Scott Powell

2018 Comes in Like a Lion

If there is one thing about which most economists understand and agree it's the law of supply and demand. A derivative of that law is that demand and velocity of transactions tend to diminish as costs increase.

It’s Time to Prosecute the Clinton Political Crime Syndicate

Few would deny that the ascendance of the United States from colonial poverty to the world’s top economic and military superpower in just 200 years is largely attributable to principles and rule of law in our founding documents enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation and What It Means Today

When Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the church door in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517, 500 years ago this October 31, he probably had no idea what forces he was unleashing. Although his intention was to spur reform within the Catholic Church rather than breaking off and starting a new church, he ended up accomplishing both.

Revisiting Orwell to Understand our Times

Just two or three generations ago, most Americans understood that George Orwell's classics Animal Farm and 1984 were written to explain how freedom is lost to totalitarianism and the intolerance that accompanies it.

Repealing Obamacare is Key to Economic Recovery

For the last seven-plus years, Republicans ran on repealing and replacing Obamacare. It was a winning platform, demonstrated by their gaining seats in Congress in almost every election since Obama was elected in 2008—achieving a majority in the House in 2010, a majority in the Senate in 2014, and finally the White House in 2016.

Message to Republicans: In War there is No Substitute for Victory

Who would have ever thought that the United States could face a coup attempt against its duly elected President? But for all intents and purposes that’s what’s going down. It’s a derivative of an old-fashioned, third world banana republic mob-style coup that is brewing against Donald Trump.

Travel from Countries Harboring Terrorists Should be Restricted

President Trump has been working at breakneck speed since inauguration, and perhaps more care should have been exercised in drafting the executive order imposing a 90-day travel ban from seven designated countries known for lawlessness and harboring terrorists.

Real Risk is Blackmail, Not Just Interference with U.S. Politics

After the flap about Russia passing on internal emails and communiques from the DNC to Wikileaks who made public—on the eve of the DNC convention—documents that showed that the fix had been in on Bernie Sanders, all hell broke loose a few days later on Wednesday when Donald Trump dropped his bombshell.

P.C. – R.I.P.

There should be no surprise that former Weather Underground terrorist Bill Ayers, who played a role in launching the political career of Barack Obama, was found among the street demonstrators in Chicago who succeeded in forcefully disrupting and shutting down Republican frontrunner Donald Trump’s campaign rally on March 11, injuring two police officers who were trying to maintain order.

Sanctuary Cities, Immigration Reform and Heightened Vigilance

In the wake of the San Francisco murder of Kate Steinle by serial illegal immigrant Francisco Sanchez—a story garnering national headline attention—the spotlight on immigration debate has now shifted to sanctuary policies adopted by some 275 U.S cities to protect illegal aliens from the reach of federal law enforcement.

Trans-Pacific Partnership is about more than Trade

Most common sense people rightly assume that reducing trade barriers is good in and of itself. But it's a mistake to think that the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) involving the U.S., Canada and ten other countries that is close to being concluded after six plus years of negotiation under the Obama administration is primarily a free trade pact. It's also a misstep to grant the Obama administration with fast-track authority and the attendant secrecy on all details of this trade pact.

Obama Turns Machiavelli on His Head

The most quoted political wisdom from Machiavelli is that “it is better to feared than it is to be loved.” President Obama’s Middle East policy may well go down as the turning point in U.S. policy in which Machiavelli was turned on his head, setting the stage for the whirlwind of chaos and war.

The Real State of the Union and Simple Steps for Improvement

With a new year often comes anticipation and optimism. And this year the State of the Union address comes before a new Congress—a Republican majority in both the House and Senate.

2015 Needs to be the Year of Normalization at the Fed

Ordinarily, the plunging oil prices experienced during the last three months would be welcomed as beneficial for the economy--lowering transportation costs and stimulating consumer spending. But these are not normal times, and the sharp 45% drop in oil prices can trigger a larger financial market crisis and a recessionary contraction.

Republican Leadership: What are You Prepared to Do?

Fresh off their mid-term tidal wave, the Republicans now face the same dilemma as in the story line of “The Untouchables”—the 1987 classic about dealing with Al Capone in Chicago. As Sean Connery asked Kevin Costner, “What are you prepared to do?” Republican leadership must now decide what they are prepared to do to stop a President hell bent on taking executive action that ignores the Constitution and overturns current U.S. immigration law, by granting amnesty to 4-5 million illegal immigrants—a policy objective that a majority of Americans reject.

Obama’s Actions Against ISIS Asymmetrical and Ineffective

Recently Pope Francis declared that “the persecution of Christians today is even greater than in the first centuries of the Church, and there are more Christian martyrs today than in that era.” The slaughter of 200,000 Christians in the Darfur region of Sudan since 2011 may not have received the attention it deserved. But now the religious cleansing of Christians in Iraq resulting from Islamic jihadists’ conquest of lands Christians had called home since the first centuries A.D. cannot be ignored.

Middle East Chaos Requires Action on Energy Independence

What has suddenly become obvious is the extent to which President Obama’s imprudent policy-making decisions have compounded problems with unintended and unacceptable consequences.

What the Brat nomination means for November

If the U.S. government was a parliamentary system, Barack Obama’s Democratic Party rule would have collapsed by now with a vote of no-confidence. In our Constitutional system of fixed terms and elections, there may be no clearer sign of an impending political realignment then when a Congressional Majority Leader goes down in a primary defeat to an underfunded almost unknown opponent—college professor Dave Brat. Brat’s plain-spoken grass-roots campaign won by successfully connecting with average people and effectively communicating a clear and simple message of commitment to a balanced budget and a limited government with common sense limited priorities. Many pundits have declared the Brat triumph as a Tea Party victory.

Obama's Fundamental Transformation of the U.S. Energy Sector

Just when you expect President Obama to moderate his domestic economic policies that have stifled job growth and fostered an anemic recovery following the passage of his two signature pieces of legislation--the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Affordable Care Act--it gets worse.

Obama’s Mysterious Keystone Pipeline Opposition Policy

With memories of OPEC’s oil embargo and the cartel’s ongoing ability to manipulate markets, it should be cause for celebration that the U.S. is on the cusp of energy independence and lower prices.