POLITICS

Al Gore promises cheap or free prescription drugs for everybody. Wow! What a deal! I'm going to vote for Gore. How nice of him! Where has he been all these years? Wait a minute. There must be a reason why some drugs are so expensive. Could it be that drug companies...

It seems Bill Clinton is trying to fool us again, this time into believing we owe him our prosperity. In the Democratic convention, he proudly claimed responsibility for the last eight years of unprecedented progress and prosperity in America. The false but widespread...

In San Diego, they've turned the public schools into full-service baby sitters at a cost of more than $15 million per year. The program is called "6 to 6." Every elementary and middle school student is eligible for sun-up to sundown care. Well, why not? The kids...

I always enjoy watching the Olympic games. I enjoy the stories of the athletes' determination, the hard work and mental focus they devote to reaching their goals. But this year, that enjoyment has been marred by a disturbing note. During the first week of coverage...

Among some government officials and certain members of the financial press, the idea of debt forgiveness is in vogue. Many specious arguments have been made by an assortment of different groups who believe debt forgiveness is the financial panacea that will begin an...

Here I stand at the first great climax of my life. I, Dicon of Athens, wait in this grand stadium beside the river Alpheus.I am the proud progeny of my city's dedication to the perfection of mind and body, and gathered around me are athletes from all the Greek world,...

Every two years the IMF publishes its "World Economic Outlook". (I'll call it, aptly, WOE) The most recent advanced copy was released last week on the internet. [link], and I suggest that all global investors take a look at it. I disagree with most of the IMF's...

One crucial element of Clinton's legacy is his desire to be remembered as the American President finally responsible for ensuring peace in the Middle East. To that end, he has pressured the Israelis and showered favors on a life-long, Palestinian terrorist in an...

The year was 1970, and I was part of a scorned breed, scorned at least on Wall Street. People who did what I did -- recommending stocks based on historical price patterns -- were literally laughed at by many of the Street's citizens. I couldn't accept this. I talked...

In the department of economy, an act, a habit, an institution, a law, gives birth not only to an effect, but to a series of effects. Of these effects, the first only is immediate; it manifests itself simultaneously with its cause -- it is seen. The others unfold in...

In the 1940s, the government imposed a price and wage freeze. The logic was that the shortage of employees (the men who left as soldiers) would cause businesses to raise wages to entice workers and consequently prices would go up to cover the new, increased cost of...

Trades-unions adopt various devices for raising wages, and those who give their time to philanthropy are interested in these devices, and wish them success. They fix their minds entirely on the workmen for the time being in the trade, and do not take note of any other...

"The Washington Post cordially invites you to the 15th annual National Council of Caucasian Women's White Family Reunion Celebration." Can you imagine the uproar if one of the nation's largest newspapers issued invitations to a cultural gathering designed to enhance...

Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck. They leave not impression whatever. To say, "Beat in the world," "Lowest price in existence," etc. are at best simply claiming the expected. But superlatives of that sort are usually...