Minimum wage laws do harm in the short run and in the long run. People acquire lots of valuable human capital in their first jobs. The longer those first jobs are pushed out of reach, the longer it takes low-skill workers to develop crucial capacities that can put them on a promising career path.

I have been in Washington, D.C. since 1969, longer than even Representative Cooper, and I have never seen it more dysfunctional. The problems, as Cooper notes, start with partisan divisions. In both the Senate and House, the center of gravity is nowhere near the center of the political spectrum.

In the name of Muslim unity, many Muslim-American leaders and organizations have been less than coherent when it comes to violent extremism.

Online communal wisdom should be harnessed for drug development.

Social Security pays women a higher average ratio of lifetime benefits to lifetime taxes than men. But that doesn't mean Social Security gives women an incentive to stay in the labor force. In fact, it does the opposite.

Health care reforms should be more focused on eliminating waste by becoming more efficient and putting patients first.

Of the many factors that make improving the health system difficult, few challenges are greater than the misty-eyed recollection – often from genuinely distinguished practitioners – of how great things used to be.  Doctors were highly regarded authority figures, pure and beloved, while patients were meek and grateful in the presence of such brilliance and expertise.

During two closed sessions before the luncheon, committee members discussed the latest in financial regulation issues. At a luncheon briefing following these sessions, SFRC members gave several statements and answered questions.