At least not the way you want it to. I've been thinking a lot lately about two related stories that recently crossed my desk. In one, our top Chinese scientists are apparently genetically engineering babies "with the goal of making the babies resistant to infection with H.I.V." The second is simply headlined, "Deformities Alarm Scientists Racing to Rewrite Animal … [Read more...] about Human Genetic Engineering Can’t Work
Archives for December 2018
Everyone should have access to the federal Thrift Savings Plan, but not for you reason you think
Shortly before his humiliation and expulsion from public life, Florida Senator Marco Rubio resurrected the idea of allowing some non-government employees to invest in the Thrift Savings Plan, which is the federal equivalent of private-sector 401(k) and non-profit 403(b) plans. The proposal got some sympathetic attention from lazy personal finance journalists, and some critical … [Read more...] about Everyone should have access to the federal Thrift Savings Plan, but not for you reason you think
What was behind Robinhood’s very bad week?
Since the product was announced on Thursday I've been following with interest the drama surrounding Robinhood's "Checking and Savings" product, which has since been put on hold and rebranded as a "Cash Management" account. It's an interesting story about the brokerage and banking industries, and I think it's possible at this point to piece together what Robinhood was thinking, … [Read more...] about What was behind Robinhood’s very bad week?
The SEC offers free financial planning tools. Are they any good?
This is a funny thing I was unaware of until I saw someone mention it on Twitter the other day: the SEC hosts a website offering free financial planning tools. I was surprised, since I think of the SEC as having a "hands-off" approach to investing: they don't want people to commit too much fraud or anything, but they're mostly indifferent to whether you invest well or poorly … [Read more...] about The SEC offers free financial planning tools. Are they any good?
Book review: Reihan Salam and the limits of American greatness
The local public library recently spit into my hands Reihan Salam's slender volume about US immigration policy, "Melting Pot or Civil War? A Son of Immigrants Makes the Case Against Open Borders." The "son of immigrants" in question is Salam himself, who is so thoroughly integrated into American life he manages to hold down a gig writing for the fringe conservative website … [Read more...] about Book review: Reihan Salam and the limits of American greatness