Carl Horowitz's Townhall.com Column

Obama, Race and Affirmative Action: Why the Second Term Will Be Worse (Part II)

2013-01-06T00:01:00-05:00

Carl Horowitz Column
The executive branch isn’t the only arena in which the Obama affirmative action crusade will be felt over the next four years. The legislative branch, too, offers manifold opportunities for mischief.

Obama, Race and Affirmative Action: Why the Second Term Will Be Worse (Part I)

2013-01-05T00:01:00-05:00

Carl Horowitz Column
The accelerated transformation of the American economy and polity into a mandatory racially-based spoils system was a defining trait of President Barack Obama’s first term in office. Though perhaps understated, it is set to become an even more defining trait of his second.

“Versailles”: Mortgage Meltdown Casualty

2012-08-12T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
Is it possible to be sympathetic toward an ostentatious Florida billionaire family at risk of losing their unfinished dream home – the largest residence in the U.S. – because of a mortgage crisis which, in a modest way, they helped to create? Actually, it is…sort of. A new movie documentary, “The Queen of Versailles,” shows why. Intentionally or not, it also makes a powerful case for why government shouldn’t cover losses incurred by high-rolling lending and borrowing.

Knox v. SEIU: A Victory for Worker Freedom

2012-06-30T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
In the immediate aftermath of its unfortunate Thursday ruling on the constitutionality of the Obama health care law, it’s easy to forget that the Supreme Court gets things right from time to time. A decision one week earlier, on June 21, was such an occasion. And at least part of the nation’s work force is a little freer for it.

Iceland After the Meltdown: Lessons For the US

2012-05-19T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
The European Union (EU) is now in a full-scale panic over how to arrange financial bailouts for its least capable members. Yet few officials within the 27-nation federation have pondered the possibility that the best arrangement may be no bailout – and no EU as well.

Occupy Wall Street: Springboard For SEIU Organizing

2012-03-31T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
‘Occupy Wall Street’ and dozens of similar protests around the nation were only the beginning. The Service Employees International Union, as much as any organization in or outside the ranks of organized labor, is making sure of it.

States, Banks and the $25 Billion Mistake: How Not to Prevent Mass Foreclosures

2012-02-25T00:01:00-05:00

Carl Horowitz Column
After some 500 days of negotiation, the deed was done. On Thursday, February 9, attorneys general representing nearly all 50 states announced that five major banks – Ally Financial, Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo – agreed to pay a combined $25 billion over three years in civil penalties and loan write-downs for having serviced mortgage foreclosure paperwork without proper review.

Straight Talk About Economic Inequality

2012-01-14T00:01:00-05:00

Carl Horowitz Column
Occupy Wall Street and dozens of offshoot groups have proven far more adept at moral theater than policymaking. Yet their operative assumption – economic inequality is reaching crisis proportions – has become the coin of a wider realm. Governments, beginning with our own, thus must “do something.” President Obama, for one, is listening – and acting.

Immigration: An Artificial Stimulus For Homeownership

2011-12-03T00:01:00-05:00

Carl Horowitz Column
The phrase “jobs Americans won’t do” all too often serves as a rationale for maintaining high levels of immigration. Get set for an equally dubious idea to justify mass immigration: “housing Americans can’t buy.” Senators Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, among others, are believers. And they’re offering a sweet deal.

‘Occupy Wall Street’: Stamped with a Union Label

2011-10-22T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
As Occupy Wall Street demonstrations have gone national and now global, observers are taking note of the prominent role of labor unions in this anti-business crusade. The rote denunciations of “corporate greed” at these events could be lifted from almost any AFL-CIO convention speech.

Anchorman: The Legend of Al Sharpton

2011-09-10T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
Would you believe it? Al Sharpton’s newest role – full-time anchorman – is now a reality.

Wrecking Sodexo: Another Union 'Corporate Campaign'

2011-07-30T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) could have written the book on how to get corporations to surrender. In fact, it has written the book.

The Expanding Vengeance of Affirmative Action

2011-06-18T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
One would be hard-pressed to deny that mandating equal outcomes among racial and sexual groups over time has become the official coin of the realm in this country. What is perhaps most remarkable is the absence of any real political opposition to this regime.

NLRB Sues Boeing, and Why South Carolina's Loss May Be America's Too

2011-05-07T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
The National Labor Relations Board – these days known by many of its critics as the National Organized Labor Relations Board – must have a pretty broad definition of the words "coercion" and "retaliation."

Home Mortgage Modification: Slamming Lenders, Slowing Economic Recovery

2011-03-19T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
The mortgage foreclosure crisis in this country may have been superseded by events in Japan, Libya and elsewhere for now, but it’s still taking a toll.

No Reservations: The Case for Dismantling the Indian Bureaucracy

2011-02-04T00:01:00-05:00

Carl Horowitz Column
If ever a federal agency were a candidate for termination, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) would make for a good choice. The BIA combines patronage and ethnic separatism into a single package, wasting sizable tax dollars in the process.

Emerald Guile: What Ireland's Bailout Means For Us

2010-12-25T00:01:00-05:00

Carl Horowitz Column
By now almost everyone glued to financial news outlets knows that the Republic of Ireland, population 4.5 million, is set to receive a whopping emergency loan bailout worth 67.5 billion euros (US$89.4 billion).

Native American Farmers Shake the Public Money Tree

2010-11-13T00:01:00-05:00

Carl Horowitz Column
Timothy Pigford’s gift keeps on giving. Taxpayers, unfortunately, aren’t likely to be in such a giving mood. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last month announced a $760 million settlement of a civil suit in which American Indian farmers and ranchers claimed discrimination at the hands of USDA program administrators. The agreement follows similar out-of-court settlements this year with black and Hispanic plaintiff-farmers.

Home Mortgage Foreclosure Prevention: Another Bailout Boondoggle

2010-10-02T00:01:00-04:00

Carl Horowitz Column
Call it a paradox. The U.S. economy officially has been out of recession for 15 months. The stock market enjoyed a record-high September; durable goods orders are up; and consumer spending is growing.

Disabling Chipotle Grill

2010-08-21T00:00:01-04:00

The revolution in tort liability has claimed another victim. Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. is now traveling lighter by around $140,000, thanks to a...