Not dead yet
January 14, 2016
By Kathleen Parker Reports of Jeb Bush’s political death may be greatly exaggerated. Not only is Bush essentially locked in a statistical tie for second place in New Hampshire,…
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The next recession?
January 12, 2016
By Robert J. Samuelson It’s hard not to wonder: Is the stock market telling us something? True, the market’s record in forecasting recessions is horrendous. Stocks often move according…
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The Republicans’ civil war
January 11, 2016
By Robert J. Samuelson The Donald Trump phenomenon ranks as the great political story of 2015 — and maybe 2016 — but could it simply be a subplot of…
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The “hollowing” of the middle class?
January 11, 2016
By Robert J. Samuelson We’ll be hearing a lot about the middle class in the coming months. That’s one sure bet for 2016, as both parties compete for votes.…
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Obsessed with guns
January 11, 2016
By Kathleen Parker It is axiomatic that congressional Republicans will oppose anything smacking of “gun control,” which may as well be read as “Your mama.” Thus, it comes as…
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Can we set the world’s temperature?
January 4, 2016
By Robert J. Samuelson On climate change, curb your enthusiasm. It’s not that the recent international conference in Paris didn’t take significant steps to check global warming. It did.…
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America’s stubborn poverty
January 4, 2016
By Robert J. Samuelson Should we fight the “war on poverty” all over again? Well, yes. That’s the recommendation of a group of liberal and conservative poverty scholars, who…
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How Trump does it
January 4, 2016
By Robert J. Samuelson Welcome to what I’ve called “the politics of self-esteem.” By this, I mean that increasing numbers of people, on both the right and left and…
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Trump’s embarrassment of riches
January 4, 2016
By Kathleen Parker The biggest political news is that Donald Trump may be doing even better than polls have suggested. Yikes. Apparently, many Trump supporters have been fibbing to…
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Can we talk?
January 4, 2016
By Kathleen Parker When President Obama addressed the nation following the terrorist attacks in San Bernardino, he reiterated the call to resist animus toward Muslims. This was a familiar…
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Top Ten SC Leaders in 2015
December 29, 2015
By Alan Cooper Publisher, MidlandsBiz The following is a recap of comments that I made on the South Carolina Business Review with Mike Switzer. It has been an…
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The startup slump
December 28, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson There’s more discouraging news about American business — specifically about entrepreneurship. We confidently assume that we have the world’s most entrepreneurial nation, and the proof…
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‘Liftoff’ at the Fed
December 28, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson Barring an unforeseen calamity, the Federal Reserve will raise short-term interest rates this week. Among Fed watchers, this is known as “liftoff.” The analogy is…
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Donald Rodham Trump?
December 28, 2015
By Kathleen Parker Gee, wonder what Hillary Clinton has been up to? If you haven’t heard much about her lately, it’s because Clinton news has been as scarce as…
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Women in combat put men at risk
December 28, 2015
By Kathleen Parker Crickets. This was the sound of America reacting to news earlier this month that all military positions, including ground combat, will be opened to women. It…
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Generational conflict: another view
December 14, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson Comes now economist Gary Burtless of the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank, with another view of government spending on the elderly. People like me…
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Cybergeddon
December 14, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson When it comes to cyberwar and cyberterrorism, we need to think the unthinkable, says veteran TV journalist Ted Koppel. And for Koppel, the unthinkable is…
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The multinational tax muddle
December 14, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson Whoever wins the White House next year will have to deal with an issue of almost-impenetrable complexity and contentiousness: How to tax multinational companies? On…
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Waging war outside the box
December 14, 2015
By Kathleen Parker Americans looking for a Snuggy Bear and a blankey to ease their anxieties about the Islamic State will have to become more comfortable with ambiguity and…
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The few, the foolish
December 14, 2015
By Kathleen Parker As the Islamic State amped up attacks around the world, the Pentagon responded by bravely announcing that American women will now be put in direct ground…
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Generational warfare, anyone?
December 7, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson An enduring puzzle of our politics is why there isn’t more generational conflict. By all rights, younger Americans should be resentful. Not only have they…
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Deranged and dangerous
December 7, 2015
By Kathleen Parker Predictably, the killing rampage at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood facility has prompted a political scrimmage of the usual sort. From the pro-choice front, we hear…
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The pathology of Trump-itis
December 7, 2015
By Kathleen Parker Surely he’s finally gone and done it now. Donald Trump, insulter extraordinaire, was bound to cross a line too far. Two days before Thanksgiving, he made…
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Crazy is as crazy does
November 30, 2015
By Kathleen Parker One week, Beirut and Paris; the next week, Mali. The nightmare is young. Where next? The pace and threat of terror seem to have picked up,…
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Education is Key to Financial Health
November 30, 2015
By Curtis M. Loftis, Jr. South Carolina State Treasurer As State Treasurer, I believe that achieving a strong financial future for our children is crucial to achieving a strong…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: education, government, headlines, op-ed
For thin-skinned students, we have nobody to blame but ourselves
November 28, 2015
By Kathleen Parker It would be easy to call protesting college students crybabies and brats for pitching hissy fits over hurt feelings, but this likely would lead to such…
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The new battlefield
November 23, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson The horrific massacre in Paris reminds us of the Achilles’ heel of American foreign policy. Ever since World War II, our foreign policy has rested…
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Why Fannie and Freddie survived
November 23, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson One of the most interesting and uncovered stories these days is the survival of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the giant housing entities created…
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Fear and loathing in America
November 23, 2015
By Kathleen Parker We shouldn’t be surprised that many Americans fear the fresh arrival of Syrian refugees in the wake of last week’s Paris slaughter by jihadists, including at…
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True Trump
November 23, 2015
By Kathleen Parker DES MOINES, Iowa – You can’t drive far in these parts without seeing Ben Carson on a billboard, looking more like a man of the cloth…
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The war against ExxonMobil
November 15, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson If you care about free speech, you should pay attention to the campaign now being waged against ExxonMobil. More than 50 environmental and civil rights…
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Dr. Carson, I presume?
November 15, 2015
By Kathleen Parker In the annals of presidential politics, it’s hard to recall anyone who has tried so hard to be so ordinary. The fascinating story of Dr. Ben…
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Bushes unleashed
November 15, 2015
By Kathleen Parker If the truth sets us free, then Bush family members should be warbling from rooftops. At least one Bush, patriarch George H.W. Bush, has been singing…
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The coming middle-class tax increase
November 8, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson There is no tooth fairy. Republicans and Democrats take note. Taxes will surely continue to play a big role in the presidential campaign. The Republicans…
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Channeling Cassandra
November 8, 2015
By Kathleen Parker As Republican presidential candidates debate the debates, roiling and railing against the unfairness of it all, campaigns have been busy rebooting candidates and crafting fresh slogans.…
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Clash of the Floridians
November 8, 2015
By Kathleen Parker Soon after Wednesday night’s Republican debate, the phone rang: “Did the fat lady sing?” asked the voice on the other end. “Probably,” I said. Meaning, it…
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Debunking offshore drilling in South Carolina
November 4, 2015
By Terry Munson The second worst thing that could happen to Georgetown County on the energy front is to have no oil/natural gas jobs materialize. The very worst thing…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz Category: environmental, headlines, on-the-move, op-ed
Grading the budget deal
November 4, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson Give it a B-minus. The budget deal reached by congressional leaders has much to recommend it. Its biggest virtue, assuming it’s passed by Congress and…
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Dump the debt ceiling
October 31, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson By now, it must be obvious to almost everyone that the federal debt ceiling has outlived whatever usefulness it once had. It does not discipline…
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Jeb’s fight club
October 31, 2015
By Kathleen Parker When all else is failing, reinvent yourself. This is the new strategy of Jeb Bush’s campaign. He’s not going to be so nice anymore. Emerging from…
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Paging Sidney Blumenthal
October 31, 2015
By Kathleen Parker Who the blast is Sidney Blumenthal? Doubtless many watching Thursday’s House select committee hearing on Benghazi must have wondered the same. This obviously important person’s name…
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Are we No. 1? It depends
October 25, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson Americans have long been fascinated with global rankings. Where do we stand? How do we compare with other nations? We like to imagine ourselves as…
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The flight from reality
October 25, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson We have all manner of policy proposals from the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates, but there’s a sobering disconnect between what they’re advocating and the…
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Jeb, Jeb, Jeb
October 25, 2015
By Kathleen Parker It might be time for Katie Couric to ask Jeb Bush what he reads. Not this column, obviously, where last May I sagely, if humbly, urged…
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A woman in full
October 25, 2015
By Kathleen Parker With the latest poll numbers tallied and political pundits having spoken, a consensus has emerged: Hillary Clinton won the first Democratic debate and, barring a Benghazi…
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The coming cyber wars?
October 19, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson We journalists often have mixed feelings about what we report and write. Naturally, we like to see our reporting vindicated by events or other reporting.…
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The Bernanke file
October 19, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson Reading former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s new memoir of the financial crisis — “The Courage to Act” — you are reminded how lucky we…
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The mysterious investment bust
October 19, 2015
By Robert J. Samuelson In a fascinating talk recently, Jason Furman — the White House’s chief economist — took a crack at solving a great puzzle of the lackluster…
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The Sanders-Trump magical mystery tour
October 19, 2015
By Kathleen Parker Barrels of ink and galaxies of pixels have been sacrificed to solving the mystery of the spectacular rise of Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. People are…
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Don’t do it, Paul Ryan
October 19, 2015
By Kathleen Parker The worst job in the world, it turns out, isn’t the U.S. presidency but speaker of the House of Representatives. “It’s where you go to die,”…
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