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February 12, 2025

Welcome to The Lighthouse ([link removed]) , the weekly email newsletter of the Independent Institute covering politics, economics, current events, and everything in between.

Dear Readers,

Recently a federal judge issued a broad injunction against several Trump Admin officials, including those at the Department of Government Efficiency amid investigating allegations of mismanagement at the US Treasury. The issue sparked controversy over to what extent the judicial branch has a check on the executive branch.

This week, our authors point out where additional reform is needed. Christopher Calton argues that Trump should end Housing First, allowing service providers to pursue more effective solutions to homelessness. Craig Eyermann explains how DOGE and the fast-moving collapse of USAID will both cut government debt. Scott Semet argues why the EU’s latest move on fertilizer tariffs threatens to undermine its own agricultural sector, and Lloyd Billingsley highlights why the government stepping aside can yield better results after destructive fires.

Happy reading.

Jonathan Hofer
Managing Editor

Top picks this week
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** To Reduce Homelessness, Donald Trump Must End Housing First ([link removed])
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** by Christopher Calton
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The best reform Trump could make would be to repeal the Housing First mandate and replace it with … nothing. Instead, give service providers the freedom to experiment and discover which homelessness strategies are most effective.
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** Smoke, Fire, and Bureaucracy ([link removed])
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** What California can learn from itself ([link removed])
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** by K. Lloyd Billingsley
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Government at all levels should step aside more often.
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** Sowing the Seeds of a Crisis With Fertilizer Tariffs ([link removed])
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** Why European policymakers are making a mistake ([link removed])
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** by Scott Semet
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The EU is poised to shoot itself in the foot yet again.
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** What USAID Offers for Reducing the Deficit ([link removed])
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** by Craig Eyermann
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Foreign aid might be relatively small, but reform is vital to the fiscal health of the nation.
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** Righting Wrongs with the Stroke of a Presidential Pen ([link removed])
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** The USAID haystack ([link removed])
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** by Craig Eyermann
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The repurposed DOGE is already achieving results.
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** FEATURED BOOK - AVAILABLE NOW!
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** Race & Liberty (Updated Edition) ([link removed])
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** The Essential Reader ([link removed])
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** Edited by Jonathan J. Bean
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With new contributions from Thomas Sowell, Coleman Hughes, Thomas Chatteron Williams, Kenny Xu, David Bernstein, and Ilya Somin—as well as a plethora of primary source evidence from recent landmark US Supreme Court decisions—Bean champions the values of colorblindness, freedom, and equal constitutional protection for all individuals—regardless of race. It’s a message that couldn’t be more timely.
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