Recent Viewpoints

Penna Dexter The official unemployment rate is low right now. In August, it was 4.9 percent for the fourth month in a row. The bad news is: there’s this huge pool of so-called missing workers, people who are neither employed, nor any longer seeking a job. People who have dropped out of the workforce, not because it was time to retire, but because they have given up on the possibility of finding a job they are qualified for. If there…

Kerby Anderson Although candidates have been talking about jobs and raising wages, they haven’t done as well talking about how they will accomplish that. John Goodman and Laurence Kotlikoff have looked at the economic proposals put forth by the campaigns and found one policy change that would make a real difference. Donald Trump’s campaign has a policy paper that has the potential of increasing the income of the average family by an estimated $4,000 within the next four years. Here’s…

Kerby Anderson Are conservative Christians being targeted for their beliefs? Many would say that they have been targeted, but can you really prove that? If you are a baker or a photographer or a florist who declines to participate in a same-sex ceremony, you will pay a price. If you cannot in good conscience prescribe an abortifacient, you will come under scrutiny. I have written about such examples in previous commentaries. Professor George Yancey is well aware of the penalties…

Kerby Anderson Donald Trump has said that he will build a wall and force Mexico to pay for it. Although that might sound extreme, if you look at a map of boundary walls and fences published in the Economist, you find that other nations have done the same thing. For example, Mexico announced it would create a barrier between its country and Guatemala. Brazil eventually could have a boundary barrier between it and every other country that borders it in…

Penna Dexter There’s a restrictive atmosphere that’s taken hold at colleges and universities across the nation. We have to ask, what happened to these institutions’ longstanding claims to provide environments for the open exchange of ideas? Increasingly, in response to protests and demands by students, only certain —mostly left-leaning — perspectives on things are allowed. Speakers are invited and then disinvited or shouted down when it becomes apparent their conservative positions will offend a segment of the student body. Reading…

Kerby Anderson If you want to understand why borders are important, all you need to do is look at what is happening in Europe. The chaos that resulted from a flood of refugees from Syria and other countries illustrates why borders and border security are important. Yet in the midst of this chaos, we have the head of the European Union declaring that: “Borders are the worst invention ever made by politicians.” Some believe his outrageous comment will make it…

 Kerby Anderson Imagine the challenge you face if you want to implement strict gun control policies. The American people aren’t interested in what amounts to gun bans. So you need another strategy to get rid of guns. There might just be a way. A professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says that it is dangerous for our senior citizens to own a gun. She believes that California’s Gun Violence Restraining Orders provide a way that families can…

Penna Dexter The Affordable Care Act, better known as ObamaCare, keeps on offering us new surprises. Throughout the ACA that Congress passed in 2010 was language granting the Secretary of Health and Human Services discretion to formulate rules to implement the law. In the years since, HHS has rolled out one radical implementing measure after another. The Department announced a doozie in May! This one forces doctors to perform gender transition surgeries on patients even if the doctor objects or…

Kerby Anderson Student debt is a major problem today for the younger generation, and it has become a significant campaign issue. A recent op-ed by Susan Dynarski in the New York Times changed my perspective on the issue of student debt. Let’s consider the basic numbers. Politicians often cite two numbers: one trillion and seven million. Student borrowers owe more than $1 trillion. Seven million of these borrowers are in default. It is tempting to connect these two facts and…

by Kerby Anderson Bill Nye is known as “the science guy.” His recent YouTube video marks him more as the “pro abortion guy” who attempts to argue for abortion on the basis of his scientific understanding. Professors Robert George and Patrick Lee pointed out in a recent column, it appears “the science guy” is the one who doesn’t understand logic and science. Bill Nye’s video many times uses a non sequitur to make a point. This is a logical fallacy…

Kerby Anderson Is abstinence education a failure? One would certainly think so looking at some of the statistics being printed in various newspapers. But anyone willing to dig deeper will find that these statistics are sometimes misleading. First, let’s look at the overall trend. During the 1970s and 1980s, comprehensive sex education was being introduced into the schools. The proponents talked about condoms and so-called “safe sex.” What happened during this period? Teen sexual activity rates rose, and pregnancy and…