POLITICS

A recent article about Senator Rand Paul in abcnews.com unintentionally reveals a lot about why the GOP has failed to make the proper case against the welfare state and in favor of constitutionally limited government. In the article, we see some admirable stances from...

New numbers released by the Federal Aviation Administration show reports of air-traffic errors having nearly doubled in three years. This raises the question. Who would you rather have controlling airports and airport safety: Government, or the private sector? The...

From an A.P. report: “Two former presidents — one Republican, the other a Democrat — will chair a new national institute to promote civility in political discourse in the city where U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was severely wounded in a shooting...

The welfare state is cracking apart. It has run out of money. Most people want the supposed benefits of a welfare state; nearly everybody welcomes something for nothing. But increasingly, it’s apparent to all involved that you can’t get something for...

John Winthrop wrote “A Model of Christian Charity” upon his arrival to the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1630. This composition has had a tremendous impact on American thinking, culture, and politics. Its notoriety comes from the fact Winthrop declares the...

A study by Jonathan Gruber, an MIT professor, found that replacing the individual mandate in ObamaCare, as suggested by many opponents of the law, would significantly erode the coverage gains from the law and raise premiums for health care consumers. Representatives...

Regarding the budget crisis, some liberal was said to ask, “What kind of priorities do Republicans have — using a weed whacker to the education budget, while allowing well-off people to still have tax deductions on their second homes?” The question...

The battle between the governor of Wisconsin and his state employees illustrates the case for capitalism — and against government-run monopolies. Government employees hold a monopoly — or at least a strong advantage — in the provision of certain...

John Winthrop wrote "A Model of Christian Charity" upon his arrival to the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1630. This composition has had a tremendous impact on American thinking, culture, and politics. Its notoriety comes from the fact Winthrop declares the...

Partisanship, we’re told, is always wrong. What is “partisanship”? Superficially, it’s the difference between Republicans and Democrats. The deeper issue implied is: Principle. The assumption (a false one) is that Republicans and Democrats have...

To counter the increasing demands that government reduce its micromanagement of the economy, last week the Obama Administration offered a fig leaf in the form of a white paper entitled “Reforming America’s Housing Finance Market.” In addition to...

Obama’s new budget, while calling for a phony “spending freeze” in actuality calls for spending increases in areas of education, biomedical research and high speed rail. This is because Obama judges these areas as important for the ability of the...

Fox News reports: “Government has a responsibility to make the U.S. the best place in the world to do business, but companies have a responsibility to invest in the nation’s future by keeping jobs here, hiring American workers and paying decent wages,...

Fox News reports: “Government has a responsibility to make the U.S. the best place in the world to do business, but companies have a responsibility to invest in the nation’s future by keeping jobs here, hiring American workers and paying decent wages,...

There are two ways to be an achiever. One type of achiever is trying to impress others; the other is simply trying to achieve. The second type gets more done. Why? Because his focus is exclusively on getting the job done right. It doesn’t occur to him to worry...

In what can only be surmised as chaos, most of North Africa, Yemen, and the Iranian theocracy’s appendage, Lebanon, seem to be undergoing a very disturbingly rapid transition. Some attribute this state of apparent anarchy to the lack of freedom and economic...

Barack Obama says that it’s up to the Egyptian people to decide what form of government they want. But what if the Egyptian people wanted a Hitler? Or apartheid, the racist government that once controlled South Africa? Is something right and moral just because a...

Many reports coming out of Egypt suggest the battle is not one for Islamic fundamentalist rule — so often the case in the Middle East — but rather one in favor of  “liberty” and freedom from the rule of a 30-year presidency in which the...

Paul Krugman, the intellectual apostle of liberal-left socialism in the United States, recently wrote the following in The New York Times: “One side of American politics considers the modern welfare state . . .morally superior to the capitalism red in tooth and...

Obama is about to give his “State of the Union” address. His themes will reportedly be government “investment” in the economy, advancement of the “American family,” and a restoration of “civility” to society. Obama has...

I received a letter from a reader I’d like to share, in edited form: Hello Dr.Hurd, I have seen the decline of socialism in Poland. I was born in 1956 and left Poland in 1982 for good. I now live in Canada with socialized medicine, but that is changing because...

As the economy continues to chug along on life support and Republicans in the House of Representatives begin their meager attempts at cutting the size and scope of the federal government, the substance of President Obama’s State of the Union address is becoming...