike of mandatory minimums, suggesting it w...

Charles Blahous of George Mason's Mercatus Center specializes in domestic economic policy and retirement security (with an emphasis on Social Security), as well as federal fiscal policy, entitlements, and health care programs.  Blahous’s research  The Costs of a National Single-Payer Healthcare System   has been used by both proponents and opponents of Medicare-for-All . I interview Dr. Blahous on the 2020 September-October NSDA Public Forum Debate Resolution: "Resolved: The United States federal government should enact the Medicare-For-All Act of 2019." Dr. Blahous made clear that he does not view himself professionally as an advocate or opponent of the bill, but rather as a humble data analyst. With that being established, that he is neither for or against the resolution professionally, here are some key findings from his aforementioned estimates: "Actual federal cost increases under M4A are likely to be substantially higher than the estimated $32.6 trillion over i...