Paul Jacob

Paul Jacob

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The Next Thing in Money

By Paul Jacob (May 20, 2012)

When times get tough, the tough . . . switch currencies. A fascinating report by Eric Garland in The Atlantic tells of the upswing in “local currencies.”... more

The elephant, crazy like a fox?

By Paul Jacob (May 13, 2012)

Republicans are under attack from the highest towers of official Washington — the gnashing of chattering-class teeth now even more pronounced following Indiana... more

Bad to Worst

By Paul Jacob (May 06, 2012)

“The best,” Milton Friedman liked to remind us, “is often the enemy of the good.” Last week I expected one of my readers to cite the great... more

No Fight Club

By Paul Jacob (Apr 29, 2012)

The first rule of No Fight Club is that there is no fight. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) went to the well of the U.S. House of Representatives to indignantly declare,... more

Rationally green

By Paul Jacob (Apr 22, 2012)

It’s Earth Day, so . . . half a cheer. Though I appreciate the pagan holidays as much as the next fellow (Arbor Day, Independence Day, Halloween — all good fun),... more

Shut Up and Listen

By Paul Jacob (Apr 15, 2012)

Sometimes men should shut up and be good listeners. Especially when the issue is about women. What do men know? Look, I’ll be the first guy to plead guilty for... more

Nonsense, Precedented and Petrified

By Paul Jacob (Apr 08, 2012)

When you hear the word “unprecedented,” reach for your . . . dictionary. But when you hear someone say we should be “petrified” of... more

365-days a year fools

By Paul Jacob (Apr 01, 2012)

It’s April Fools’ Day, and who better to celebrate it than our federal governors? To help us prepare for the holiday, The Washington Post ran an article,... more

Another Skittles-related death

By Paul Jacob (Mar 25, 2012)

A young man was shot dead by a neighborhood watch captain a month ago in Sanford, Florida, a town I’ve only driven through during a vacation or two. The... more

Diving for Pearls

By Paul Jacob (Mar 18, 2012)

A man murders 16 innocent people. Yet, I can’t help but feel sorry for him. The “him” in this case is Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, a husband and father of... more

Another Forced-Innovation Fiasco

By Paul Jacob (Mar 11, 2012)

The light bulb serves as the symbol for invention, for that Eureka! of inspiration. It seems somehow fitting that Congress has slated the Edison filament bulb for... more

'Tis a Pity He's a Boor

By Paul Jacob (Mar 04, 2012)

Must the public square be so sordid? The political circus over government-mandated health insurance coverage of contraceptives burst out of the Big Top last week,... more

Be Like China?

By Paul Jacob (Feb 26, 2012)

Venture capitalist Eric X. Li, in an op-ed for The New York Times, “Why China’s Political Model Is Superior,” credits the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre with... more

Our World This Week

By Paul Jacob (Feb 19, 2012)

Congress finally acted in bipartisan fashion this past week, extending the 2 percent payroll tax cut through the rest of 2012. President Obama praised the effort,... more

Public School Privilege

By Paul Jacob (Feb 12, 2012)

“No Child Left Behind.” That’s the stated policy of our nationalized, near-monopoly public school system. The slogan is the usual grandiose utopian... more

The fly-over states’ stinger

By Paul Jacob (Feb 05, 2012)

In election result after election result, poll after poll — whether Republican, Democrat or independent; male or female; black, white, yellow, red or green —... more

The fickle finger of fairness?

By Paul Jacob (Jan 29, 2012)

“Life,” my parents often told me, “isn’t fair.” But President Barack Obama isn't so negative: yes it can be fair. “We can either... more

The right to recall and, in Wisconsin, the wrong

By Paul Jacob (Jan 22, 2012)

More than a million Wisconsinites signed a petition circulated by Democrats to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker. Or, perhaps several folks signed the recall hundreds... more

Ron Paul was right

By Paul Jacob (Jan 15, 2012)

Exceptions test the rule. Ron Paul is an exception. We might have to revise some rules. One rule in politics is: Don’t obsess about arcana unfamiliar to voters;... more

Pensions and Promises and Perfidy

By Paul Jacob (Jan 01, 2012)

Promises, promises. Politicians love to make ’em. But who has to fulfill those promises, and how? The tendency to rely upon political assurances without... more