“…in the good Providence of God, apparent failure often proves a blessing.” — Robert E. Lee It is often said that we in America take our freedoms for granted. Our founders assured us of freedom to worship as we see fit, freedom to speak our minds, freedom to pursue our dreams, freedom to own the fruits of our labor and freedom to criticize and, if necessary, change our government. If we take these freedoms for...
This is the last in a five part series on things that I would do today to be assured of a stronger, freer, more prosperous America 25 years from now. Our previous installments have dealt with radically overhauling the U.S. tax code, reasserting the role of fathers in a stable society, returning control of schools to the neighborhoods and communities that they serve and getting our national energy policy right by reducing the role of...
This is the fourth in a five-part series on things I would do today in order to be assured of a stronger, freer, more prosperous America 25 years from now. In our previous three installments we have talked about overhauling the tax code, reasserting the role of fathers in a stable, free society and repairing the public education system. Today, we’re going to talk about energy. My daughter loves Cheez-its crackers. She came by that...
This is the third in a five-part series on things I would do today to be assured of a stronger, freer and more prosperous America 25 years from now. Two weeks ago, we talked about dramatically overhauling the tax code. Last week we talked about seizing upon the historic fact of Barack Obama’s election and his successful marriage to Michelle to re-establish the legitimacy and necessity of fathers. This week, we’re going to discuss schools....
This is the second of a five-part series on the things that I would do today in order to be assured of a stronger, freer, more prosperous America 20 years from now. Last week we discussed a radical federal income tax overhaul. This week we’ll revisit a topic we’ve discussed on previous occasions and I beg your forgiveness. But this is important and it can’t be left out of any plan to improve our nation....
Because our country is in pain like many of us have never felt, I’m going to spend the next five of these broadcasts talking about what I would do today to assure a stronger, safer and more prosperous America 20 years from now. I am going to start with taxes. We should never go like sheep to the slaughter when it comes to paying taxes but all too often we do. Quick, what percentage of...
The market has been dropping like a stone, incinerating trillions of dollars worth of wealth in the process. To begin to understand why, let’s go to the grocery store. I love the grocery store. The grocery business is so intensely competitive and the margins are so razor thin that you have to be very, very good at what you’re doing to succeed in grocery retailing in America. As a consequence, our grocery stores are just...
I hate talking numbers. If you’re not careful, talking numbers in a forum such as this can become a crashing bore. But the times dictate a conversation on numbers and I’m going to do my best to keep everyone engaged. Let’s talk money. We’re going to play a little time and money game. Imagine that you are spending money at the rate of one dollar a minute. But instead of moving forward in time with...
The U.S. economy has entered a stall. Some would say it has entered a spin. But just like a Cessna 152, the U.S. economy is designed to fly. The best thing our policymakers can do is let it.
On the White House website (www.whitehouse.gov) you can read, listen to or watch President Obama’s inaugural address. In the slug to the post, it says, “President Obama delivered his Inaugural Address, calling for a new era of responsibility.” (Click here to listen to the excerpt.) I’m a big believer in personal responsibility. Personal responsibility is the ultimate expression of freedom. In the 18th century, when large numbers of ordinary citizens were first given freehold tenure...
As we speak this morning (Fri, Jan 16, 2008, 7:53 a.m.), in just 4,987 minutes we will have a new president. And not just any new president. As we have been reminded almost constantly since late in the evening of Nov. 4, we will have the first African-American president. It is a signal moment in American history. On Nov. 6, just after the election, I spoke in this space on one very significant aspect of...
Miss Campbell was a sweet old lady. She was among the last of a large cohort of American women. The Miss Campbells of the mid-20th century had three things in common. They never married. They unapologetically retained the title ‘Miss’. And they taught school. These women once constituted a sizable plurality of American school teachers. By the late 1960s, they were nearing the end of their careers and were being replaced by younger, married, fertile...