BROWSE BY CONTRIBUTOR
Jobs, Political Power and Upcoming Elections
Today, I’m going to take a step back from the day-to-day of shutdowns and other nonsense, and look at three issues from a broader perspective.
Economics and the Cold Civil War
Bill Clinton beat George H.W. Bush for president in 1992 in no small part because of his campaign’s focus on “it’s the economy, stupid”. There were many other issues, as there always are. But the country was in recession and Clinton was able to lay the fault for that firmly at the feet of the incumbent president. It is hard for the party in power to win elections if the economy is in bad shape. There are many examples of this.
Not Backing Down
Tom Petty wrote this song after an arsonist set fire to his home in 1987. He believed it was a targeted attempt to murder him and his family, who were all home and having breakfast at the time. It was also his wife’s birthday. He was heavily impacted by the event and wrote the song “I Won’t Back Down” as a testament to not letting such terrorizing stop him from performing and writing music.
We Are All Charlie Kirk
I have been writing this missives for over 25 years now. The last time I wrote one about this grave an event was in September of 2011. My friend Hugh Hewitt said on his radio show last week the the three most impactful events in his adult life were 9/11, October 7th and the assassination of Charlie Kirk in that order. I differ only in that I would put Charlie Kirk’s death above October 7th because it happened in the United States. I didn’t sleep for two nights after hearing about the assassination. It has profoundly affected me. And I know it did the same for many of you.
Manufactured Crises
There are real problems out there. Not exactly a news flash, I understand. Yet somehow the Democratic Party ignores real problems and focuses on “problems” that they have manufactured out of thin air. This is not accidental. It is a strategy. They see it as a feature, not a bug.
Economic Musings
I am a guest on the Hugh Hewitt show most Wednesdays. Hugh has taken to primarily asking me about economic matters. That is, after all, in my wheelhouse as a CPA. And in elected office, the only committees I served on were all economy or budget related. I have gotten a lot of feedback from these appearances that people find my musings on these matters useful. So, here goes my perspective on the major economic forces at the moment.
Governor Reagan c1974
The Captivating Mrs. Campbell (my wife of 46 years) has been going through some of her old things. This was inspired by having to deal with cleaning out her recently passed mother’s house. Amongst the things that she found was a yellowed Xerox copy on legal sized paper of the speech that then California Governor Ronald Reagan gave at her high school graduation.
The Economy Debt and Taxes after the BBB
So, the One Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) passed. This is an epic accomplishment for Trump, Speaker Johnson and Majority Leader Thune, given the united opposition by every Democrat and the razor thin Republican majorities in each house. During my time in Congress, I saw us (Republicans) fail to pass many bills when we had bigger majorities. I have long pointed out that Democrats come together on policy much more easily than Republicans because they are collectivists by nature and ideology. That is why they identify everyone by group rather than as individuals and why they believe unions are necessary. Republicans, on the other hand, are individualists by nature believing in the power and dignity of the individual over any group. Therefore, many Republicans revel in their independence from the “herd”. Democrats are sheep and Republicans are cats.
Leadership
Leadership is important. Be that in the military, a business, a family or a country, the right leadership can determine whether the entity being led experiences success or failure.