'Regret can be toxic'

'This New Year's Eve, take a moment to appreciate your regrets'

Ryan Teague Beckwith at MSNBC

New Year's Eve "may as well be the day of regrets," as we've been "conditioned to look back on our actions and wonder what we should have done differently," says Ryan Teague Beckwith. But as we "spend this day reliving our past mistakes, it's important to remember that regret also has a purpose" as an "unavoidable aspect of the human condition." Regret is "only possible when you have the freedom to make your own choices."

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'Mexico's immigration crackdown mirrors the United States'

Ángel Escamilla García at The Progressive

The "concept of using Mexico as an arm of the U.S. immigration enforcement is not new," says Ángel Escamilla García. The "criminalization and persecution of migrants by Mexican authorities at all levels forced them to wander the streets." Mexico is being "pushed into treating migrants from other countries" in the "same way that the U.S. has treated undocumented Mexicans for decades," and is "allowing the same abuses of migrants that occur on the U.S. side of the border."

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'Trump's tax cuts were good. A flat tax would be better.'

Steve Forbes and Stephen Moore at The Wall Street Journal

Making the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent would be a good start for Congress in 2025," but it's "time to take an even bigger step: creating a simplified flat tax for all," say Steve Forbes and Stephen Moore. Shrinking the "personal income and corporate tax rates to 15% would have huge economic benefits," and "America would suddenly have one of the lowest tax rates in the world, resulting in trillions of dollars of new capital flow."

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'What critics get wrong about the Ivy League'

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Philip J. Hanlon at Time

Universities have become "scapegoats for both good and bad reasons," as "populist political leaders from both the far left and far right now target higher education as a common enemy," say Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Philip J. Hanlon. But the "value of higher education should be appreciated for more than winning awards and creating wealth but also for quality of life," and colleges "must address the ideological orthodoxy of political correctness which has diverted tolerance for original thought."

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