I’m beginning a series on common sense truths which are real, and which therefore have negative consequences when we ignore them or try to pretend that they don’t exist. The following is written with two assumptions in mind: The vast majority of women and men in the military do their jobs extremely well. Individual tours of duty can be very positive. In any large population of people, there are the ten percent at each end of the bell curve who significantly over- or under- perform everyone...
It’s a benefit I’m giving to you. And I’m doing good stuff for millions of other folks, too. It’s all free, paid for by your parents and the huge insurance companies. Feels great, doesn’t it! Well, yes, we actually did have to cancel your parents’ plan. It wasn’t good enough for them, or for you, so we cancelled it. And I guess that means neither you nor your parents have any health insurance, but that's one of the small costs of being progressive. I’ve discovered that buying health...
Henry Hazlitt was a great Economist. As I first mentioned nine months ago, Hazlitt wrote Economics in One Lesson in 1946, then updated in 1978. It reads like today’s news, because it is filled with economic truth, not political or editorial wishful thinking. Members of Congress, the President, and practicing journalists should all be required to memorize the following excerpt from Chapter 15: “In studying the effects of any given economic proposal we must trace not merely the immediate...
As we approach the 237th anniversary of July 4, 1776, I have several disparate but related thoughts. We are a young nation. It seems impossible to me, but in just my sixty-six years I have lived through over one quarter of our nation’s history. If you trace back only four generations past my grandfather, those men actually fought in the American Revolution. Our nation is young, and as others have said, it is as much a unique combination of ideas as it is a place. It was founded on personal...
[Thanks to Rowland Cocks at Men’s Fraternity for pointing me in this direction.] This Tuesday will be the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade ruling, and I very much appreciate President Obama’s words in preparation for the anniversary, mourning that tragic ruling. “I think about … the life that lay ahead of her. And most of all, I think about how when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now. “So what we should be thinking about is our...
This week the Vice President rounded up the usual suspects and held Gun Control Task Force meetings with gun control advocates, opponents, and the entertainment industry. I wish that he had also asked for input from Gil Kerlikowske, the White House’s Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, known as the Drug Czar, but I doubt it. Where did all the guns come from that we now want to try to control? Why are our towns and cities awash in guns? Why are gangs advancing into what...
If you are looking for the perfect gift for anyone who wants to understand the Economics behind all that is going on today, from the fiscal cliff to Greece, I have it. Henry Hazlitt wrote Economics in One Lesson in 1946, then updated in 1978. It reads like today’s news, because it is filled with economic truth, not political or editorial wishful thinking. You can read quickly through its 210 pages, or you can feast on each paragraph. It is that well written, and easy for anyone to understand,...
Looking forward from the November election, I have these thoughts, by category. Spiritual It’s hard to imagine a better summary than Randy Alcorn’s article in his Eternal Perspectives Ministries current newsletter. He reminds us that we "vote" every day by our choices and our actions. And that as important as America is, there is an eternal perspective that is even more important. https://www.epm.org/resources/2012/Nov/7/post-election-perspectives/ National Economics How can we not have...
Imagine you are the CEO of a large U.S.-based company with operations in several countries. You have to decide whether to keep your company and many of its high-paying jobs in the U.S. in 2013, or move overseas. The move, along with reducing U.S.jobs, would also reduce tax revenue for our local, state and federal governments.You have a lot to consider, but one key issue is the level of taxes that your company must pay. Even if your company retains its home address in the U.S.for another...
In this and the next post we will examine two specific ways that our Progressive government destroys jobs by making our businesses more costly than their international competitors. Those added costs reduce profits, thereby decreasing investment and crippling new job creation. Of course when they kill jobs, they also diminish tax revenue for our local, state and federal governments. Every U.S. public company which reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission must now implement a new...
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