About John R. Smith

Some of my friends in national politics are terrified. Several sources tell me there’s a growing fear that the institutional pillars holding the republic together are starting to destabilize – and that the center may not hold. Free-market innovation fueled growth for the 20 years before the recent recession. But no more. Growth covers up [...]

A thought for all those New York Times readers who genuflect at any article appearing in the Times: There’s no doubt it has skilled writers, but what separates The Times from journalistic greatness is a political bias it denies exists. Exhibit A: the newspaper’s prolific “economics” columnist, Paul Krugman. Not long ago, a friend of [...]

Realists are forced to wonder how economic ignorance passes for knowledge among Barack Obama and his policy advisors. If you asked me to pick an economic plan for this country that assures a deeper plunge into the abyss, I would choose Obama’s financial strategy and budget. It’s the quickest route to more debt, bigger government, [...]

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has gone beyond oppressive. He’s become the poster boy for fed-up souls who groan, “God save us from well-intentioned people.” But this politician is creating far darker concerns. Bloomberg is the guy who banned the sale of large sugary drinks in his city in an attempt to reign as [...]

The “stomp Jesus” incident at Florida Atlantic University is in the news. But in truth, it’s merely a symptom of a far fatter can of worms crawling around America’s college campuses today. As part of an “intercultural communications” social studies class, an FAU instructor asked his students to write Jesus on a piece of paper [...]

I look forward to the highly informative, blockbuster academic study written 15-20 years from now by some economics professor at some Ivy League school. This report, benefiting from hindsight, will demystify what happens to Americans from now to then. This study will document how the country plunged into a period of reduced freedom, starting in [...]

Here’s a story about creeping greed to fund community projects that may or may not be worthy causes. Greed can tarnish the luster of good intentions, and Palm Beach County is not exempt from creeping greed. Now, it appears we may face it again. The news is out that local “officials agree” that they need [...]

Productive citizens can’t seem to find a way to change the direction in which Washington politicians are taking us. The “47 percent who are dependent” crowd Mitt Romney spoke of prefer the country’s present course. These are the folks who sup regularly and without shame at the public trough and help elect the politicians who [...]

I have a couple of friends who are profoundly ignorant of history. Their ignorance results in an irreversible wrongheadedness about the far-reaching wisdom and timeless value of America’s founding documents. My historically challenged friends lament the gridlocked mess that the Beltway crowd has foisted on us. They don’t understand how it ever got this bad [...]