War and the Constitution In modern America, there is considerable confusion about the constitutional requirements related to matters of war. Some people believe that the Constitution gives the President extremely broad power in warmaking decisions, while others contend that the Constitution severely limits that power. Sadly, the majority of Americans simply don’t care what the Constitution says. Most Americans are aware that our federal government is divided into three branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. What is not as well known is that the first three articles of the U.S. Constitution define the roles and … Read More
Rethinking Taxation
Rethinking Taxation Death and taxes may be inevitable in life, but this fact doesn’t excuse us from our responsibilities to handle both of these eventualities in a prudent and judicious manner. Our legal system endeavors to establish clear, cautious standards for dealing with issues of life and death—our procedure for trying a capital crime being just one example. In like manner, we should be no less deliberate with our tax policy. Citizens have never enjoyed (and probably never will enjoy) paying taxes, but if some taxation is going to be necessary, we should endeavor to find the best way to … Read More
Unions & Collective Bargaining: Is there a simple answer?
Unions & Collective Bargaining: Is There a Simple Answer? An individual walks into a place of business seeking employment. The owner of the business and the job seeker interview each other, and both decide that an employment relationship may be to the benefit of each. They enter into negotiations over compensation and arrive at a mutual agreement on services to be performed and the pay rate. Assuming that the work to be performed is ethical and legal, is there any reason why these two parties should not be allowed to pursue this employment agreement? You might be surprised to find … Read More
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard J. Maybury
Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? I am thoroughly convinced that every American—and certainly every American leader—should read Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? by Richard Maybury, part of his series of “Uncle Eric” books. Penny Candy is formatted as a series of letters from economist “Uncle Eric” to his nephew Chris, and the result is a fast-paced, highly engaging book that covers the fundamentals of economic theory. Maybury’s goal in the Uncle Eric book series is to present material on a variety of topics in a way that is understandable and enjoyable to the lay person, without an excess of technical … Read More
Negative Interest Rates and the Impoverishing of America
An IPS Commentary By Michael R. Winther, President of the Institute for Principle Studies Negative Interest Rates and the Impoverishing of America If you have seen bank advertisements for CD rates, or if you have called your local bank or broker lately, you know that interest rates are abysmal. As I write this, Ally Bank is touting their 2-year certificate of deposit at a rate of 1.78%—I guess that is supposed to be a good deal these days. The Real Interest Rate More important than interest rates on deposits, however, is something called the “real interest rate.” This is … Read More
Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
An IPS Commentary By Michael R. Winther, President of the Institute for Principle Studies Little Things Can Make A Big Difference Almost every bill that comes into my mailbox contains content designed to promote a political agenda. My city water bill, my electricity bill, my natural gas bill, and even my home and auto insurance bills contain regular content designed to alter the political landscape. No, they are not asking me to support a particular political candidate or a political party—these messages are more subtle than that—but they are no less powerful. Subtle & Persuasive These politically persuasive messages usually … Read More
Negative Interest Rates
Negative Interest Rates If you have seen bank advertisements for CD rates, or if you have called your local bank or broker lately, you know that interest rates are abysmal. As I write this, Ally Bank is touting their 2-year certificate of deposit at a rate of 1.78%—I guess that is supposed to be a good deal these days. More important than interest rates on deposits, however, is something called the real interest rate. This is the interest rate after considering rising prices. Price increases are usually measured by the government with a statistic called the Consumer Price Index (CPI). … Read More
Liberty and Tyranny by Mark Levin
Liberty & Tyranny Liberty and Tyranny is a recent bestselling book by radio talk show host Mark Levin. It is an easy, interesting, and entertaining read. As I read Liberty and Tyranny, I couldn’t help but notice that this book was a great case study on the battle over labels and identities in our current political landscape. Most of my readers are well aware that there is a battle over labels in America today. What do we call ourselves? What do we call our opponents? What do our opponents call us? Are we republicans, democrats, conservatives, liberals, libertarians, or progressives? … Read More