I Stand With Veterans and Truckers
In war, the term “collateral damage” is used when unintended victims are hurt or killed. It seems to me that the current war in Washington over the future direction of our country is creating collateral damage not only among the people directly affected, but also to our sense of economic freedom. People all over the nation have been impacted by the recent government standoff and subsequent shutdown. It particularly impacted two groups... Read More
Shutting Down Future US Jobs
As usual, President Obama fails to think about long-term solutions to our economy. His role in the shutdown is one example, but a far more dangerous decision was his willingness to cancel his trip to Indonesia for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC). The outcome of this decision could stop the creation of millions of good-paying American jobs. According to data from APEC, its members — including the United States and China,... Read More
Stop Fearing the Future and Focus on Innovation
The Business Roundtable, an association of chief executives, recently proposed that the United States is the world’s innovation leader because of a commitment to basic research, a world-class workforce and a climate that rewards innovation. This sense of pride has been eclipsed by a feeling of economic pessimism manifesting itself in a perceived lack of innovation from our private sector, and especially by our entrepreneurs. Let’s... Read More
Innovation Drives Our Economy
The Business Roundtable recently proposed that the United States is the world’s innovation leader because of a commitment to basic research, a world-class workforce and a climate that rewards innovation. This sense of pride has been eclipsed by a feeling of economic pessimism manifesting itself in a perceived lack of innovation from our private sector, and especially by our entrepreneurs. Let’s look back to one of America’s greatest... Read More
A Bill More Unpopular Than Obamacare Is
You don’t have to go too far to find someone vehemently opposed to Obamacare. What is new these days is that former enthusiastic supporters are now among its biggest critics. From business and union leaders to Republicans and Democrats, to conservatives and liberals, they all finally have something in common: they want Obamacare trashed. The last time a president introduced a bill this contentious was in 1969, when President Nixon had the... Read More
Economic Pessimism Evokes Great Depression
A new story from The Associated Press stopped me in my tracks. The gap in employment rates between America’s highest- and lowest-income families has stretched to its widest levels since officials began tracking the data a decade ago. Rates of unemployment for the lowest-income families — those earning less than $20,000 — have topped 21 percent, nearly matching the rate for all workers during the Great Depression. U.S. households with... Read More
Trade, Not War, Achieves Better Results
In my book, Conscientious Equity, I discuss that when nations have free trade agreements with each other, they historically have not gone to war. Once the road for negotiations is open to trade, it remains open for other serious considerations. Equally important is that free trade agreements not only benefit businesses, but a country’s entire population as well. Trade leads to economic freedom, which helps reduce poverty and corruption. So... Read More
Too Much War — Not Enough Trade
In my book, Conscientious Equity, I discuss the fact that when nations have free trade agreements with each other, they have historically not gone to war. Once the road for negotiations is open to trade, it remains open for other serious considerations. Equally important is that free trade agreements benefit not only businesses, but also a country’s entire population. Global trade leads to economic freedom, which helps address poverty and... Read More
Flip the Economy, Not More Burgers
There are thousands of employees that work for fast food restaurants. They work hard and get paid very little. But how many dreamed of going to school, graduating with a degree and setting out to spend their life flipping hamburgers? Very few, I bet. Unfortunately, in the Obama economy, too many college graduates have found themselves in this position. And worse, many American workers now consider fast food jobs a destination, not a temporary... Read More
President Obama’s Job Creation “Success” Is a Sham
In July, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers, was essentially unchanged at 8.2 million. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. Contrast this to 2004 when The Heritage Foundation estimated that only one in five part-timers preferred a full-time job. Look where we’ve... Read More