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 that should never be “punished” for their service. I’m talking about our veterans and our nation’s truckers, who, to get attention from our government, had to take matters into their own hands — a move that I support 100 percent. Have we come so far in our animosity that we have forgotten Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg... 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, Russia, Mexico, Canada and 16 other countries — account for about 40 percent of the world’s population, 55 percent of global gross domestic product and about 44 percent of world trade. Trade within APEC has grown nearly sevenfold since 1989, topping $11 trillion in 2011. Opening up free trade to most of Asia would give the U.S. economy... 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 look back to one of America’s greatest entrepreneurs: Henry Ford. He revolutionized automobile manufacturing and helped turn Detroit into the envy of the world. At one time, it was our 3rd largest city and one of the most prosperous in the world. He gave his workers unbelievably high wages, a shorter workday, a shorter workweek, vacations,... 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 entrepreneurs: Henry Ford. He revolutionized automobile manufacturing and helped turn Detroit into the envy of the world. At one time, it was our 3rd largest city and one of the most prosperous in the world. He gave his workers unbelievably high wages, a shorter workday, a shorter workweek, vacations, healthcare, daycare, education and... 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 distinction of introducing the $2.5 billion Family Assistance Plan (FAP), which was universally despised by virtually everyone. With the counsel of Urban Affairs Council Secretary Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Nixon created the FAP, which called for the replacement of bureaucratically administered programs such as Aid to Families with Dependent... 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 income of more than $150,000 a year have an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, a level traditionally defined as full employment. At the same time, middle-income workers are increasingly pushed into lower-wage jobs. Many of them in turn are displacing lower-skilled, low-income workers, who become unemployed or are forced to work fewer hours,... 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 it was with great interest that I found a kindred spirit in Fred Smith, director of the Center for Advancing Capitalism at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. In an article in Forbes, he noted: “The announcement of a possible free trade agreement between the world’s two largest economies — the United States and the European... 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 minimize corruption. So it was with great interest that I found a kindred spirit in Fred Smith, director of the Center for Advancing Capitalism at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. In an article for Forbes, he noted: “The announcement of a possible free trade agreement between the world’s two largest economies — the United... 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 stop off until a better paying job comes along. CBS reported that fast food jobs “are no longer introductions to the world of work. The age of the average worker is 28, with 70 percent 20 years old or older, according to statistics compiled by AOL Jobs. One out of four has at least one child, a third has at least some college education... 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 come in nine years. The term “involuntary part-time workers” was not even in use. Most people working part time in 2004 wanted to do so. Today, workers are forced to work part-time because there aren’t enough full-time jobs or because their hours were cut by employers drowning in regulations and out-of-control healthcare costs... Read More