capitalism

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A Free and Independent Press

Thursday, March 9th, 2023

On February 27, 1968, Walter Cronkite changed history. Cronkite was a household name by that time. During the 40s, 50s and 60s, he covered everything from Second World War to the Olympics.  Cronkite gained the trust of the American people by telling the truth. As the host of the CBS Evening News, Cronkite told the […]

Keep the Vultures off Social Security and Medicare

Thursday, February 23rd, 2023

Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.” Liberals showed you who they are by creating and defending Social Security and Medicare.  Conservatives showed you who they were by opposing and undermining Social Security and Medicare.  In 1935 Franklin Delano Roosevelt championed Social Security during the Great Depression.  […]

Public Service vs. Private Profit

Thursday, September 15th, 2022

Conservatives have been pretty clear about one aspect of their governing philosophy.  They say that they will run government like a business.  Liberals, however, see government as public services.  The results are dramatically different. Liberal policies shaped American politics after the Great Depression.  Franklin Delano Roosevelt provided a role model for creating government services.  The […]

It’s the Market Stupid

Wednesday, May 11th, 2022

One year and 4 months after Donald Trump took occupancy of the White House, gas price averages rose from $2.46 to $2.99 per gallon.  Two years later, in May 2020, the average price per gallon had fallen to $1.96. What causes these wild swings?  What had Donald done in office? Nothing. Oil companies, not the […]

Break Big Oil’s Monopoly

Thursday, March 17th, 2022

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result. The first oil shock happened in 1973. Energy prices are set by “the market. The global energy market keeps failing us. We have known the market is failing us for 49 years.  We know what can fix it: conservation and competition.  Conservatives […]

Natural Monopolies

Friday, March 11th, 2022

In 1776, Adam Smith published a ground breaking book, The Wealth of Nations. Smith introduced the French phrase laissez-faire to the English speaking world.  The phrase best translates as “free market.” Smith criticized European monarchs for subsidizing domestic production and granting monopolies for foreign trade. He argued that monarch redistributed income from small farmers and […]

Unreliable Energy

Thursday, June 17th, 2021

Here we go again.  ERCOT, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, has warned us that the Texas power grid is about to fail.  That doesn’t sound very reliable to me. It must sound reliable to Greg Abbot and Dan Patrick. They failed to provide solutions in the last legislative session.  A few ERCOT Board members did […]

Progressive America

Thursday, March 4th, 2021

I am proud to live in Modern America.  America is a progressive country.  Our democracy allows us to create laws to improve our lives.  Over the past 230 years much has changed for the better. The progress has been slow but steady.  In the 1820s white laborers won the right to vote.  In the 1870s […]

Safe and Secure Markets

Thursday, February 25th, 2021

Markets are truly a human wonder. They allow us to buy products which we lack the skill, resources or time to make for ourselves.  We rarely think about markets until they leave us in the cold. Markets are simply part of our everyday life.  We shop for food and clothing.  Sometimes we make big decisions […]

Home of the Brave

Saturday, February 22nd, 2020

“People who have opportunity to work and earn, and who have an assured income in their old age, are free. They are free of the fear of poverty. They are free of public or private charity. They can live happier, more useful lives. That’s real freedom. And that is something we should be proud of-that’s […]

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