by Rex Sinquefield. The year 2013 may go down in history as pivotal in the battle between the states to attract businesses and high-income earners because of local tax advantages. Five news stories highlight the shift that is occurring across the nation as taxpayers and legislators recognize that tax policy matters in the lives of every ... MORE
Police brutality at shocking level. The increase in police brutality in this country is a frightening
reality. In the last decade alone the number of people murdered by
police has reached 5,000. The number of soldiers killed since the
inception of the Iraq war, 4489. What went wrong? In the 19070’s SWAT teams were estimated to be used ... MORE
It does not protect and defend, it endangers. It’s peak travel season, so it’s a good time to examine the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA), a government agency
created by President George W. Bush supposedly to protect air
passengers. As a recent government accountability report and deadly attack on Los Angeles Airport ... MORE
by John R. Quain. Banished by voters in Houston, facing legal challenges in Missouri and working undercover in New York City, traffic-monitoring cameras, promoted as accident-reducing tools by safety advocates and decried as intrusive revenue-generators by opponents, are nothing if not controversial. The battlefront of photographic ... MORE
The last chance for small business. “After all, the chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world.”, Calvin Coolidge. This excerpt from Coolidge’s 1925 address to the American Society of Newspaper Editors still rings true today. ... MORE
by Carrie Sheffield. Fast food workers are hitting the streets
in cities across the country, walking out from their jobs, demanding
higher wages. Many of these protesters want $15 an hour. President Obama
and other Democrats decreed $10.10 is the correct minimum wage for now,
up from the current federal standard of $7.25. That would be a ... MORE
By Malena Castaldi and Felipe Llambias, Reuters. Uruguay became the first country to legalize the growing, sale and smoking of marijuana on Tuesday, a pioneering social experiment that will be closely watched by other nations debating drug liberalization. A government-sponsored bill approved by 16-13 votes in the Senate provides ... MORE
Preparing the ground for tyranny. Readers of this page are well aware of the revelations during the past six months of spying by the National Security Agency (NSA). Edward Snowden, a former employee of an NSA vendor, risked his life and liberty to inform us of a governmental conspiracy to violate our right to privacy, a right guaranteed by ... MORE
Obama administration hides inconvenient truth. Most of Washington seems to have bought the White House claim that the 36 federal exchanges are finally working, and glory, glory, hallelujah. But if that's really true, then what explains the ongoing secrecy and evasion? On Wednesday the Health and Human Services Department ... MORE
by Mark J. Perry. Probably the most vulnerable, at-risk group in the labor market would have to be black male teenagers, judging by the 44.3% jobless rate for that group in November. In contrast, the jobless rate for white male teens in November was less than half the rate of their black counterparts (19.8%); for male Hispanic teens the jobless ... MORE
Coming over from the dark side. Patrick Moen, a 36-year-old from Portland, Oregon, recently made a dramatic career shift. Tired of leading a team of Portland-based DEA agents in arresting drug traffickers, he has joined a firm in Seattle, Washington that invests in budding marijuana businesses. "The potential social and financial ... MORE
.”
That’s right. A well-known blogger really tried to make that argument
on a very popular website three years ago. Unfortunately, my blog was
also on that site at the time. I remember thinking: Crap, there goes the
neighborhood … and my credibility. Then again, the woman ... MORE
Do as I say, not as I do. I'm annoyed that so many Hollywood celebrities hate the system that made them rich. Actor/comedian Russell Brand told the BBC he wants "a socialist, egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth." Director George Lucas got rich not just from movies but also by selling Star Wars merchandise. Yet he ... MORE