There is cause for concern regarding the viability and health of many state unemployment insurance trust funds, and federal policies to promote job creation are the single most important determinant of solvency.

If the nation truly wants to address the wild roller coaster of price swings, it's important to understand the factors that affect prices.

Ever since its founding in 1948, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has maintained an aggressive and bellicose international security posture. Today, fully two decades after the end of the Cold War, North Korea's external defense and security policies look arguably more extreme and anomalous than ever.

Anew study, Income Redistribution from Social Security (AEI Press, February 2005), argues that Social Security may not redistribute money from the rich to the poor.

On the eve of Ukraine"s elections, one can do worse than to consult Lenin. 'There is no greater nonsense", he warned, 'than the separation between international and internal policy". In the midst of political struggle, so many forget this point.

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.

2012 looks to be an interesting year for the already complex political triangle among the United States, Taiwan and China, what with each country undergoing political transitions. Should we expect policy continuity from President Ma Ying-jeou and the likely new Chinese leader Xi Jinping? What about continuity in the United States?

The number of schools ranked highly in guides such as Barron's Profiles of American Colleges is increasing, without any evidence that these schools' instructional quality is also increasing. Applicants and their families should be wary of letting these rankings serve as the main criteria in their college decisions.