As Greece, and now Spain and Italy, struggle with the crushing burden of debt brought on by the modern welfare state, perhaps we should shift our gaze some 1,200 miles north to see how austerity can actually work.
Estonia: The Singing Revolution Goes On!
This writer, an anti-Soviet (armchair) Cold Warrior from age 21 on, recalls vividly the videos leaked out of the early Estonian concerts in the late 80s where everyone was singing the national anthem at the outdoor amphitheatre in Tallin at risk of serious reprisals from their Soviet overlords.
Reforming our public schools
The mission of Citizens for Successful Schools is to develop ideas and engage people to move education forward. We take Trenton Central High School as a local example needing change. The same issues affect other schools as well, and we believe answers here will generalize broadly. The founders of CSS have just published an valuable new book, which puts the issues discussed here in a readable, usable form.
Christie gets it wrong on OWS and Tea Party
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s attempt to liken Occupy Wall Street protesters to Tea Party activists demonstrates a gross misunderstanding of both movements.
In a video from a town hall meeting, which my colleague Charlie Spiering posted below, Christie responds to a question on the Wall Street protests by arguing that, “I think if you look at the Occupy Wall Street folks and the Tea Party folks, that they come from the same perspective, they just have different solutions. ”
The Union Myth of Representing ‘Working People’
Unions and their mouthpieces continually bombard us with the catch phrases about standing for “working people,” “working families,” and the poor, oppressed and exploited “working” classes. Truth is, unions represent a privileged minority, a politically connected class, the aristocrats of middle-class workers. And the mainstream of American workers, the real working people agree; it’s why only 6.9% of private sector workers are in unions and union membership overall has decreased from nearly one-third of all workers in the 1940s.
Editorial: Greece’s Only Cure Is The Free Market
Debt Crises: What a sorry spectacle to watch Greeks rioting in the streets in reaction to austerity measures. As if tantrums can change reality. It’s Exhibit A of how socialism infantilizes citizens. The only cure is free markets.
As Greece’s legislature heads for a vote Wednesday to cut the size of its government by $40 billion in exchange for the last $17 billion of a $156 billion International Monetary Fund bailout on July 3, the world’s television screens are flooded with images of young “indignantes” calling a riotous 48 hour-strike in Athens.
The Path To Prosperity-Paul Ryan’s Proposal
Article I of the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the power to appropriate funds from the Treasury, pay the
obligations of and raise revenue for the federal government, and publish statements and accounts of all financial
transactions.
By law, Congress is also obligated to write a budget representing its plan to carry out these transactions in the
forthcoming fiscal years. While the President is required to propose his administration’s budget requests for
Congress’s consideration, Congress alone is responsible for writing the laws that raise revenues, appropriate
funds, and prioritize taxpayer dollars within an overall federal budget.
Americans For Tax Reform (ATR)
We believe in a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government’s power to control one’s life derives from its power to tax. We believe that power should be minimized.
ATR was founded in 1985 by Grover Norquist at the request of President Reagan.
Obama Unions a Microcosm of Liberalism: Parasites Devouring Their Host
When Obama predictably stood up for Wisconsin unions, he didn’t create sympathy but merely cast a spotlight upon bygone methods and absurdly selfish goals. Unions typically represent the proposition that, regardless of the underlying economic state, their power and wealth is sacrosanct. Such obscene leftist power-brokering led to the demise of Detroit as the world’s automobile capital. It is time we defang and emasculate these anachronisms of Marxism. Foolhardy attempts by Barack to steer America back to the glory days of Norma Rae‘s nest of socialist maggots is doomed to fail. Labor union cliches are so dated they are as embarrassing to hear recited as an ancient prayer from a long-dead cult.