Author Archive

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... »

The “greens” must be thrilled with the new Obama/Pelosi/Reid (OPR) troika in charge of the federal government. Three times already, the troika has blocked the development of domestic oil resources. During his first week in office, President Obama rescinded his predecessor’s executive order permitting drilling on the continental shelf and in the Green River... »

In my recent article “Checkmate,” I made the case that President Obama’s grand strategy has outfoxed the opposition, dooming us all to a massive increase in the scope and power of Uncle Sam. Is the situation hopeless? Never! If Americans who believe in individual liberty and free markets rally to the cause, then we... »

One of the favorite refrains of the class-warfare left has long been to lament what it perceives as a division in America between economic haves and have-nots. From the standpoint of egalitarian, socialistic philosophy, the fact that some Americans prosper more than others is prima facie evidence of injustice. It is considered unfair that... »

In the last week, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve each announced a major policy initiative for the stated purpose of reversing our economic woes. Don’t hold your breath. The Treasury’s gambit is a proposed public-private partnership to remove troubled (“toxic,” if you prefer the more dramatic adjective) financial instruments from the balance sheets... »

For well over a century, socialists, progressives, and even many Christians have railed against the capitalist exploitation of workers. They denounce capitalists—whether the Carnegies and Fricks of yesteryear or the Nikes of today—for paying low wages for hard work. Their antagonism toward individual and corporate targets is misplaced. The inexorable law of supply and demand,... »

George W. Bush had the misfortune to become president when two long-term trends that predated his presidency reached historical tipping points: First, decades of militant Islamic ferment culminated in 9/11. Second, a combination of a decades-long buildup of debt, reckless financial practices (abetted by government policies) established in the ‘90s, and habitual inflationary policies... »