The tragic shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School have unleashed a torrent of public discussion and legislative proposals on gun control. Nationally, however, unless this debate can be framed as more than a fight about gun rights, it seems unlikely that this will result in much meaningful change. That's because, given the state of our American psyche today, mind control trumps gun control. That's not true just for gun lovers. It's also true for the general public as well. A poll … [Read more...]
Hands On, Hands Up, Hands Off: Our Necessary Social Contract Debate
America used to be a land where we took care of our own. Times are changing. Today, some would have the weakest and most vulnerable among us tighten their belts, lower their expectations, and take care of themselves. President Obama called the question on those individuals and on the shape and size of the nation's safety net in his inaugural address. A debate has been requested and it is an essential one for the future of our democracy and the American dream. For far too long, as the … [Read more...]
Manufacturing America’s Future
Once upon a time, America was the world's factory. That time will never come again. But, recent results and research indicate that factories and products will and must play a pivotal role in manufacturing America's future. Even with its relative decline as a contributor to GDP as an employer of American workers, the manufacturing sector remains a powerful force. Bruce Stokes notes in a 2011 posting published by the New America Foundation: The United States is the world's mightiest … [Read more...]
Congress at the Crossroads
Congress is being held in contempt. That contempt comes from the American people. A poll released last week by Public Policy Polling (PPP) reveals that contempt is deep and broad. Congress got only a 9 percent favorability rating in the PPP study. That's the good news for the institution. The bad news is that Congress was rated considerably less popular than a number of other "distressing" things such as colonoscopies, root canals and being stuck in traffic by the survey respondents. These … [Read more...]
Conservative Messengers Need New Ideas
Former Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) who left Congress to head the conservative Heritage Foundation wrote a recent op-ed column for The Washington Post titled, "Conservative ideas need a new message." In our opinion, the conservatives' problem nationally is not a problem of messaging but one of ideas. Conservative messengers need new ideas not new messages. And, we should add, so too do liberal messengers. America is at a pivot point in a number of areas. We don't need tired partisan ideas … [Read more...]
Let’s Make America the Creation Nation Again
You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The management consulting firm Arthur D. Little disproved this old adage in 1921 when its chemists created silk from pork byproducts. Those were the good old days of United State's innovation and, as economist Tyler Cowen points out, in the period from 1947 to 1973 because of American creativity and productivity, the inflation adjusted median income here almost doubled. From 1973 to 2004, it rose only 22 percent and has actually declined over … [Read more...]
Don’t Fence Me in: The Need for Strategic Immigration Reform
Almost immediately after the national elections were concluded, immigration reform again became a topic for bipartisan political conversation and potential legislation. Illegal immigrants had been at the center of debates and much of the discussion during the Republican presidential primaries. With their hard-line, hard-headed and hard-hearted stances on things like building a fence to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States and deportation of those who are here currently, the … [Read more...]
From Cliff Dwelling to Mountain Climbing
A thumb-nail assessment of the fiscal cliff bill: Much sound. Some fury. Simplifying nothing. Nonetheless, those members of Congress who worked together in a bi-partisan fashion to construct and pass the "cliff deal" are to be commended. The major presenting short-term problem of the expiration of "middle class" tax cuts was addressed. Significantly and appropriately, tax rates for the "wealthy" were increased. In addition, the alternative minimum tax was corrected, expiring jobless benefits … [Read more...]
Save Our Children: A Christmas Wish and Prayer
This is not the time to take Christ out of Christmas but to put the child into Christmas -- not for presents but for prescience. Let us do that by celebrating the innocence of those who will not celebrate Christmas this year because of the Connecticut schoolhouse shootings. Let us do that by learning from this tragedy and dedicating ourselves to making this country a safer place for all of our children. Let us do that by praying to God, no matter what our religious persuasion, for peace and … [Read more...]
The Republicans’ League of Their Own: Reasons, Responses, Recommendations
If the national elections had been contested in the Republican's political version of a fantasy football league, Barack Obama would have received 47-plus percent of the vote. And, they would have picked up five seats in the Senate and eight seats in the House. Just the opposite occurred. This stunned many Republicans whose parallel universe view had them convinced that they would not only win but dominate in the presidential and congressional election battles. Why and how did they get this so … [Read more...]