Recent Viewpoints

Penna Dexter Psychoanalyst Erica Komisar is a therapist to families and especially children in private practice in New York City. Her periodic columns for the Wall Street Journal on childrearing are treasures. I first noticed the one on why moms should prioritize being home with their babies for their first three years. This practical wisdom almost goes without saying. Some of her points might shock or seem retro if they weren’t timeless and backed up with stats and tons of…

Kerby Anderson Lately politicians on both the left and the right have been criticizing capitalism. Senator Elizabeth Warren calls for “accountable capitalism.” Senator Marco Rubio proposes what could be called “common-good capitalism.” Senator Bernie Sanders proposes “democratic socialism as an alternative to unfettered capitalism.” By the way, they aren’t the only ones using the term. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz argues in his book, A Bit of Everything, for a new social contract. He says we need to get rid…

Kerby Anderson The common refrain from Democratic presidential candidates proposing massive spending programs is that only the rich will be heavily taxed. They insist we could afford a European-style welfare state if only we taxed the rich like they do in Europe. The editors at the Wall Street Journal have an answer to that: “Europe’s beleaguered middle class knows better.” First, let’s admit that most European nations do have larger welfare and entitlement programs than in America. Part of the…

Kerby Anderson It is hard to imagine that very many Americans who voted for Donald Trump did so because of his foreign policy statements. And he has received lots of criticism for his mercurial foreign policy proposals. But he has brought economic and diplomatic pressure on three of America’s adversaries. In a recent column, Victor Davis Hanson sums up our current standoff with China, Iran, and North Korea. Trump’s critics described him as a Don Quixote “tilting at Chinese windmills”…

Kerby Anderson Science is headed into uncharted territory. That’s why we need a reliable science guide to navigate our journey. Dr. Michael Guillen provides that guidance in his book, The End of Life as We Know It. For years he was the Emmy award-winning science correspondent for ABC News. He was on my radio program to talk about the book and his truth tour. He addresses four areas of concern: the web, the robot, the spy, and the Frankenstein. He…

Kerby Anderson Every time Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg enters a hospital, speculation surfaces concerning her health and future. She is a cancer survivor who has occasionally missed oral arguments. But she isn’t about to step down because she (and other liberals) fear who would replace her. But there may be a reasonable solution to how presidents appoint justices to the Supreme Court. Perhaps it is time to consider term limits for the Supreme Court. Even though that sounds…

Penna Dexter Candidates on the far left are proposing to tax the rich — big time. They need revenue to fund their massive spending plans and also want to deliver their version of economic justice to the country. Senator Elizabeth Warren says, “we want to build an America that works for the people, not one that just works for rich folks.” She has unveiled tax proposals that, added together, would push federal tax rates for some multi-millionaires and billionaires above…

Kerby Anderson What is the American Creed? That is a question David Gelernter asks in his book, America-Lite. He has been on my radio program to talk about his book and his op-ed that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. He is a fascinating individual. He received two degrees in classical Hebrew literature, but then became a professor of computer science at Yale University. Some have called him a “rock star” in the world of computing. You might also remember…

Kerby Anderson The marriage rate in America has been in decline for many years. Consider that in the year 2000, married 25-to-34-year-olds outnumbered their never married peers (55% to 34%). By 2015, however, those percentages were almost reversed (40% to 53%). Young people are not getting married for a variety of reasons. Many economists argue that men are avoiding marriage because they have lower wages and want to increase their income before asking a woman to marry them. But the…

Kerby Anderson Major depression has “surged” in the US among younger Americans. That is according to a report based on medical and survey information conducted by Blue Cross Blue Shield. The survey looked at 41 million people covered under the insurance plan. Why the dramatic increase? Perhaps further study will give more definitive answers, but the report had some educated guesses. The researchers suspect that online activities, such as social media and video games, might be part of the problem….

Kerby Anderson Senator Josh Hawley gave a speech about American life that was a reminder of the social and cultural problems that don’t have an easy political fix. Columnist Michael Brendan Dougherty concludes that the Missouri senator might be “the most interesting thinker the U.S. Senate has seen since Daniel Patrick Moynihan.” The senator first denounced what he called the American “oligarchy.” We as a society feel lots of discontent, often bred by those in power. And it is a…