This debate on immigration is a very helpful one. Dr. Wheeler did catch me in a missatement, that is, my statement that “millions of immigrants wish to come to America with little capital, little skill and, in some cases, little desire to work”. I remember vividly–and to my regret–that as I was typing this, I […]
Archives
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Concern over Global Warming is on the rise, while global temperature rise has abated. Why?
17 Apr 2013
Unfortunately I don’t have a good answer. But I think our understanding of political economy has to include a realization that there is often a disconnect between what we might consider the facts and what is reflected in public opinion and therefore turned into public policy. For example, why do so many Americans support an […]
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Response to Immigration Debate
16 Apr 2013
This is my short “two cents” worth response to Dr. Wheeler’s post of April 15, 2013 on immigration. I do agree that from a purely economic standpoint, there is no good reason to keep anyone out–that is, when all we consider is the market value-added of people. I also agree there ought to be an […]
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When Politics Should be Put Aside
16 Apr 2013
Whenever we endure a tragedy of the sort in Boston yesterday, there is a constant temptation to politicize the event. After all, attention is focused on one moment for a scant amount of time. Advocates, lobbyists, policy analysts, and politicians all crave this kind of opportunity because they know that triggering events are rare. People […]
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At their best, our Presidents can fill a psychic void that opens in the context of national tragedy. When the Challenger disaster shook America, President Reagan began the healing process by declaring the astronauts had “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.” Our leaders can also become a focal point […]
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The Kermit Gosnell stories keep piling up. I have nothing to add to this column by Kirsten Powers. It is one of those times when I wish I had written it myself.
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IRS and Email “Privacy”
11 Apr 2013
The patter of rain upon my window suggests Spring has arrived. The April showers signal renewal, growth, and TAXES. Yes, tax season–when accountants are sexy and when we, for at least a moment, pause to reflect on the often gross nature of our tax burden in the United States. I complain, of course, though I […]
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“You Don’t Own Me”
10 Apr 2013
Just when you think the Left has pretty much “let it all hang out” (I am partly a child of the 60s/70s), you are surprised. I read about (but did not see, except in a short clip) a “sermonette” by Melissa Harris-Perry of MSNBC in which she stated that “We have to break through our […]
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Margaret Thatcher: October 13, 1925 – April 8, 2013 “No liberty unless there is economic liberty”
08 Apr 2013
Freedom lost a true ally with the passing of the “Iron Lady”, Margaret Thatcher. The quote in the title is from a Time interview from May 14, 1979 as her successful campaign for Prime Minister was coming to a conclusion. Prime Minister Thatcher was a (perhaps the) leading politician along with Ronald Reagan (the “second […]
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It was about 1984 when I first heard about what Margaret Thatcher was doing in Great Britain. Ronald Reagan was president of the United States. The economy in America was beginning to recover and in England the Prime Minister was invigorating the Tory/Conservative Party after years of malaise and challenging the central planning ideology of […]