POLITICS

Adam Smith, author of “The Wealth of Nations” (1776) and popularizer of modern economics said about people in general and businessmen in particular, “By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of society more effectually than when he...

The prime minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, informed the world this month, among other things, that “Jews rule this world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them.” Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. national security adviser, described...

In a recent column, I predicted that President Bush will likely be forced into a budget deal involving higher taxes sometime after next year’s election because of rising interest rates. Some of my friends thought I was endorsing such an action. I was not. But my...

Today’s seniors are at the center of the most profound health care legislation since the Clinton health care plan: expansion of Medicare to grant prescription drug subsidies to people over 65. One might ask why, with the nation at war following the worst attack...

Last week’s column discussed parts of Abigail and Stephen Thernstrom’s new book, “ No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning .” It’s a gap that finds the average black high-school graduate having achieved only what the average white...

Caveat Emptor. Let the buyer beware. These have always been sensible words when shopping for a car. But these days, sadly, they also apply to charitable giving. Consider the case of William Robertson, who is suing his alma mater, Princeton University, over the...

Q: Dr. Hurd, I am sure you heard about Rush Limbaugh’s addiction and subsequent hospitalization for prescription drugs. Doesn’t this show that addictive problems are a medical disease, and that Limbaugh’s (and your own) emphasis on choice and...

There are some arguments so illogical that only an intellectual or politician can believe them. One of those arguments is: capitalism benefits the rich more than it benefits the ‘common man.’ Let’s look at it. The rich have always had access to...

David Kay, the US government’s top weapons inspector in Iraq, reported this month on his team’s first three months of searching for weapons of mass destruction. “We have not yet found stocks of weapons,” he testified, nor anything to...

“If George Bush rebuilds Iraq the way he rebuilds the United States, they’re going to lose 3 million jobs over the course of the next three years,” said Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, who’s hoping to run against President Bush next year. Clever...

In a recent column, I discussed some of the support for supply-side economics at the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and in academia. Today, I would like to extend my discussion to some emerging research on labor supply that further supports the supply-side...

President Bush, while being heckled by anti-war protesters in Australia, asked his audience how anyone can believe the world is not a better place with Saddam Hussein out of power. Good question. He asked it rhetorically, not expecting an answer. But there are...

From the Howard Dean for President website: “Repeal the Bush tax cuts, and use those funds to pay for universal health care, homeland security, and investments in job creation that benefit all Americans.” In other words: Raise taxes, nationalize medical...

Alec “the Bloviator” Baldwin has a new bosom buddy: Beltway Republican strategist Grover Norquist. The Bush-bashing actor-turned-activist and the Muslim vote-courting political organizer joined together at a Washington, D.C.-area conference last weekend to...

Is there any subject that the mainstream media treats worse than the Palestinian Authority (PA)? Case in point: placing the Oct. 15 murder of three American security personnel in Gaza. Here is USA Today‘s comment, representative of media assessments of the...

“Excellent schools deliver a clear message to their students: No Excuses. No excuses for failing to do your homework, failing to work hard in general; no excuses for fighting with other students, running in the hallways, dressing inappropriately and so...

Of all the tax cuts enacted during the Bush administration, none has been more controversial than repeal of the estate tax. Even though it represents only a very small part of the total revenue loss from the 2001 and 2003 tax bills — and isn’t really...