Right Opinion
The best of conservative opinion and commentary, updated daily.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
No Regulation? No Problem
In the short time since President Obama was re-elected, government has issued hundreds of new regulations. The bureaucrats never stop. There are now more than 170,000 pages of federal regulations. President Obama wants still more rules. Cheering on increased financial regulation, he said, "We've got to keep moving forward." To the president, and probably most Americans, "forward" means passing more laws. It is scary to think about a world without regulation. Intuition leads us to think that without government we'd be victims of fraud, as I explain in my latest book, "No, They Can't!" But our intuition is wrong. Consider this: An entire sector of the economy operates almost entirely without government controls. Complete strangers exchange big money there every day.
Obama's Tax Evaders of the Year
President Obama will kick off the new year the same way that he kicked off the old year: by demanding that the wealthy pay their "fair share" in taxes. But while millions of small-business owners, struggling entrepreneurs, inventors and investors brace for a double whammy of fiscal cliff tax hikes and new Obamacare taxes, the class-warrior in chief's richest pals are getting a pass. It's a Golden Pass for liberal millionaires and billionaires who support higher Obama taxes for everyone but themselves. Meet the Democratic tax evaders of the year.
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Breaking the Regulatory Stranglehold
Nothing in life is certain but death and taxes, the saying goes. Unfortunately, the list doesn't stop there. We can add one other inescapable component: regulations. Think you can avoid them by, say, not owning a business? Sorry. If you're breathing, you're affected by regulations. Considering there are government rules for funeral homes, even the lack of a pulse won't save you. There are thousands upon thousands of individual regulations, and the annual cost runs into the billions of dollars. Some may say it's businesses that pay those costs. Wrong. The costs of these regulations are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices and limited product choices. For example, the price controls that bureaucrats slapped on the fees that banks may charge to process debit-card transactions prompted banks to cancel many rewards programs and free services. It led to higher fees on checking accounts and credit cards.
Emancipation: January 1, 1863
President Abraham Lincoln had been warned by Gen. George B. McClellan *not* to interfere with the institution of slavery. McClellan was a "War Democrat," willing to fight to preserve the Union, but unwilling to do anything about the root cause of the rebellion that threatened the life of the nation. Ironically, it was McClellan's victory at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, that had given Lincoln the opportunity he needed to issue his *Preliminary* Emancipation Proclamation. In that document, the President warned rebellious states in the South that they would have their slaves freed if they did not cease their insurrection against the federal government and once again obey the laws of the Union. That hundred-day period had been a difficult one for President Lincoln. There would be political reverses in the mid-term congressional elections that fall. Democrats campaigned on the slogan "The Union as it was and the Constitution as it is." That meant slavery would be secure in all the states where it then existed. They picked up congressional seats and won key state governorships.
David Gregory's Slobbering Obama Interview
NBC's David Gregory interviewed President Barack Obama on "Meet the Press" Sunday, and a conversation ensued that would have been more fitting for a show called "The President Meets One of His Many Mainstream Media Enablers." Let's take a look at just some of the exchanges and fantasize how different the nation's political and electoral climate might be if the liberal press were doing its job as watchdog instead of taking sides. Obama said, "We're seeing signs of recovery ... in employment numbers improving." Might Gregory have asked Obama how he can continue to put an unrealistically positive spin on such persistently dismal numbers? If this were a Republican president, do you think Gregory wouldn't have pointed out that the only reason these numbers appear to be slightly improving is that more people have actually given up looking for work altogether?
The Government That Ate America
What's this? Joe Biden in weekend conversation with Mitch McConnell over how to step back from the fiscal cliff? Isn't Biden the man in charge of solving The Gun Problem? How does he have the time or energy -- not least the ideas -- to launch another rescue mission? Apparently he had none of these. Not much came, reportedly, of the Biden-McConnell negotiations. One is struck anyway by an infinitely larger question -- how did we as a society, as a nation, get to this point: wrapped in suspense while the government of the United States works out, or tries to, the solutions to our greatest problems? The government? Joe Biden? The Senate? The House? The presidency? The courts? What has a structural arrangement devised for the maintenance of ordered liberty got to do, legitimately, with all it's got to do with?
Return of the Credibility Gap
Lyndon Johnson, step aside. Barack Obama is far more deserving than you ever were of the term "credibility gap." The latest Benghazi lie to crumble like a cigar ash was the assurance from White House spokesman Jay Carney that four State department employees had been fired for their mishandling of the situation following an internal report that found security to have been "grossly inadequate." On Dec. 20, Carney told reporters "Accountability has been brought to bear with regard to four individuals, who are very senior." Major news organizations reported that Eric Boswell, assistant secretary of state in charge of security, had resigned along with three others. Less than a week later, the New York Post revealed that Boswell wasn't actually leaving at all. He had resigned his post as assistant secretary, a spokesman explained, but would continue his other duties at state. As for the other three, they were found to have "performance inadequacies" but not "willful misconduct" and would therefore face no discipline.
Happy New Year?
The beginning of a new year is often a time to look forward and look back. The way the future looks, I prefer to look back -- and depend on my advanced age to spare me from having to deal with too much of the future. If there are any awards to be given to anyone for what they did in 2012, one of those rewards should be for prophecy, if only because prophecies that turn out to be right are so rare. With that in mind, my choice for the prediction of the year award goes to Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal for his column of January 24, 2012 titled: "The GOP Deserves to Lose."
What Price U.S. Citizenship?
HONG KONG -- We read about famous people like French film star Gerard Depardieu, who moved to Belgium to avoid a 75 percent income tax on millionaires proposed by France's Socialist government (a measure rejected last week by a French council, though French leadership has vowed to resubmit a similar proposal). Then there is Eduardo Saverin, who took the extreme step of giving up his U.S. citizenship and could see a savings of $39 million on his Facebook investment, according to the research firm Wealth-X. He says business reasons, rather than high taxes, were his primary motivation. I had read about financially motivated expatriates but never knew one who had taken the ultimate step until I visited with my longtime friend "Sam" (I'm withholding his real name to protect his current employment). Sam works for a large investment firm. He has lived here for the last 25 years.
Monday, December 31, 2012
When Government Offers to Help, It Often Makes a Mess
There's a natural human impulse to help people who need a hand. In the political world, that often translates to an impulse to have government help people who need a hand. Who wants to argue with that? But experience tells us that it's not always easy to help. Individuals' good intentions go awry. Government programs sometimes produce unintended consequences that make things worse for the intended beneficiaries. Consider what could be called the three H's: health care, housing and higher education. Over the last generation and more, government has stepped in to help ordinary individuals and those with special problems on all three issues. The results have been, well, not as good as intended.
Tipping Our Fez to Egypt
In recent months, there were two presidential elections of historical importance. In Egypt, they had their first ever democratic election for president. It was won by Mohammed Morsi over Ahmed Shafiq. Here in the United States, we had our 55th presidential election, and re-elected a man who had inherited a bad economy and made it worse; insulted our friends and coddled our enemies; and spent most of his time golfing, throwing parties and taking vacations. As if that wasn't bad enough, he compounds his sins by insulting Republican congressmen for no better reason than that they're Republicans and refuse to rubberstamp his fiats. The reason I bring all this up is to point out the irony that in spite of the fact that Morsi defeated his opponent by 3.4%, whereas Obama only had a 2.8% advantage over Romney, and in spite of the fact that Egyptians are novices at this, when Morsi started behaving like a Pharaoh, the voters stormed the streets of Cairo and reminded him he was just another politician.
Kerry's 'Realism' Slips Into Callousness
When it comes to foreign policy, John F. Kerry is no John F. Kennedy. In his 1961 inaugural address, the 35th president of the United States declared that Americans would "pay any price, bear any burden" in their ongoing defense of liberty and human rights "at home and around the world." Like other presidents before and since -- Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush -- JFK believed that it was America's destiny to advance freedom and democratic self-government, and oppose the world's tyrants. This is the "idealist" approach to US foreign policy. Kerry sees America's role differently. For nearly half a century, the man poised to become the 68th secretary of state has generally frowned on the belief that American muscle should be flexed in order to promote liberal democracy. As early as 1966, Kerry wanted America to lower its profile on the international stage.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Disdain All Around
While accusing the Supreme Court's conservative justices of "disdain for democracy," Pamela S. Karlan proves herself talented at dispensing disdain. The Stanford law professor is, however, less talented at her chosen task of presenting a coherent understanding of judicial review. Still, her "Democracy and Disdain" in the November Harvard Law Review usefully illustrates progressivism's consistent disdain for the Founders' project of limiting government.
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Debt Ceiling Disaster Ahead
The fiscal cliff showdown is eclipsing the much more dangerous problem the country faces.
The WaPo Kerry Endorsement: Curious and Curiouser
The editorial staff of the the *Washington Post*, surely meant well. They wanted readers to think that Sen. John Kerry's vast experience in foreign policy over four decades equips him to serve as Secretary of State in the second Obama administration. The editorial, titled "John Kerry: Well-suited to be Secretary of State," gets that part right. The natty Mr. Kerry certainly *looks* the part of a globe-trotting senior U.S. diplomat. As to his qualifications for that role, we're reminded of Frederick the Great's response when he was urged to make a less than stellar general a field marshal. Reminded the only occasionally victorious general had been in every battle for years, Frederick pointed to his mount: "So has my mule. Must I make *him* a field marshal, too?"
Disorganized Labor
A lot of conservatives were delighted when Michigan decided to become a right-to-work state. I was one of them, but I wasn't quite as ecstatic as some. The problem is that by now everyone who isn't a union boss or one of the dumber members of a private sector union could see the writing on the wall. The unions have been going the way of the dodo for some time now. It's not just that private sector unions have been losing members and influence, but that they've gone out of favor with the public. We've seen their thug-like behavior in Wisconsin and now in Michigan. We've seen teachers carrying placards that insist they're demonstrating on behalf of the kids who are using phony medical excuses to play hooky so that they can make an embarrassing spectacle of themselves in public. It's worth noting that only 31 % of Michigan's eighth graders are proficient in math and a mere 28% are up to snuff when it comes to reading.
From The Comedy Store
NRA chief Wayne LaPierre called for cops to protect schools, saying bad guys with guns can only be stopped by good guys with guns. The clock is ticking on both sides of the argument. Republicans can't lose the gun vote and the Democrats are determined to do something about all these shootings before they bring back prayer in public schools.
Happy New Year 2013
WASHINGTON -- It's "Auld Lang Syne" time again. Robert Burns is credited with "collecting" the lyrics for the old Scottish drinking and dancing ballad that's become a traditional part of New Year's festivities. The most memorable verses -- "should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind" and the chorus, "for auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup o' kindness yet for auld lang syne" -- are often described as reminders of "the good old times" amid new beginnings. That's a tough task this year. Saying goodbye to 2012 won't be hard. But looking forward with hope for a better year in 2013 is a real challenge. Peering into a chasm from the edge of the "fiscal cliff" isn't the way most of us wanted to end the first dozen years of the 21st century. We all know it's the nature of government to grow in size, power and expense. But how many of us really expected that the fools in Washington would drown our progeny in a sea of deficits, debt and ever-higher taxes? Nobody I know expected the Internal Revenue Service to become the dominant fixture in our lives.
Math Is Coming
Math is remorseless, and it will eventually balance its numbers, not caring who is hurt in the process
Tackling Fairness and Justice
The last year has been a tough one for conservatives. The hope that four years of failed policy would be enough to repudiate the liberal/progressive ideology of the Obama administration ended when the majority of the American public voted to maintain their entitlements -- so long as someone else paid for them. And the conservative response to the debacle has been for the various factions within the movement to declare war on each other. It's time for conservatives to give serious thought to what they believe and how they can make a more persuasive case that conservative principles offer the best path for America. Conservatives have to do more than invoke small government, lower taxes and protection of the family. They have to explain the principles on which such policies are based and why those principles are more likely to fulfill the promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness on which the nation was founded.