Weekly Writers Round-Up: Afghanistan’s Corruption, Dropping Birthrates, and the Conservative Case for YIMBYism

Each week, we’ll be featuring the work of the alumni and current participants of AF’s Writing Fellows Program. A few highlights from the past week are below. The application deadline for the Summer 2019 session is approaching soon (April 26)! See here to learn more or apply.

America Can’t Solve Afghanistan’s Corruption Problems by Jerrod Laber (Fall 2017) in The National Interest
On Monday, April 8, three U.S. soldiers and one contractor were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, bringing the total number of U.S. personnel killed there in 2019 to seven. For advocates of foreign policy restraint, every new American death represents the moral imperative for U.S. withdrawal from the region. To the Trump administration’s credit, U.S. envoys have been in discussions with the Taliban for months, seeking a possible end to the now almost eighteen-year-old war. But these efforts have been met largely with derision inside the D.C. Beltway. Representatives Jim Banks and Liz Cheney went so far as to introduce the “Ensuring a Secure Afghanistan Act” last week, to prevent a possible drawdown in Afghanistan if they are not satisfied with the details of any U.S.-Taliban deal…

The Budget Will Never Balance Until the Wars End by John Kristof (Summer 2018) in The American Conservative
Traditional party politics was turned on its head earlier this month when a group of House Democrats proposed a balanced budget constitutional amendment. Congressman Ben McAdams’ measure would prohibit Congress from spending more than it receives in a given year. Additionally, it requires that the president’s budget proposals sent to Congress balance out revenues and expenditures…

Where Are All the Republican YIMBYs? by Nolan Gray (Fall 2015) in City Journal
The 2016 election exposed, among other things, the gradual extinction of the urban Republican, who, like the Southern Democrat, has virtually vanished from the political scene. While Donald Trump swept rural areas, he struggled in suburbs and failed to find traction in cities. Less than a quarter of America’s 100 largest cities are currently run by Republicans.

This is a big problem for the GOP. It’s also a problem for urban residents. After all, political competition is good for cities. Partisan competition brings in fresh ideas and better policymaking. Though New York is a Democrat-dominated city, Republican administrations played a critical role in its revitalization. Even for those skeptical of conservative policy solutions, it’s hard to deny that Chicago could use some fiscal prudence or that San Francisco badly needs some good-government street cleaning…

Why Lower Birthrates Aren’t Always Worth Celebrating by Chelsea Follett (Summer 2017) in the Charleston Gazette-Mail
Easter is almost upon us. Traditionally, Easter is a celebration of new life and fertility, replete with rabbit imagery — a symbol of fecundity. Both globally and in the United States, birth rates are falling, and there is considerable debate as to whether that is a good or bad thing.

On one side of the argument are overpopulation alarmists, urging people to have fewer children. Generally, they believe that declining birth rates are a good thing, particularly from an environmental perspective.

The overpopulation alarmists are wrong…