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Here is the Heritage Take on the top issues today. Please reply to this email to arrange an interview.
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- Kids’ social media safety is at a crossroads in Florida. Gov. Ron DeSantis is considering whether to sign HB 1, which—if it becomes law—would become the new national gold standard for protecting kids online.
- Social media is a clear and present danger to kids’ mental health and well-being.
- Reports and whistleblowers reveal that social media is a breeding ground for child sexual exploitation and abuse. Platforms knowingly incorporate features and design elements that may be rewiring children’s brains. And some social media platforms, such as TikTok, are weaponized by the radical Left and the Chinese Communist Party to propagandize our kids.
- HB 1 would require social media platforms that use algorithmic recommendation systems or addictive design features to verify the age of account holders. Social media platforms would be prohibited from allowing children under 16 to hold an account. Section 2 would require porn sites to bar minors under 18 from accessing their platforms.
- DeSantis has the opportunity to continue leading the fight by holding Big Tech accountable and protecting children. Florida’s kids are counting on him.
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- EVs were once the hot new fad, and all automakers, with the exception of Toyota, promised to go all electric by 2035 or earlier. But the technology has not caught on as fast as was forecast.
- EVs are sitting on dealers’ lots, and over 4,500 auto dealers have written to President Biden asking him to delay the EV mandate.
- EV use is not growing because of the big C—Choice. And people aren’t choosing EVs for five other reasons, all beginning with C:
- Cost. EVs cost more than equivalent gasoline-powered vehicles.
- Convenience. Owning an EV is convenient for drivers who can charge them at home overnight and who don’t travel out of range. For others, stopping to recharge during the day while out on business, or while on a vacation trip, is a major drawback. A charge can take an hour—and longer if the driver is not first in line at the charging station.
- Children. EVs tend to be smaller, and it’s hard to fit three car seats in the back row. This means families with more than two children don’t find these vehicles suitable for their needs.
- Climate. EVs lose 40% of their battery range when the temperature dips below 20 degrees Fahrenheit and when the heating is on, according to the American Automobile Association.
- China. China makes 80% of the world’s electric batteries and controls 60% of the world’s critical minerals that are used to make the batteries. Required use of EVs, rather than U.S. oil and natural gas resources, makes America depend on China for a vital part of its economy.
- As long as consumers have choice, some will buy EVs, but they won’t buy them in numbers that the Biden Administration is requiring.
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- Staples like bread, lunch meats, dairy products and eggs have seen price increases of 20% to 40% in the last three years.
- President Joe Biden is blaming grocery stores for “gouging” consumers, but there’s just one problem with that explanation: His administration’s own data disprove it.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices paid by business and consumers alike have increased 18% on average since Biden took office. The higher prices that American families face today are simply the higher cost of doing business being passed along to the consumer.
- Despite this fact, the White House has repeatedly called for grocery stores to lower prices—as if a business owner sets prices arbitrarily.
- Grocery stores cannot simply reduce the prices they charge while the prices they themselves pay continue to rise.
- As the government spends, borrows and prints money, it devalues the currency, so your dollars don’t go as far as they used to. That’s something to remember next time you’re grocery shopping for your family and wondering why the prices are so high.
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