Recent Viewpoints

Penna Dexter In a slow moment at Starbucks, one of my favorite young baristas chatted about how she and her boyfriend divide the cooking duties. She also mentioned they recently moved here from halfway across the country. Her revelations made me think about how much has changed due to the sexual revolution. Activities and events that used to take place within marriage now often happen outside of it. In addition to sex and intimacy, unmarried couples share residences, cooking, bill-paying,…

Kerby Anderson If I were to ask you which professions have high suicide rates, you would probably mention military veterans suffering from PTSD. In their latest report, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have found that the suicide rate for young male military veterans is higher than previously thought. But they found that it is lower in some states than the suicide rate for farmers. The high suicide rate for farmers is only just now beginning to get media attention….

Kerby Anderson Sadly, it has become trendy in some circles to say that the world would be a better place without religion in general and Christianity in particular. I really do wonder if professors, commentators, and people on social media really believe this or are just saying it without any serious reflection. As I like to sometimes say to my atheist acquaintances, I see lots of Catholic hospitals, Presbyterian hospitals, and Baptist hospitals. I have never seen a humanist hospital….

Kerby Anderson Many members of the millennial generation think they are special. At least that is the conclusion of a recent study of college students. One newspaper report on the study put it this way: “If you asked a college freshman today who the Greatest Generation is, they might respond by pointing in a mirror.” The study of college students documented young people’s unprecedented level of self-infatuation. Psychologist Jean Twenge found that over the last four decades of research on…

Kerby Anderson Over the years I have written about how people in high tax states have been migrating to low tax states. Unfortunately, many politicians in those states want to argue that tax rates don’t affect investment or even migration. The latest data from the IRS demonstrates once again we have tax migration. Between 2012 and 2015, a net of $8.5 billion in adjusted gross income left New Jersey and $6.2 billion left Connecticut. Illinois, for example, lost $13.6 billion….

Kerby Anderson Are single-parent families just as good for children as two-parent families? Some of the headlines recently in newspapers and newsmagazines seem to say so. But all you have to do is look back at academic studies to see that, in nearly every case, two parents are better than one. One older family study deserves renewed attention. Dr. Patrick Fagan, using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, found two important factors. Children who grow up in an…

Penna Dexter The US Department of Health and Human Services took steps, in recent days, to correct a troubling injustice initiated by the previous administration. Three years ago, HHS issued a rule, under the Affordable Care Act, that redefined ‘sex discrimination’ to include ‘gender identity.’ In addition, the rule included ‘pregnancy termination’ — i.e. abortion — in this non-discrimination clause. The rule was immediately challenged and has been on hold since 2016. In practice, it would have forced doctors to perform…

Kerby Anderson One of the reasons the fertility rate in America has been dropping is due to the rising cost of raising a child. Every few years, the Department of Agriculture recalculates the cost to raise a child in America. In fact, there is a USDA Cost of Raising a Child Calculator that you can use to personalize your calculations. One of the biggest factors in the increased cost of raising a child is due to childcare costs. The cost…

Kerby Anderson Twenty-nine years ago, Allan Bloom wrote the book, The Closing of the American Mind. Charles Koch wrote an op-ed with the same title. There are some similarities between the two, but also one important difference. Charles Koch looks back at the revolutionary technological advances we have made and now take for granted. He is concerned that government and the academy are stifling progress. When he attended MIT, he discovered that “scientific and technological progress requires the free and…

Kerby Anderson The plight of persecuted Christians is worse than ever. That is the conclusion of a recent report by Aid to the Church in Need. It documents that the persecution of Christians today is worse than at any time in history. “Not only are Christians more persecuted than any other faith groups, but ever-increasing numbers are experiencing the very worst forms of persecution.” In some countries the situation is already severe, so it is hard to imagine how it…

Kerby Anderson Two recent articles illustrate our uncertainty about the future of technology. One proclaims that “More than 70% of US fear robots taking over our lives.” Another is the special edition of Time that believes “Artificial Intelligence: The Future of Humankind.” A recent Pew Research poll found that 72 percent of Americans “express wariness or concern about a world where machines perform any of the tasks done by humans.” That is more than double the number (33%) who were enthusiastic…