In praise of Gingrich

Presidents get too much blame for a bad economy. They get too much credit when things go well. Bill Clinton loves to make the good economy of the 90s seem like his doing. I’m willing to give him some credit. He deserves some. I like to give a chunk of praise to then-Speaker, Newt Gingrich as well. Clinton and Gingrich made a great team. They kept each side of the aisle honest, which led to a more responsible approach to government spending …

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In praise of obscene profits

This subject of profits raises an interesting question: is there ever such a thing as obscene profits? After all, profit is the goal of corporations, not an accidental by-product of their existence. What do oil companies do with their profits? They look for more oil. They refine their techniques to make the process of finding and extracting their commodity more efficient and environmentally safer. They create more jobs. And they pay their investors dividends out of their profits. Nothing obscene about that …

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A response to the ‘Nuns on the Bus’ tour

True or false: “The House budget would decimate our country.” This is the assertion of the ‘Nuns on the Bus’ tour as reported by Rekha Basu in her June 20th Des Moines Register column, “ ‘Nuns on the Bus’ possess credibility that few of us have.” Let’s take a closer look …

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Don’t let the president sucker you

The president and his party insist that tax increases on America’s most productive workers (aka “the rich”) are the only way to right our self-inflicted debt mess. Evidence suggests that is the worst thing we could do …

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