Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. I recently indulged in some wistful, year-end nostalgia, but now that 2013 is underway, let’s turn our attention to a time more crucial to our well-being: the future in … Continue reading
Economics & Political Systems
Human Freedom Matters
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. “If it matters, measure it” is the motto of the Fraser Institute, the leading Canadian think tank, where I have been a trustee since 1991. More than a motto, … Continue reading
A Nostalgic New Year’s Look at the ’50s
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. New Year’s observances blend recollections of the past, celebrations in the present, and anticipation of the future. For a variety of reasons, I’m feeling nostalgic this year. I’ve been … Continue reading
It Can Be Worse Than the Cliff
Editor’s note: This piece was written exclusively for Investor’s Business Daily by a member of the board of advisors for The Center for Vision & Values, a trustee of Grove City College, and president of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation: … Continue reading
Fleeing Socialism: French Actor Gérard Depardieu Wants His Freedom Back
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. “I am leaving because you consider that success, creation, talent, anything different, must be punished.” This quotation from French actor Gérard Depardieu comes from the letter he sent on … Continue reading
France: Is Anybody There? France’s Socialists Generate a New Class of Tax Exiles
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. The fiscal frenzy that has seized French socialists is not only grinding France’s economy to a halt; it is also attacking the very foundations of French society by destroying … Continue reading
What Should Be Done About the Fiscal Cliff
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com.Everyone is talking about the “fiscal cliff”—the likely impact of the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the planned cuts in government spending that are part of Budget Control Act … Continue reading
Christmas Thoughts, 2012
The gentle spirit of Christmas brings a sense of fresh promise and renewal every year. The remembrances and commemorations of the birth of an innocent baby have a softening effect. Christmas provides a respite, even surcease, from the stresses, bruises, … Continue reading
The Fiscal Cliff: What Would Reagan Do?
By Dr. Paul Kengor & Michael Reagan Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at FoxNews.com. As President Obama and Democrats urge Republicans to increase taxes, some liberals are curiously invoking the name of Ronald Reagan, the ultimate tax-cutting … Continue reading
America’s Growing Government Class
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared at American Spectator. The latest unemployment figures are again depressing, but not for the usual reasons. They provide further confirmation of Barack Obama’s fundamental transformation of America, specifically through his … Continue reading
American Politics as a Confidence Game
Reading post-2012-election news reports can be hazardous to one’s mental health, particularly for the sanity-challenged among us. But perhaps the singularly most prescient comments come from long ago—from the pen of America’s most profound novelist, Herman Melville, whose words in … Continue reading
Compromise or Gridlock in Washington: Two Unpalatable Alternatives
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. As soon as the elections were over, a wave of commentaries extolling the virtues of compromise appeared in the press. The common theme is that it is time for … Continue reading
Welfareship: France’s Status Quo, America’s Future?
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. Welfare has become a characteristic of President Obama’s domestic policies. There has been a surge in American citizens on welfare over the last four years, including a 50-percent increase in people on food … Continue reading
Romney vs. McCain and Obama vs. Bush? Who Wins?
Editor’s note: This article first appeared at American Spectator. Shortly after the November election, I wrote an article titled, “McCain Beats Romney!” The article focused on initial reports showing that Mitt Romney received fewer votes in 2012 than John McCain received in … Continue reading
Long Live the Twinkie! (Twinkie Killers, Part 2)
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. Can the Twinkie and other famous Hostess brands be saved? I hope so, and I’ll offer my own two cents’ on one possible way of doing so. First, though, … Continue reading
Reverend Rubio? The Media Begins Its Attack on Marco Rubio
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared at American Spectator. In a recent interview, Senator Marco Rubio, effectively the Republican front-runner for 2016, was asked, “How old do you think the Earth is?” It’s a question of utter irrelevance to the … Continue reading
Blasted Twinkie Killers!
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. Drat! I’m bummed—saddened by the news that the Hostess company, home of the Twinkie and other venerable sugary snacks, is shutting down. I’ll bet I haven’t eaten more than … Continue reading
The Gaza Trap
Even though Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced an Israel-Gaza ceasefire, it’s apparent that Gaza still holds many traps for Israel. For example, there’s the media trap. Hamas, like other Islamic terror groups, manipulates the Western media while toying … Continue reading
The Decline and Fall of America
A few days after the election of 2012 the very talented Michael Ramirez published a political cartoon that perhaps conveyed a more profound meaning than he anticipated. He depicted a pair of hands extending from star-studded sleeves (presumably from a mendicant Uncle … Continue reading
Obama: The Second FDR Rather Than the Second Carter
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. I’ve thought a lot over the last few years about an axiom attributed to Mark Twain, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.” The question to me was whether … Continue reading