The 2024 election will provide few solutions to the underlying pressures eroding American political norms. Regardless of the outcome, half the country will feel like they live under an occupational government.
We're often told that submission to government edicts is "voluntary" because we have "representative" government. The evidence suggests, however, that politicians don't represent their constituents. Nor could they, even if they wanted to.
Modern progressives are obsessed with collective guilt, demanding that Americans pay reparations for slavery even though it ended in the US 160 years ago. However, by employing collective guilt and collective punishment, those seeking reparations violate natural law.
Job growth was only positive in October because of government jobs, funded by huge federal deficits.
For nearly 30 years, the Fed has pursued an easy-money policy that has made the economy increasingly dependent upon the next round of “stimulus.” Reversing that policy will mean, at least in the short run, a stiff recession before the economy rebounds, which is a non-starter today.
The Fed lowers interest rates ostensibly to “stimulate” the economy. But while the Fed claims it is strengthening the economy, it actually weakens it through its easy-money policies.
Tariffs don‘t just raise consumer prices. They also affect capital flows and, on numerous occasions, have triggered stock market crises. What tariffs don‘t bring is prosperity.
Interventionists often claim that market economies naturally lead to monopolies, which mean there is no more economic competition. However, within market processes, there always is competition unless government authorties themselves block it.
Private-sector employment fell by 28,000 jobs in October. Overall job growth was only positive because of government jobs, funded by runaway federal deficits.
Using state power to enforce social orthodoxy is always a recipe for disaster. Radical Republican governments in the post-war South attempted to do just that, sowing seeds of hatred and discord in the process.
