Author Archive

You may have seen the recent story about the 41-year-old doctor who graduated from medical school in 2003 with student-loan indebtedness of $250,000 that has since swelled to more than $555,000. She is now scheduled to pay $990 per month until she is 70 years old. Ouch! This is an extreme example of a widespread... »

We’ve all had those sudden epiphanies where the proverbial light bulb clicks on and understanding comes into clear focus. I had one of those moments over the Christmas holiday season. In this case, the light bulb experience was literal as well as figurative. Here is what happened: My wife came home all excited because she had... »

High and/or rising unemployment is always a political liability for a president, and so Barack Obama has taken the offensive in trying to persuade the American people that his team can get Americans back to work. In November, Obama took credit for having created 640,000 jobs. That audacious assertion was less than persuasive, coming as... »

2009 ended with a flurry of important events on the climate-change front. In November, the Climategate scandal broke. An anonymous whistle-blower released over 1,000 e-mails from key scientists (both British and American) in the alarmist climate-change camp. The e-mails revealed a shocking pattern of the abuse of science by both American and British scientists collaborating... »

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy hosted a dinner for 49 Nobel laureates. The occasion provided the opportunity for JFK to display his keen wit in the memorable quote, “I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered at the White House—with the possible exception... »

What kind of prices do you prefer to pay when you go shopping—high or low? Unless you’re trying to show off for someone by spending a bundle, I’d bet that you prefer low prices. I’ve never met anybody who decided not to buy something because he wished the price were higher. Indeed, common sense... »

Why do politicians so often deny, stretch, obscure, evade or mutilate truth? In brief, they do so to gain or hold public support. As Machiavelli taught in his 16th-century classic “The Prince,” political leaders should fudge the truth to placate the populace while strengthening their grip on power. In a democracy, this means deceiving voters.... »

China, Russia, et al. are talking about shifting their monetary reserves out of U.S. dollars. Gold has hit $1000 per ounce, even though wholesale and retail prices exhibit a deflationary bias. The United Nations has called for a new world currency to replace the dollar. What’s going on? All of these phenomena are early death... »

About 50 years ago, Sen. Everett Dirksen (R-IL) uttered his famous quip, “A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.” Today, we’re talking about a trillion here, a trillion there—a thousand-fold increase in the scale of government spending, part of which is attributable to the shrunken purchasing power of... »

The popular 1970s television series “All in the Family” had a cute theme-song sung by Archie and Edith at the beginning of every episode. One lyric was: “Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.” Well, the show was great fun, but the liberals who created “All in the Family” got their... »

Desperate States and Decaying Federalism By Dr. Mark W. Hendrickson In the past, I have written about poor governance at the city and national levels ( “Detroit: A Glimpse into America’s Future?,” “We’re Broke,” “Into the Fiscal Abyss,” “The End Game,” et al. ). But, of course, the “government disease” afflicts states also, as shown... »

“There is nothing inevitable about another depression. We have a simple choice: We can repeat the errors of the past or we can avoid them.” Those were my words, Feb. 8, 2008. It’s time for a “depression watch” update. Unfortunately, it’s mostly bad news. While another 12-year depression still isn’t inevitable, the post-financial-crisis policy blunders of... »

For those of you above a certain age, do you remember where you were on July 20, 1969? I certainly do. Just as many of us will never forget where we were when we learned about 9/11 or heard President Kennedy had been shot, many of us will always remember where we were on... »

The purpose of cap and trade (C&T) legislation is to reduce Americans’ consumption of fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—and to speed up the transition to alternate forms of energy, such as wind and solar power. The “cap” part would be a legislated limit to the quantity of carbon dioxide that Americans would be... »

Quick, what’s the capital of Honduras? Probably fewer than 10 percent of Americans could answer that question prior to the recent news that Honduran President Mel Zelaya was sent packing to Costa Rica by the Honduran military. While it’s too early to say whether the so-called “coup” will stick, or whether Zelaya, like Venezuela’s... »

Who won the Cold War? That’s a no-brainer. The United States prevailed while the Soviet Union collapsed, and the People’s Republic of China dumped Marxism; capitalism (free markets and private property) triumphed over socialism (centrally planned markets and state-owned property); an ethos of individual rights proved to be more resilient and healthy than collectivist... »

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, like Ebenezer Scrooge, we could have a preview of the future so that we could change our course if necessary? This can happen in real life. Such a dispensation was granted to me 35 years ago. It happened while I was studying literature at Oxford University in England. At the... »

In assessing Team Obama’s semi-nationalization of the auto industry, a slight alteration of the famous verse by Elizabeth Barrett Browning encapsulates my reaction: “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” 1) The government takeover is unconstitutional. The Constitution authorizes Uncle Sam to “regulate commerce,” not to own and manage it. Even before... »

A few days before “Earth Day” (which happens to be the same day as Lenin’s Birthday), America’s ideological greens and reds received a present they have been desiring for many moons: The Environmental Protection Agency—egged on by the U.S. Supreme Court—officially designated carbon dioxide (CO2) as a pollutant. That means that either congress or... »

In the concluding paragraph of my article about President-elect Obama’s constitutional philosophy, I opined: “Our Constitution has been terminal for a long time.” President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court provides a timely opportunity for me to explain what I meant. Liberals and progressives believe that the Constitution is a living, breathing... »