Michael Ignatieff, of the Kennedy School of Government at (surprise, surprise) Harvard, wrote a few years back: ‘[Thomas] Jefferson airily assumed that [American] democracy would be carried on the wings of enlightenment, reason and science. No one argues that now.’ … Continue reading
Lessons from the Battle of Wisconsin, where the standoff took place between Republicans and Democrats over the alleged rights of public union workers: 1) When the Obama Administration and union officials make threats, including reportedly physical threats, against their political … Continue reading
The bad news I feared is here. Republicans are wobbling, and Republicans are disappointing. This isn’t true everywhere (such as New Jersey), but it’s true in most places. The House leadership has put forth a bill cutting about $60 billion … Continue reading
Principles matter — but so does strategy. In order to avoid a government shutdown, House Republicans keep extending existing big spending budgets every two weeks. These “stopgap” budgets may have some cuts, but not nearly what Republicans are proposing and … Continue reading
Everybody knows gas prices are going higher. The worst is probably yet to come this summer, when more people drive greater distances. As demand goes up while supply stays the same or goes down, prices tend to rise. When this … Continue reading
When taking on a major and complex agenda, it’s important to distinguish between goal ‘ and purpose. The Republicans in Congress are strong on goals but, so far, short on purpose. Balancing the budget is a proper goal; limiting the … Continue reading
Imagine if hundreds of anti-ObamaCare protestors camped out in Congress last year, back when Nancy Pelosi was still in charge of the House of Representatives. Imagine if they stayed days on end, dirtying up the halls of Congress and disrupting … Continue reading
New numbers released by the Federal Aviation Administration show reports of air-traffic errors having nearly doubled in three years. This raises the question. Who would you rather have controlling airports and airport safety: Government, or the private sector? The nearly … Continue reading
The battle between the governor of Wisconsin and his state employees illustrates the case for capitalism — and against government-run monopolies. Government employees hold a monopoly — or at least a strong advantage — in the provision of certain services. … Continue reading
A study by Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor, found that replacing the individual mandate in ObamaCare, as suggested by many opponents of the law, would significantly erode the coverage gains from the law and raise premiums for health care consumers. … Continue reading
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie: “Here’s the truth that nobody’s talking about. You’re gonna have to raise the retirement age for Social Security. Whoa, I just said it, and I’m still standing here. I did not vaporize.” Actually, the problems … Continue reading
Obama’s new budget, while calling for a phony “spending freeze” in actuality calls for spending increases in areas of education, biomedical research and high speed rail. This is because Obama judges these areas as important for the ability of the … Continue reading