7/28/2019

            It's going to be "brutally hot" according to the radio. I prefer to think of it as "sizzling" - that sounds more exciting and bearable. That means we have to get outside in the morning before the sun starts to do her thing.         

            I heard something fascinating on the radio yesterday that you need to know. It was on Freakonomics where Steve Levitt and John Donohue make the case that legalized abortion led to a 45% drop in crime rates. I won't bore you with the details, but the analysis is compelling! The bottom line is unwanted children have a tough time in life.

            So, my suggestion for the day is, if we want to keep seeing the reduction in crime that has been taking place for the past 30 years let's keep giving women access to family planning. That insures that babies will be born to parents who can care for them. Abortion should remain one of the options, but the pill and all of the other new birth control should be free! According to Nicholas Kristof writing in today's NYT, "publicly funded family planning averted 2.2 million unintended pregnancies, 99,100 cases of chlamydia and 3,680 cases of cervical cancer." It's just smart economics. As Jon Gruber of MIT says, "if abortion access is restricted, it’s going to hurt women’s prospects in the labor market and going to result in unwanted kids who will be growing up in more poverty, and, as a result will lead lives that are less economically successful."

            I'm sure that Ivanka can tell you more about this so I hope you get some time to spend with her today.

            Best,

            RCA