Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at RealClearMarkets.com. The current global debt accumulations are unprecedented. In fact, it can be observed that at no time in the history of the human race, other than during periods of … Continue reading
Economics & Political Systems
Abraham Lincoln and Slavery
Stephen Spielberg’s masterful movie on Lincoln and the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation have recently brought even greater attention than usual to Abraham Lincoln. Holidays like Presidents Day remind us of Lincoln’s position on slavery and his role in … Continue reading
Erasing Reagan? The Illiberal War on Truth
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. The prospect of four more years of Barack Obama in the White House has caused several conservative voices (among them, The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Henninger, Fox News commentator … Continue reading
Think Tanks: Masters of the Universe?
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. How do think tanks contribute to produce outcomes conducive to better public policy? Working for over three decades in this field, I developed a simple model based on complex inputs. Outcomes are … Continue reading
Thinking About Think Tanks: Which Are the Best?
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared at Forbes.com. The history of the London exchange dates back to 1698. John Castaing, a pioneer of a Starbucks of sorts, started listing stock and commodity prices in his Jonathan’s Coffee-house. In … Continue reading
Is America’s House Divided Again?
Having just viewed Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” and knowing that Lincoln’s birthday is approaching, it seemed fitting to ponder one of Lincoln’s most famous speeches, and perhaps a lesson for Americans today. On June 17, 1858, Lincoln gave his famous “House … Continue reading
The End of the Reagan Era?
Editor’s note: A longer version of this article first appeared at American Spectator. With Barack Obama’s second inauguration, liberals are touting an altogether new epoch: the end of the Reagan era. Unfortunately, I believe they are largely correct. We are witnessing a period … Continue reading
Obama’s Medical Devices Tax … It May Be Harmful to Your Health
Editor’s note: A version of this article first appeared in The Washington Times. With the start of the New Year, one of the little noticed but potentially harmful features of Obamacare has now gone into effect. It is the tax … Continue reading
Economic Outlook for 2013: ZIRP, Zombies, and the Japanization of the American Economy
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
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
