“Do as I say, not as I do,” goes an ironic saying worthy of Mark Twain. It’s a phrase that is well-suited to the political field.
These days, freedom is under fire in many ways. So it’s nice to be able to report that, in one area at least, freedom is marching in the right direction: education.
Almost everyone knows the acronym “EMT.” We know that emergency medical technicians will arrive in a hurry if someone calls for an ambulance. Less familiar is the acronym “EMP.” But if an electromagnetic pulse were to hit the United States, we’d need a lot more than an ambulance to fix the problems that would result.
Many are warning that the United States could become the next Greece. But there’s no need to look across the ocean to see a poorly-governed area that’s deep in debt and crumbling. Just look to Detroit.
Three years old, eh? Well, with any luck, you’ll leave here with a clean bill of … uh-oh. I can see one problem already. Have you seen these tax hikes?
Say you’re running a business, and you find yourself awash in red ink. You realize it’s time to retool your approach, and fast. So you ask two different employees to each come up with a budget. You’ll go with whoever writes the best plan.
“I can tell you that the United States is fully capable of defending against any North Korean ballistic missile attack.” That was White House spokesman Jay Carney, reacting to the third nuclear test this year by the self-styled “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” as well as a brash threat from Pyongyang to, well, nuke the United States.
Dire predictions about the fate of certain government programs were hardly in short supply recently, as sequester-related budget cuts loomed. So it was hardly a surprise when Education Secretary Arne Duncan got in on the act.
“Sequester.” It’s a word that used to come up rarely. And it nearly always referred to a jury being locked away to deliberate a verdict.
Say you were a politician, and there was a domestic energy source available that’s clean and abundant. One that has the potential to create new jobs and revitalize local economies. Would you do more to encourage it?
Is America in decline? An honest review of the state of the union would show spiraling budget deficits, uncontrolled growth in government spending, and persistently high unemployment levels. The impression of a once-great nation in eclipse is all too plain.
More than 200 organizations across the country are staging some 3,600 events to mark this year’s School Choice Week. But many grateful parents have reason to celebrate every week.
“Entrepreneurs must be allowed to retain the wealth they create,” writes George Gilder, author of Wealth and Poverty, “because only they, collectively, can possibly know how to invest it productively among the millions of existing businesses and the innumerable visions of new enterprise in the world economy.” Money flows to those who can use it best and create the most value.
How would you say the U.S. compares to other nations? No need to guess. We can pinpoint it exactly by using an annual guide known as the Index of Economic Freedom. Top three, you think? Top five? Nope. Last year at this time came the news that the United States had dropped to 10th place.
Nothing in life is certain but death and taxes, the saying goes. Unfortunately, the list doesn’t stop there. We can add one other inescapable component: regulations.
Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence were all my business.” Americans, it seems, truly take Jacob Marley’s ghostly warning to Ebenezer Scrooge to heart -- not only at Christmas time, but throughout the year.
“It is an outrage.” The source of Defense Secretary Leon Panetta’s anger? The fact that the United States has yet to approve a treaty known as the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, which often goes by the acronym LOST.
“This is what democracy looks like!” That’s a popular protest chant among liberals. It could be heard at many “Occupy” gatherings. It’s a staple at union-backed protests.
Some Americans believe in the founding principle that individuals are responsible for their own well-being and will voluntarily aid those in need.
Twinkies selling for hundreds of dollars on eBay. Union membership dropping steadily over the last decade.
