Going to the Chapel? 

What to know: According to Cosmopolitan, Generation Z and Millennials are “losing interest in marriage.”

The TPPF take: Increasingly, our culture looks at togetherness with suspicion.

“Rather than a mutual bond of love, ‘being together’ in marriage is perceived as an institution where wives are ultimately reduced to emotional anchors and laborers while their husbands experience benefits at their expense,” says TPPF’s Noah Torres. “But real fulfillment from marital ‘togetherness’ is brought about by mutual commitment and effort to grow ties between spouses, real empathy and support, and compassionate concern and care for the other.”

For more on marriage, click here.

Drone Warfare

What to know: What led to the temporary closure of the airspace over El Paso? Drug cartels had sent over a drone, officials say.

The TPPF take: For years, the Federal Aviation Administration has blocked meaningful action against rogue drones.

“The FAA’s perennial fear? That military countermeasures, from electronic jamming to kinetic options, might endanger civilian or commercial aircraft,” says TPPF’s Chuck DeVore. “This paralysis persisted even as threats mounted. The Feb. 11 incident in El Paso marked a dramatic break from that pattern — and a significant victory against the growing cartel drone threat.”

For more on cartel drones, click here.

Connecting the Dots

What to know: As the May bond election cycle begins to come into focus, it’s important that voters remember that every dollar a city, county, or school districts borrows must be repaid with interest. Which is why, “Local debt tends to bring about a rise in property taxes.”

The TPPF take: New debt invites new and higher taxes.

“Many local governments are beginning to formalize their bond proposition plans for the May election cycle, and some of the proposals are truly eye-popping. As voters weigh these costly measures, they should remember that voter-approved bonds almost always require new and higher taxes,” says TPPF’s James Quintero. “There is no such thing as a free lunch, no matter what the spenders say.”

For more on local debt, click here.