The U.S. Federal Government Budget
Total U.S. Federal Government Debt in millions of dollars (blue curve with scale on the left), and its share of GDP in percent (maroon curve with scale on the right). St. … Read More
Category: Political Issues
Ideas about the role of government in society, its relationship to citizens, and about how much power the government should be given.
Donald Trump’s Acceptance Speech
Donald J. Trump giving his acceptance speech for the GOP presidential nomination on July 21, 2016 Image Credit: YouTube/ABC 15 Arizona Listening to Donald Trump’s acceptance speech last night, most … Read More
Are European States More Socialist Than The US?
Alphonse de Lamartine rejecting the red flag of socialism in front of the Town Hall of Paris during the 1848 French Revolution. Wikimedia Commons/ Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux (1815-1884) The … Read More
Economic Freedom in the United States
World Map of the WSJ/Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom Image Credit: Heritage Foundation It would distress many Americans to learn the United States does not have the greatest economic freedom … Read More
Hillary Clinton’s Troubles Are Not Finished
Screen Shot from FBI Director James Comey’s testimony on why FBI did not recommend seeking an indictment for Hillary Clinton, July 7, 2016. Democratic party supporters might wish and hope … Read More
This Smells to High Heaven!
Garbage In, Garbage out: Who can bear the smell! Image Credit: Flickr.com/soundfromwayout Well, FBI Director James Comey finally came out and announced today the FBI would not recommend to the … Read More
The United States: An Exceptional Country?
The draft Declaration of Independence being presented to the Second Continental Congress by the five man drafting committee on June 28, 1776. The five men standing before the Chair are … Read More
Are Leftist Economies Better Than Free-Markets?
Country per capita GDP vs. WSJ/Heritage Foundation Index of Economic Freedom for 195 nations Data courtesy of Wall Street Journal/Heritage Foundation and the World Bank In a comment to the … Read More
Are You Unconvinced Democrats Are Growing More Authoritarian?
Cover to the first edition of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. In a People’s Republic, some animals are more equal than others! Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons Today I engaged a young … Read More
Spain Struggles Against the Keynesian Current
Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain, addresses supporters in the 2011 electoral campaign Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/manulqsa After the success of the Leave side in the Brexit election last Thursday, … Read More
Comparing the Economies of All Countries on Earth
World Map of countries by per capita GDP in 2014 Image Credit: St. Louis Federal Reserve District Bank/FRED Plus or minus a few controversial states (like Taiwan, the Holy See, and Palastine), … Read More
Conversations
It’s good to talk! Photo Credit: FreeImages.com/Jon Wisbey One of the most important duties we have for our country and to … Read More
The Fed Hangs Fire on Interest Rate Rise
Janet Yellen, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Federal Reserve As widely expected, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) hung fire on raising the … Read More
Are We No Longer a Nation of Laws?
Contemplation of Justice Image Credit: Flickr.com/dbking American Exceptionalism is an ideology based on the concept we rule ourselves through our government representatives, and that government is strictly limited … Read More
The Keynesian Emperors Have No New Clothes!
The Emperor has no new clothes! Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Vilhelm Pedersen (1820-1859) Given all their failures in suggesting successful economic policies around the world, one would have thought … Read More
Progressives Are NOT Liberals
John Locke (29 August 1632 to 28 October 1704), the first to develop a liberal philosophy that included the right to private property and the necessity for government to have … Read More
The Thoughts that Haunt Me
A profligate government bureaucrat with you behind him! (c) Can Stock Photo More and more, the words haunting me are the ones I wrote in the final sentence of my … Read More
The Weakening of U.S. Alliances and National Security
People’s Liberation Army contingent at 2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru Probing of the U.S. alliance periphery is being done by more than just Russia and ISIS. In my … Read More
U.S. Alliances: Will They Last?
States with U.S. military relationships: Dark Blue are the NATO members, Purple are major non-NATO allies, and Pale Blue are signatories of Partnership for Peace with NATO Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Sesmith … Read More
The Role of Ideology in Politics
The School of Athens, a place for the development of ideologies Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Raphael (1505) Many of the people with whom I have talked over my lifetime, if indeed not most, hated the … Read More
Donald Trump’s Lack of Knowledge
Sweeping up Hungarian banknotes after the Hungarian pengö was replaced in 1946. Wikimedia Commons/Mizerák István – Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum Történeti Fényképtára, Budapest Donald Trump’s loose lips could sink a whole … Read More
The Anguish of a Conservative Voter
OMIGOD! Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee!! (c) Can Stock Photo Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party, what is a principled … Read More
An Indonesian Reagan
Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Government of Indonesia For a country that is widely reputed to have a lot of crony capitalism, Indonesia is pretty lucky to … Read More
Crony Capitalism
World Map of Transparency International’s perception of corruption index for 2015 Wikimedia Commons/Turnless If there is one area of agreement between believers in capitalist free-markets and American Leftists, it is that … Read More
The Anti-Freedom Bias of Progressives
Galileo’s trial for scientific heresy by the Roman Catholic Church Wikimedia Commons/Painting by Cristiano Banti (1857) (US-PD-Art) I am not the only one to notice the increasingly authoritarian tendencies of … Read More
Do the Rich Pay Their Fair-Share of Taxes?
Target the Rich! (c) Can Stock Photo The far-left in the United States — including President Barack Obama and the two Democratic Party candidates, Bernie … Read More
Where Leftists Take Over, People Vote With Their Feet
Vietnamese boat people, 1984, rescued by the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons/PH2 Phil Eggman, U.S. Navy The photo above shows an extreme example of … Read More
The Economic Nature of Fascism
The Gods of Fascism: Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Photo Credits: Left: Wikimedia Commons/time.com Right: Wikimedia Commons/German Federal Archives Whenever fascism is discussed, more often than not the characteristic emphasized … Read More
Economic Plans of Trump, Sanders, and Clinton Are Fantasies
Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders: A rogues gallery of economic ignorance Image Credits: Top Left to Right: Wikimedia Commons/Michael Vadon, Wikimedia Commons/Voice of America Bottom: Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore … Read More