Recent Viewpoints

Kerby Anderson Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are coming. China already has a large-scale trial of their digital currency. European officials want to launch a digital euro in less than two years. And President Biden signed an executive order encouraging the Federal Reserve to study its feasibility. Two years ago, I wrote about the prospect of digital currencies because Chuck Bentley wrote about it in his book, Seven Gray Swans. He expressed the concern that moving to a cashless society…

Kerby Anderson Let me start with my conclusion. Don’t rewrite books. Lest you think this is a non-issue, just consider what has already happened to children’s classics written by Roald Dahl. The publisher has been encouraging the rewriting of books like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Fantastic Mr. Fox. Lest you think that this is a one-off, I have read that the James Bond books of Ian Fleming are being altered and even include a disclaimer. I mentioned that the…

Kerby Anderson It has been said that “taxation is the art of plucking the goose without making it squeal.” To pay for massive new government spending, politicians are devising new ways to get more golden eggs from the goose. That is why President Biden is lobbying for tax increases, so everyone pays their “fair share.” Rarely do politicians explain what the phrase “fair share” means, but you can be sure they mean that the tax rate needs to go up….

Penna Dexter There are about 100 pediatric gender clinics in the U.S. doing irreversible surgeries on youngsters that more than a few come to regret. One such person is Chloe Cole, age 18. I heard her story in a breakout session at a conference put on by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Chloe told us she began experiencing emotional struggles she believes were partially due to early puberty. Online, she found “expert advice” leading her to question her “gender assigned…

Kerby Anderson Over the last month, we have been talking about China. When talking about China, we usually talk about its strengths and technological developments. But there is another side to intelligence gathering illustrated by a speech given by Herbert Meyer, who served as a special assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence. He explained, “From the end of World War II until 1982, every president’s objective had been not to lose the Cold War.” When President Ronald Reagan came…

Kerby Anderson How trustworthy is the reporting in the New York Times? Fifty years ago, that question didn’t need to be asked. Everyone assumed that it was truthful and accurate. Patrick Maines (formerly with the Media Institute) reminds us that in 1972, the National Review published an analysis with the title, “Is it true what they say about the New York Times?” The editors concluded that the paper was balanced in his news pages, in contrast to it editorial pages….

Kerby Anderson Credit card debt is soaring to new records. The reason for this dramatic increase is simple: inflation. Americans with a fixed income have few choices when prices rise. They can cut back or go into debt. An increasing percentage of Americans are doing the latter. In the last three months of 2022, credit card balances increased by $61 billion to nearly $1 trillion ($986 billion). By the way, this smashed the previous record ($927 billion) that was recorded…

Kerby Anderson Freedom in this country depends upon three important foundations: morality, limits, and human rights. First, freedom depends on morality. John Adams observed, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” When the citizens have an internal moral compass, the size and scope of government can be small. There is no need for external laws and regulations from government. If people do what is right and…

Kerby Anderson The political battle over the Norfolk Southern train accident has now moved to debates about rules and regulations. And once again, it appears that progressive bureaucrats hold to the cliché: “never let a crisis go to waste.” First, let’s look at what we know. According to the preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board, the derailment in Ohio occurred because of an overheating wheel set. It was detected by a wayside safety device only after it had…

Penna Dexter We’re officially in Lent, the period of 40 days, which comes before Easter in the Christian calendar. It’s a time of preparation for Easter, and, in many Christian traditions, a season of remorse. I think Lent can serve a good purpose even for people who are not in liturgical churches and don’t observe or think about it much. During Lent we can take our hearts through a process to get them ready for Easter. Christians are often uncomfortable with a whole…

Kerby Anderson A week ago, I talked about entitlement spending and the impact it would have in the future, unless Congress was willing to modify the trajectory of Social Security and Medicare. Entitlement spending is a major contributor to the increasing federal debt. Are we headed toward a debt crisis? The US national debt now exceeds $31.5 trillion. We must service the interest on that debt. When President Joe Biden took office, the annual interest payments were $549 billion. According…