Earlier this month, the Cato Institute — perhaps the most effective think tank advocating open borders — published a study claiming that since 1994, immigration has generated a whopping $14.5 trillion surplus in tax revenues over expenditures.

Critics quickly noted that Cato’s study uses a strange standard for judging immigration policy. For example, the study admits that immigration drives up housing prices by increasing demand, yet it still treats the resulting rise in property-tax payments from homeowners — citizens and noncitizens alike — as a benefit.

Who the ‘American people’ were in 1776 or 1787, or are in 2026, is a much-disputed question, but that does not exempt us from trying to answer it.

But perhaps more fundamental is the study’s idea of what should count as an expenditure on immigrants. It treats the educational and medical expenses of immigrants’ American-born children — all of whom Cato claims are “birthright citizens” — as expenditures on citizens rather than on immigrants. This is the same kind of sleight of hand we saw during COVID, when the rise in illness experienced after the first of two shots was counted as cases among the unvaccinated rather than the half-vaccinated.

Statistical games aside, such studies raise a far deeper question: To whose well-being, security, and liberty is the government of the United States directed? That is answered for us in the preamble to our fundamental law, the Constitution of 1787:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

When I cited the preamble recently, the libertarian economist Glen Whitman replied that it is not binding law. Perhaps, but it is something more fundamental than law — it tells us what our laws should be trying to achieve.

Who the “American people” were in 1776 or 1787, or are in 2026, is a much-disputed question, but that does not exempt us from trying to answer it.

When John Rawls — the late political philosopher and the most influential liberal theorist of my generation — tried to explain how rational people should design society’s basic institutions, he did not treat civilization as nothing more than a collection of isolated individuals. In his famous “original position,” he argued that we should imagine ourselves not only as individuals but also as representatives of “continuing persons” — family heads, or stewards of enduring family lines.

This concept of continuing persons was Rawls’ clunky but effective mid-20th-century version of Gouverneur Morris’ more eloquent “ourselves and our posterity.” It does not seem crazy or racist — Rawls would have said it was reasonable — to think that immigration policy should be assessed from the perspective of current citizens and their descendants. In fact, that was how the historical Rawls claimed we should think about immigration, much to the surprise and dismay of his students and epigones.

On social media, we find the repeated cry that the so-called great replacement — the notion that elites are exchanging native populations for more tractable revenue producers — is a demagogic lie. After all, the open-borders pundits argue, more immigration doesn’t mean anybody is forced to leave.

RELATED: America has immigration laws — just not in these courtrooms

Cemile Bingol / Getty Images

But we are all forced to leave. Someday, each of us will be reunited with his or her fathers and mothers. Our descendants — the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren we leave behind in the country we made for them — are our posterity.

Another problem is that mass immigration not only increases the demand for housing, but it also suppresses the wage expectations of the native-born, particularly native-born men who are low-income workers. By increasing housing prices and reducing lifetime wages, mass immigration erodes the economic foundation required for family life, making fewer native-born men marriageable.

This decreases the fertility of the native-born. While an increasing share of children are born to unwed mothers, unwed parenting is sufficiently difficult that few such mothers have more than one child, and very few have more than two. Governments then trumpet studies like Cato’s to justify bringing in immigrants to support the aging natives who do not have enough of their own posterity to meet the fiscal need.

To paraphrase Charles de Gaulle, the graveyards are full of irreplaceable men. But if we want our graves to be tended and our memories to be revered by our posterity, we need to work now to ensure that immigration policy serves the welfare, security, and liberty of that posterity.

Those who continue the work of George Washington and the other founders by maintaining and passing on the union they built — stronger, more united, and free — may not be their blood relatives, but they can justly claim to be their spiritual progeny.

A version of this article appeared originally at the American Mind.

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The U.S. military struck Iran along with Israeli forces on Saturday morning and Iran lashed out with attacks on Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Kuwait.

President Donald Trump issued a national statement about the military operation dubbed “Operation Epic Fury” late Friday evening.

‘The Israeli Air Force is operating to intercept and strike threats where necessary to remove the threat.’

“The United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests,” Trump said. “We’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated.”

Sirens in Israel indicated that Iran launched a wave of missiles against the country but some reports said the effort was muted.

“A short while ago, sirens were sounded in several areas across the country following the identification of missiles launched from Iran toward the State of Israel,” read a statement from Israel. “At this time, the Israeli Air Force is operating to intercept and strike threats where necessary to remove the threat.”

The Ministry of the Interior in Bahrain ordered evacuations of some parts of the country, including Juffair.

The United Arab Emirates said that the strike from Iran violated their sovereignty and they reserved their right to respond.

Iran also launched missiles at the Al Udeid Air Base in Doha, Qatar, leading the country to condemn the attacks.

Loud explosions and warning sirens were reported in Kuwait near the U.S. Army base.

Several heavy explosions were also heard in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Fox News reported that the strikes targeted the Iranian Parliament, the National Supreme Council, the Ministry of Intelligence, as well as the Iranian Atomic Agency.

Russia also called for an immediate halt to the strikes on Iran and ordered all Russian citizens to leave Israel.

RELATED: Iran strike looms as Trump hosts Board of Peace

“To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police,” Trump said in his speech. “I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity or in the alternative, face certain death.”

The regime in Iran has been facing political demonstrations from dissidents opposed to their totalitarian rule and some reports claim that tens of thousands have perished from the violent response.

Trump had warned Iran that if they killed protesters, the U.S. would “come to their rescue.”

It appears that he fulfilled that promise.

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The auto industry is marketed as global — same brands, same badges, same hype. It’s easy to assume we’re all shopping from the same menu.

We’re not.

BYD has now surpassed Tesla in global EV sales — even though BYD sells none of those vehicles in the United States.

On the latest episode of “The Drive,” iSeeCars.com executive analyst and Forbes Autos contributor Karl Brauer and I sit down with automotive creator Al Vazquez, whose Spanish-language platform gives him a vantage point most U.S. journalists don’t have.

He covers cars for the American press like we do — but he’s also regularly flown to Latin America and other markets to drive vehicles, many of them Chinese-branded, that Americans will never see on a dealer lot.

What he’s seeing raises a practical question for buyers here at home: What happens when other markets are flooded with cheaper, rapidly improving vehicles — while American consumers face higher prices and fewer straightforward options?

Bargains head east

Because Al’s channel is in Spanish, his reach extends across Latin America and into Europe. That audience brings invitations: Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Spain. And when he lands in those markets, he often finds himself driving cars unfamiliar to U.S. buyers.

A major reason: Chinese brands are no longer fringe players in many regions.

Al is blunt about the shift. Five to 10 years ago, he says, he would have dismissed many of these vehicles. Today he sees better interiors, stronger feature sets, and long warranties backing them up.

But the real story is price.

In several markets, buyers are offered vehicles that undercut U.S. pricing dramatically — sometimes at what he describes as “half the price” of comparable models here. Whether that pricing would survive U.S. regulatory and labor realities is another question. But for consumers abroad, the appeal is obvious: new-car affordability that hasn’t vanished.

That’s something American buyers increasingly struggle to find.

Redirecting competition

In the U.S., tariffs and dealer franchise laws make it difficult for Chinese automakers to sell directly here. But as Karl points out, barriers don’t eliminate competition — they redirect it.

If Chinese brands gain massive volume in Europe, South America, and elsewhere, they gain scale. Scale means supplier leverage, faster iteration, and more resources to improve product.

For American consumers, the implications are concrete:

If global competitors grow rapidly elsewhere, they get stronger — even without entering the U.S. If the U.S. market remains more closed and more expensive, buyers here risk paying more while seeing less variety.

“Global competition” may sound abstract. But it shows up as pricing, features, and whether a truly affordable new car is even an option.

RELATED: No new cars under $50K? Thank the government

NurPhoto/Getty Images

Tesla or BVD?

We turn to Tesla, where reports suggest the Model S and Model X may be phased out amid slowing sales.

Al offers an international perspective. In places like Bolivia, he says, Tesla still signals status. Owning one means you’ve arrived. He also claims that Teslas sourced through China appear better assembled than some U.S.-market examples.

Karl widens the lens: BYD has now surpassed Tesla in global EV sales — even though BYD sells none of those vehicles in the United States. Meanwhile U.S. EV growth has cooled compared to earlier momentum.

For buyers, this is a lesson in how automakers respond to pressure. When margins tighten and competition intensifies, companies cut slower-selling models and redirect investment. The future shifts toward autonomy, AI, robotics, and software ecosystems.

Show and sell

Our conversation shifts to auto shows — Detroit, L.A., Chicago, New York — and whether they’re fading into irrelevance.

At their best, auto shows solve a real consumer problem: They let buyers compare multiple brands in one place, sit in vehicles without pressure, and evaluate options without a salesperson hovering nearby.

Al argues it’s a mistake to let that disappear. He points to Detroit’s recent rebound — smaller than its glory days, but active — and contrasts it with international shows that are still thriving. In Qatar, he says, the show was sold out with lines out the door.

Consumers increasingly delay visiting dealerships until they’ve narrowed their choices online. Auto shows provide something dealerships often can’t: a neutral comparison environment.

In an era obsessed with “experiential marketing,” there’s nothing more experiential than physically sitting in a dozen competing vehicles in a single afternoon.

Influencers or experts?

Al describes watching an influencer perform handstands in front of a Mustang — without mentioning the car itself.

It’s easy to roll your eyes, but it also illustrates the reality: Automakers now market vehicles through personality-driven content as much as traditional reporting.

Journalists report on the car. Influencers incorporate the car into their personal brand. Both models coexist.

For consumers, this shift changes the information landscape: more personality and less structured analysis.

This makes discernment more important. Buyers who want real trade-offs, cost analysis, and ownership implications still need to seek out sources focused on the vehicle — not just the vibe.

Fragmented markets

Al’s story is partly about media evolution — how a creator adapts from print to YouTube to TikTok and beyond. But the larger story is about fragmentation.

Some markets are getting cheaper new-car options faster than we are. Some brands are gaining global dominance without ever touching the U.S. Meanwhile American buyers face rising transaction prices, heavier regulation, and fewer places to comparison-shop freely.

The auto industry may be global, but your buying experience is still local — and increasingly shaped by forces that don’t always align with consumer affordability.

Listen to the full episode of “The Drive with Lauren and Karl” (featuring Al Vazquez) below:

​Drive with lauren fix and karl brauer, Honda, Tesla, Uaw, Lifestyle, Auto industry, Ev mandate, Align cars 

On February 20, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather sent shock waves through the sports world when he announced that after eight years, he’s coming out of retirement.

Set to resume professional fights after his upcoming spring 2026 exhibition bout with Mike Tyson, Mayweather declared in a written statement to ESPN, “I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing.”

But some are arguing that there’s an underlying reason for the 48-year-old’s sudden exodus from retirement — and it has nothing to do with setting records.

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock plays a recent clip from Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson’s podcast “Nightcap,” during which the ex-NFL duo speculated that the real reason Mayweather is re-entering the ring is for financial reasons.

“Only three fights that Floyd can have that can command and get the kind of money he’s looking to recoup for money that may have been lost or money that may have been stolen or money he may have spent, you know, to date,” said Ochocinco, naming rematches with Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao, plus a showdown against current champion Terence “Bud” Crawford, as the only matchups capable of delivering that kind of payday.

Whitlock agrees: “Guy’s got a gambling problem. Of course his situation’s unstable. I mean, this is about as predictable as anything I could imagine,” he laughs.

“Yeah, it’s for the money. If you just google Floyd’s name and the IRS — all the news is out there. He owes jewelers money. There’s back paid rent for real estate in New York. It’s clear that he is now part of the no money team, which is very ironic,” adds “Fearless” contributor Steve Kim.

“The challenge for Floyd, and it’s a challenge with a lot of young black men who become famous, is that he made a brand out of, ‘Let me show you what I have,”’ says fellow contributor Dre Baldwin.

If it’s true that Mayweather’s motivation is primarily financial, the “sad” part, Baldwin says, is that we will likely have to watch him “get destroyed and destroy the image that we have of [him].”

But Whitlock doesn’t understand why coming out of retirement is Mayweather’s choice of path when he could surely earn income in other ways. “Why not just start a podcast? Isn’t this what all the former NFL and basketball players do?” he asks.

Baldwin lays it bare: “Can’t make $200 million in one night with a podcast.”

“I took the liberty of doing a cursory Google search while you guys were talking. Estimates are 1.1 to 1.52 … billion with a B that Floyd Mayweather has made throughout his career … and he’s completely broke,” says contributor Jay Skapinac.

“Of all the idiots that we’ve seen out there — celebrities, actors, entertainers that have lost a lot of money — this guy would take the cake. To blow a bill before he even hits 50 is unimaginable,” he scoffs.

To hear more of the panel’s conversation, watch the video above.

Want more from Jason Whitlock?

To enjoy more fearless conversations at the crossroads of culture, faith, sports, and comedy with Jason Whitlock, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

​Fearless, Fearless with jason whitlock, Jason whitlock, Blazetv, Blaze media, Floyd mayweather, Shannon sharpe, Ochocinco, Boxing, Ufc, Sports, Blaze 

A former participant in a short-lived reality television show about swingers in southwest Ohio pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to heinous sex allegations that left law enforcement officers “speechless.”

Tony McCollister, 43, was initially accused of uploading child sexual abuse imagery to his Google account on Nov. 23 as well as having sex with two different dogs he owned, according to prosecutors.

‘It’s just hard to process when you see what these people are capable of.’

McCollister was arrested on Dec. 23 in Union Township, Ohio. At that time, he was charged with felony pandering of obscene material involving children and misdemeanor sexual conduct with animals.

He was ordered to stay away from children as well as pets and given a $250,000 bond.

WLWT-TV reported that McCollister’s home address was listed as a residence owned by 43-year-old Erica Grove, who is also facing a misdemeanor charge of sexual conduct with an animal. Grove was served a court summons the same day that McCollister was arrested.

Investigators then discovered evidence that the couple had drugged a girl under 6 years old in order to rape her.

“They drugged the girl specifically to rape her. … Who would have thought that the sex with the dogs was not going to be the most horrific aspect of this case?” Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said. “I mean, when you get to that, you think, what can be worse, and then they continue to investigate and find out that they’re drugging and raping this little girl. … It’s just hard to process when you see what these people are capable of.”

McCollister was charged with 30 counts related to the accusations, and Grove was charged with 24.

On Thursday, McCollister pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, according to TMZ. He also filed a motion for the court to order a mental state evaluation at the time of the alleged crimes.

RELATED: Ohio woman pleads guilty to horrific child sex abuse charges and bestiality — and will testify against her husband

McCollister starred in A&E’s “Neighbors with Benefits” show in 2015 as one of the swingers who lived in an Ohio suburb. Viewers expressed shock and outrage after A&E aired commercials about the show even before it aired.

The activist groups One Million Moms and Citizens for Community Values voiced opposition to the show, and it only lasted two episodes before being canceled.

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​Tony mcollister, Rape and drugging of child, Erica grove, Crime, Dog bestiality 

The United States and Israel launched a “massive ongoing operation” against Iran, striking the Islamic Republic for the second time in eight months.

President Donald Trump confirmed the coordinated attack with Israel early Saturday morning after strikes were reportedly heard in several parts of Tehran. Dubbed Operation Epic Fury, this is the second military intervention the United States has taken against Iran following Operation Midnight Hammer in June of 2025, where Americans “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear facilities.

‘It will be totally, again, obliterated.’

Trump similarly justified the latest series of strikes to ensure Iran will “never have a nuclear weapon” but noted that “the lives of courageous American heroes may be lost, and we may have casualties.”

“That often happens in war,” Trump said. “But we’re doing this. Not for now. We’re doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission. We pray for every service as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans and our children will never be threatened by a nuclear armed Iran.”

RELATED: For the first time in decades, more Americans sympathize with Palestinians over Israelis: Poll

Trump said Iran “rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions,” prompting the massive military offensive from Israel and the United States. While vowing to end the regime, Trump also urged Iranians to rise up and reclaim their government when the operation is finished.

“For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests,” Trump said. “We’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally, again, obliterated.”

“Stay sheltered,” Trump told Iranians. “Don’t leave your home. It’s yours outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be, probably, your only chance for generations.”

RELATED: No ‘right to hijack’: Christian ousted from Trump faith panel over anti-Zionist remarks

Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli Defense Forces later announced that they are working to intercept missiles “launched from Iran towards Israel.”

“To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police,” Trump said. “I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity or in the alternative, face certain death.

This is a developing story.

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​Donald trump, Benjamin netanyahu, Bibi netanyahu, Israel, Iran, Operation midnight hammer, Operation epic fury, Idf, No new wars, American casualties, Politics