Yesterday the Heritage Foundation released the 2016 Index of Economic Freedom. This annual publication is produced by the Heritage Foundation in conjunction with the Wall Street Journal. In addition to the 2016 Index the foundation also published Economic Freedom in America, a supplement outlining trends in economic freedom in the United States. Figure 1 illustrates the overall composite […]

Iowa, a slice of the heartland, has spoken, but not in a single, predictable voice. Iowa’s exalted place as America’s first presidential nomination contest is more an accident of history than a badge of merit. But, every four years we gather, at the bottom of the mountain and await our tablets, carved upon by our […]

The Des Moines Register released its final poll on Saturday. For Republicans, Donald Trump still leads (28%) the horserace, with Ted Cruz close behind (23%). Marco Rubio has moved up to third (15%). The pollster, J. Ann Selzer has some caveats. She argues that while Trump leads, Cruz seems more consistently aligned with the electorate. […]

I have one question which I need answered, especially since I’m teaching my macro class about taxation this week and next.  Where is there Biblical justification for progressive taxation?  Specifically, I’d like to know why two people should be treated differently by the tax code if one makes $100k and the other makes $300k, from […]

#GOPDebate And away we go. Good for Fox not to buckle into Trump's silly demands. Sad a presidential candidate ducks a journalist. — Mark Caleb Smith (@markcalebsmith) January 29, 2016 Yes. The ding ding is back and intent. Ding Ding for Republican nomination. #GOPDebate — Mark Caleb Smith (@markcalebsmith) January 29, 2016 Clever use of […]

I must first apologize for the length of this post.  It is a bit involved, but because the subject is not so simple as we sometimes would like to believe.  As I consider the current state of government and of colleges and universities, and their dysfunction, I can’t help but do so in terms of […]

In 1932 Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated Herbert Hoover for the presidency of the United States.  In his campaign, he had promised American voters a “New Deal.”  Little known to most Americans today, Hoover had prepared the way for Roosevelt’s New Deal with several initiatives like the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and public works like the Boulder […]

Have we reached a critical mass of voters?  On what issue you might ask.  On whether big government is bad on the whole.  I have read a couple of articles recently, addressing that question.  I don’t honestly know whether or to what extent people may believe big government is basically good.  But here is a […]

“Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” H.L. Mencken Perhaps the moment will melt in the snows of Iowa and New Hampshire, dissolved for all but those obsessed with electoral trivia. Paul Tsongas, Phil Gramm, and Pat Robertson were major players for […]

Well, for those who think the wealthy are stingy and selfish, a new study seems to disprove that old maxim, which, I hesitate to say it, but must, is most often heard from the lips of political liberals who believe the solution to problems requiring money (almost all problems for them) is money, is government.  […]