John A. Parnell, Ph.D.
Obamacare is unconstitutional. The federal government lacks the authority to compel citizens to engage in commerce. Let’s hope at least 5 of the 9 justices on the Supreme Court get this one right. But while this issue is the focal point of libertarians and conservatives, there’s a deeper concern that is sometimes overlooked. The purchase […]
Read MoreA February 2021 USA Today/Gallup poll on Obamacare revealed some interesting statistics: 1. Americans are divided (45% vs 44%) on whether Congress did a good or bad thing by passing the law. 2. 72% of respondents believe the law is unconstitutional; 20% believe it is Constitutional. A very interesting take-away point from this survey is […]
Read MoreThe Federal Reserve’s easy money policy has been keeping interest rates below the long-term expected rate of inflation. Many see this as a big plus for Americans struggling to survive the down economy, particularly those who wish to purchase or refinance a home. There are many reasons why this is simply not true, one of […]
Read MoreWhen it comes to the Chevy Volt, the market has spoken. The Volt is not ready for prime time. The facts are clear. GM sold 7671 Volts in 2011, short of its target of 10,000. GM sold about 1600 Volt in January and February this year, a far cry from the pace needed to reach […]
Read MoreThe price of oil has almost doubled since Barack Obama was elected president. Candidate Obama blamed Bush’s “ties to big oil,” but President Obama claims there’s no silver bullet to lower the price. Moreover, he ridicules Republican calls for drilling. In his view, our energy salvation can only be found in alternative energy which, of […]
Read MoreCongress passed an extension of the payroll tax cut on Friday in a package deal. The bill enjoyed widespread but not universal support among both Republicans and Democrats. I see this package as election year defense so it’s probably not worth going through it item by item. Suffice to say that it does nothing to […]
Read MoreHugo Chavez has been fighting capitalism in Venezuela since he became president in 1998. From confiscatory taxes on the rich to the nationalization of private companies, Chavez has “fundamentally changed” the nation. Blessed with plentiful natural resources, one would expect Venezuela to be the shining star of South America. Instead, OPEC’s fifth largest oil producer […]
Read MorePresident Obama’s home mortgage relief plan is the latest in a series of bad ideas. Like most government intervention, it sounds reasonable to the casual listener. But there are serious problems. “Right now, there are more than 10 million homeowners in this country who, because of a decline in home prices that is no fault of […]
Read MoreNothing is more central to Marxist thought than class envy. The argument is simple: The rich got what they have unfairly so a central authority is needed to make things fair again. This line of reasoning has been extended to other groups as well, especially women and ethnic minorities. The problem with this thinking is […]
Read MoreI get lots of questions about the gold standard. Many ridicule the idea and infer that linking paper currency to a precious metal is an outdated concept. A detailed discussion on the gold standard would take volumes, but I will cover the basics in this post. A gold standard means that all paper money can […]
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