Julia Cataneo

Maplewood

Research and Editorial Assistant at American Enterprise Institute

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Articles

The Power of Being Open

3 days ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

I left the new Broadway show, Redwood, shaken, but it had little to do with the show’s story. Redwood is a newly opened show on Broadway starring the fantastic Idina Menzel, on a story of loss and reconciliation. While the characters and plot lacked depth and could have been better developed, the message of the show—overcoming tragedy—was quite powerful. What hit me hard during the show, however, was not the narrative itself but the fact that protagonist was proudly and openly Jewish.
The City That’s Always Working

3 days ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

Among the sectors of the US economy most exposed to AI-driven automation is finance. This is unsurprising given that banking and financial advising are massive knowledge management operations, constantly scanning the globe—like the Eye of Sauron—for opportunities and risks. One of the main applications of AI in the finance sector is helping firms understand themselves, especially their immense collections of data and analysis used to shape investment and advising strategy.
Will Trump Be Able to Fire the Fed Chair?

3 days ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

President Trump has made it clear that he intends to take control of the independent agencies that regulate large portions of the US economy. There are about 19 of these agencies, and include the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency and, importantly, the Federal Reserve.
The Nuclear Race to Power the AI Economy

3 days ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

America’s nuclear paradox: Yesterday’s reactors are being resurrected to power the future. For example: At Palisades, Michigan, engineers rush to repair steam generators before an October 2025 restart, while at Three Mile Island—where a 1979 meltdown once buried the country’s postwar nuclear ambitions—Microsoft has committed billions for carbon-free electricity to feed its voracious artificial-intelligence operations.
The Fallacy of Futility: Is Ukraine Justified in Fighting a War It Cannot Win?

6 days ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

When policy analysts argue that Ukraine should stop fighting because it cannot realistically hope to repel Russia and reclaim its occupied territories, they often implicitly or explicitly reference common principles of military ethics—but in narrow and incomplete ways that undermine the analysis.
Pronouns in the White House

6 days ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

On April 9, the White House, which has been issuing new directives on biological sex and pronouns since the first day of Donald Trump’s second term as president, announced on X, “It is official White House policy to IGNORE reporters’ emails with pronouns in the signature.” (The tweet ends with the Clapping Hands emoji.) The announcement came eight days after New York Times columnist John McWhorter published a little book titled Pronoun Trouble and one day after the same paper reported that...
Medicare and the Productivity Imperative

6 days ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

The apparent exclusion of significant Medicare changes from the GOP’s planned budget bill means, at least for this year, it will likely fall to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to initiate changes. The agency should focus on reforms that deliver sustained productivity improvements both in the program and in the broader health system. Productivity is measured by comparing the health benefits of the services delivered to patients to the prices charged for them.
What the Budget Resolution May Actually Mean for Defense

6 days ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

The US Congress accomplished an important task recently. By narrow votes in both chambers, the House and Senate agreed to a budget resolution, something they are supposed to do every year, but that they have only done about half of the time in the last 20 years. This is an important first move in a multi-step process toward accomplishing a number of things, including setting discretionary spending levels for the nation’s security.
When Wealth Inequality Matters and When It Doesn’t

1 week ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

When it comes to wealth inequality, does the source of the wealth matter? Might there be a different economic impact of wealth derived from entrepreneurial riches versus that of inherited fortunes? A just-published SSRN paper “Concentrated Wealth and Total Factor Productivity: When Does the Equality-Efficiency Tradeoff Apply?” concludes it does matter how wealth is amassed.
Significant Spending Reductions Should Be Included in the Fiscal Package Before Congress

1 week ago | aei.org | Julia Cataneo

Congress is currently debating whether the 2017 Trump Administration tax cuts should be allowed to expire, thereby raising federal government revenue, or, if continued or even expanded, whether significant spending cuts should also be included in the legislative package, and if so, what should be cut.