When we think of the Fourth of July, we often think of backyard barbecues with friends, baseball, and maybe a beer or two. This year, with COVID-19, maybe we can at least have the beer. But Independence Day was originally … Continue reading
As I approached the county courthouse for jury duty, my unfocused mind was in many different places, including being sincerely burdened by the state of our nation. I had filled out the eligibility questionnaire, made arrangements with my employer, and … Continue reading
Here is an economic riddle that has been puzzling many people: Why has economic growth in the United States remained below three percent for so long? The growth of US gross domestic product (GDP) going all the way back to … Continue reading
Earlier this week during a routine arrest Minneapolis police officers knelt on George Floyd’s neck for several minutes, finally killing him. This act fits a long and too-frequent pattern of incidents where police use substantial and often lethal force for … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at American Greatness. The COVID-19 pandemic has served to upend many long-held policy assumptions, but none so clearly as the theory that international trade rests purely on economic incentives, and that those economic incentives … Continue reading
I recently published a piece on Andrew Cuomo and other pro-choice Democrat governors who fight for life in their states against COVID-19. This also includes Pennsylvania’s Tom Wolf, New Jersey’s Phil Murphy, Connecticut’s Ned Lamont, Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer, and Virginia’s … Continue reading
Check out the photo. That is what I paid for gasoline last Thursday in Girard, Ohio. $1.13 for a gallon of regular is a price that I had thought I would never see again. What a bargain! And what a … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In 1998, the eightieth anniversary of the Spanish Flu pandemic, I was fortunate to hear two survivors relate their indelible experiences. Marian McConkey and Lois Monahan were schoolgirls then, old … Continue reading
With Senator Bernie Sanders once again emerging as a front-runner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, Medicare for All has again come to the forefront of political debate. But what exactly is the senator proposing? Is it simply the expansion … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at The Institute for Faith, Work & Economics. It’s election season in the U.S., and we are hearing a lot about voting. I saw a public service announcement on television, and a Hollywood actress … Continue reading
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at the Washington Examiner. Michael Bloomberg is spending loads of money to win the Democratic nomination. Financial disclosures made by the Bloomberg campaign indicated that as of Dec. 31, he had sunk more than … Continue reading
In a report that unfortunately received a good deal of attention, MSNBC commentator Joe Scarborough asserted that today’s economy under President Trump is in worse shape than the dismal economy under President Carter in 1979. Scarborough pointed to “Jimmy Carter’s so-called year … Continue reading
“No one ever makes a billion dollars. You take a billion dollars.” That was the punchline of democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a Martin Luther King Jr. Day public interview with writer Ta-Nehisi Coates. The audience erupted into enthusiastic … Continue reading
During the week before Christmas, Congress rushed a spending bill into law. Two spending bills were introduced that Monday, a flurry of political horse-trading ensued, numerous pork-barrel favors were hastily added, and–presto–by Friday Congress had approved $1.4 trillion in discretionary … Continue reading
My father was a Presbyterian minister in rural northwest Alabama from 1961 to 1965. I came of age there, then left the University of Alabama with an M.A. in history in 1969. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Governor George … Continue reading
In the early morning hours of Christmas Day 1979, Soviet forces began invading Afghanistan. The international community was shocked by the intervention; even though Afghanistan had been unstable for some time, most assumed that the Soviet Union would stick to … Continue reading
Among the many radical economic plans offered by various Democratic presidential candidates, Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have proposed an annual wealth tax on billionaires (and other “ultra-rich” Americans). Sanders has bluntly stated, “There should be no billionaires.” These … Continue reading
During an episode of Lebron James’ online show “The Shop,” California Governor Gavin Newsome signed into law a bill allowing California student athletes to sign endorsements while in college. The NCAA Board of Governors, having studied this issue for years, responded … Continue reading
U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) is promoting the “Prevent Government Shutdown Act of 2019.” The goal of the act is to prevent disruptive government shutdowns. Since Sen. Johnson arrived in Washington in 2011, partisan congressional standoffs have led to “three … Continue reading
President Donald Trump has had (what else?) a publicly tempestuous relationship with the Federal Reserve System. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has adhered to the Fed’s official traditional position of being apolitical. Typical of Powell’s statements is the unequivocal assertion, “Political considerations … Continue reading
