(Steven Hayward) It is not very often that I have anything favorable to say about Woodrow Wilson, arguably America’s worst president. But like the blind squirrel finding an acorn or a stopped clock being right twice a day, once in a while you find something unexpected. In a message to Congress in 1919, Wilson wrote: “The Congress might well consider whether the higher rates of income and profits tax can in peacetimes
Author: Steven Hayward
The Daily Chart: About Those Russia Sanctions
(Steven Hayward) It is generally understood that economic sanctions are seldom very effective in stopping aggression or deterring bad behavior. Decades of sanctions haven’t slowed down Iran or North Korea, and our sanctions on Russia seem not to be delivering the crippling blow we were promised. But the foreign policy experts and planners love them anyway. Bloomberg reports today: Russia Did Most Oil Drilling in Decade Even as Sanctions Hit Russian companies
Announcement: PLU Class Session 8: The Federalist on the Judiciary
(Steven Hayward) We’re going to hold our eighth Power Line University class session on The Federalist tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon at 3 pm Pacific time, where Lucretia and I will turn to the treatment of judicial review in The Federalist, which chiefly means papers 78 – 84. If you are able to join us live, here’s the Zoom link to use. The scope and nature of the judicial power was as uncertain and
Reminder: Power Line University in One Hour!
(Steven Hayward) Just your 6 pm Eastern time reminder that our next Power Line University class on The Federalist begins one hour from this posting (7 pm Eastern time). Lucretia has had some unavoidable scheduling problems crop up today and will be late for class, but I’ll be there to launch on time and carry on solo as long as possible. If you’re able to join us live, use this Zoom link.
The Daily Chart: Bloat for Blubberers
(Steven Hayward) Administrative bloat on university campuses is a familiar story, but worth keeping a constant spotlight on it until some university trustees or state legislatures (in the case of public universities) decide to wise up and do something about it. This first chart is more than a decade out of date, and surely the administrative cost numbers are much worse now. Especially when you see things like this Mark Perry chart
Thought for the Day: Hamilton on Biden’s Corruption
(Steven Hayward) News item: A government watchdog is demanding the US attorney probing Hunter Biden in Delaware investigate tens of millions in anonymous donations from China to the University of Pennsylvania, where an academic center is named for his father, President Biden. The Ivy League college raked in a total of $54.6 million from 2014 through June 2019 in donations from China, including $23.1 million in anonymous gifts starting in 2016, according
Loose Ends (201)
(Steven Hayward) • So all airline flights were grounded for several hours this morning because of software problems at the Federal Aviation Administration. Gosh, this might distract Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg from his all-important mission to remedy racist roads, and punishing Southwest Air Lines for their computer software problems. Southwest may be facing fines from the Dept. of Transportation, as well as reimbursing expenses for stranded passengers. Think anyone at the FAA
Live Podcast: PLU Lesson 3—Federalist 11-39, Tomorrow
(Steven Hayward) Power Line University will be back live in class again tomorrow starting at 4 pm Pacific time (7 pm Eastern), carrying on our consideration of The Federalist. I’ll be the lead presenter this week, covering some very interesting things Hamilton and Madison have to say about several issues in Federalist 11 – 20, such as taxation, leaving Europe in the rear view mirror, what they meant by the “new science
Thought for the Day: The Party Switch
(Steven Hayward) From Gerard Baker’s Wall Street Journal column today: In not much more than a generation, virtually all the protagonists, values and identities of ideological competition have swapped places. Not very long ago, college-educated professionals voted for Republicans in vast numbers, while blue-collar workers picked Democrats. Now a college degree is the most reliable indicator of Democratic preference; the proletariat is dependably Republican. Liberals used to be passionate defenders of free
The Daily Chart: Sports by Race
(Steven Hayward) My Sunday post on the ridiculous Scientific American headline about black men being exploited in NFL football—as if no white men ever get life-altering injuries on the playing field—brought up the question: just what is the “diversity” breakdown of major professional sports? Here it is: Observations: I believe there may be no Jews in the NBA, and less than five Asians. I have heard, but don’t know how to verify