2018 midterms: He vs. she
October 24, 2018
By Kathleen Parker Slowly but inevitably, the two major political parties have become the party of women and the party of men — guess which is which —…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Time to revive antitrust?
October 22, 2018
By Robert Samuelson Competition is dying. That’s the latest complaint against American business. We have too many super-sized firms, excessively large and unnaturally profitable. Dubious mergers, permitted by toothless antitrust…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
This column is CBD infused
October 21, 2018
By Kathleen Parker As a new-product junkie, it was foregone that I’d swap a C-note for something called CBD, a cannabis extract promising relief from pain and anxiety, the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
23andMeToo
October 17, 2018
By Kathleen Parker Now that the DNA is out of the bag, Sen. Elizabeth Warren can put her Native American heritage down for a nap — maybe. After two…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Cocktails in the Kanye-Trump asylum
October 15, 2018
By Kathleen Parker Amid hurricanes, a vanished journalist, the recent Supreme Court hearings, midterms and “mobs,” it is little wonder that Americans are drinking more than ever. Factually, this…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Probes of destruction
October 3, 2018
By Kathleen Parker As we continue examining Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s high school and college life, it has been easy to forget what this was originally all about.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Senator Jiminy Cricket
October 1, 2018
By Kathleen Parker Republican Sen. Jeff Flake may have become a momentary hero for Democrats hoping to block Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, but Sen. Lindsey Graham has cinched…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Liberalism 3.0?
September 24, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The Economist magazine is marking its 175th birthday with a special issue that looks back on its history and speculates about the future. It is a sobering…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Losing faith in the future?
September 19, 2018
By Robert Samuelson It has long been an accepted axiom in the United States — and also in many advanced democracies — that the future would be better than the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Is there a Kavanaugh doppelganger?
September 19, 2018
By Kathleen Parker In one of Brett Kavanaugh’s responses to allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl when he was in high school, a charge he has denied…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Warning from the almost-depression
September 16, 2018
By Robert Samuelson All during the 2008-09 financial crisis, Americans were told that the government was saving Wall Street not to protect overpaid bankers but to help Main Street avoid…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Eleventh-hour slander
September 16, 2018
By Kathleen Parker After several days of showboating and judicial hazing, Democrats pulled out their biggest weapon against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — a letter from an anonymous…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Legacies of the financial crisis
September 12, 2018
By Robert Samuelson Ten years after the 2008-09 financial crisis, we’re swamped with studies and reminiscences. What are the legacies of the crisis? How long will they endure? Are they…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Things left behind
September 12, 2018
By Kathleen Parker PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. — Tuesday morning, I did what millions of people have done in hundreds of places for centuries. I picked the few favorite items…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Handicapping the next financial crisis
September 5, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The news is better than you might think. A decade after the onset of the 2008-09 global financial crisis — an event usually dated to the bankruptcy…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Advise and dissent
September 4, 2018
By Kathleen Parker If you missed Day One of Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court hearing, just try to imagine a mud-wrestling contest attended by banshees howling at the referee. Between…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to — midterm elections?
September 3, 2018
By Kathleen Parker As the late Sen. John McCain’s departing call to national unity reverberated across America this past week, Donald Trump’s prediction of violence should Democrats prevail in…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Health care rules the labor market
September 2, 2018
By Robert Samuelson It’s wages vs. health benefits. On this Labor Day, just about everything seems to be going right for typical American workers, with the glaring and puzzling exception…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
NAFTA is dead — long live NAFTA
August 29, 2018
By Robert Samuelson When the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994, it was widely regarded — by friend and foe alike — as an ambitious experiment in…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Still arguing over Lehman
August 27, 2018
By Robert Samuelson Who lost Lehman Brothers? Could it have been saved? As we approach the 10th anniversary of Lehman’s collapse (Sept. 15), these questions won’t go away. The Lehman…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The juror who could save America
August 27, 2018
By Kathleen Parker Juror No. 0302 may not have sought fame, but Paula Duncan will long be remembered in connection with Paul Manafort, whom she and 11 others convicted…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Are we richer than we think?
August 22, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan think tank, put out an interesting report the other day, whose main conclusion is this: Much of the Great Recession’s economic…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Will what happens in Turkey stay in Turkey?
August 19, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The pertinent and unanswerable question about Turkey is whether the country’s present economic turmoil is an isolated event, mostly confined to Turkey itself, or whether it portends…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Will inflation kill the economy?
August 17, 2018
By Robert Samuelson Inflation is back. What do we do about it? For starters: Don’t ignore it. The latest consumer price index (CPI) — the government’s best-known inflation indicator —…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The Age of Malware
August 8, 2018
By Robert Samuelson Welcome to the Age of Malware. It promises to be a huge downer and, possibly, a great tragedy. For years, we have regarded personal computers, the internet,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The triumph of downward mobility
August 3, 2018
By Robert Samuelson It’s an axiom among many Americans that each future generation will live better than its predecessor. New technologies, greater efficiencies and a can-do spirit will reward us…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Uncle Rudy rattles the rafters
August 1, 2018
By Kathleen Parker Thank God for Uncle Rudy. You know Rudy — the eccentric, sometimes batty, uncle who lives in the attic? One thing about Rudy, he always seems…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Understanding the ETF debate
July 25, 2018
By Robert Samuelson Can we make sense of ETFs? If you’re in the investing class, you doubtlessly know that ETF stands for “exchange-traded fund.” Along with index mutual funds, they…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
S.C. earns high marks for fiscal transparency
July 22, 2018
By Richard Eckstrom S.C. Comptroller My office was pleased to receive national attention recently for our efforts to shed light on how your tax dollars are spent. The state’s…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: government, on-the-move, op-ed
The coming welfare wars
July 18, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The Trump administration may have declared it over, but a new War on Poverty is coming anyways. It will be fought largely over the “work requirement” —…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
RCSD Deputies train for active-shooter response in northeast Columbia
July 17, 2018By W. Thomas Smith Jr. A report of “active shooter” at a local elementary school kicked off a major active-shooter response exercise for the Richland County Sheriff’s Dept.…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: on-the-move, op-ed
The $247 trillion global debt bomb
July 17, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The untold story of the world economy — so far at least — is the potentially explosive interaction between the spreading trade war and the overhang of…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
RCSD Deputies train for active-shooter response in northeast Columbia
July 17, 2018By W. Thomas Smith Jr. A report of “active shooter” at a local elementary school kicked off a major active-shooter response exercise for the Richland County Sheriff’s Dept.…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: on-the-move, op-ed
Boys State, Girls State teens provide reasons for optimism
July 6, 2018
By Richard Eckstrom S.C. Comptroller Each year, hundreds of South Carolina high schoolers get a close-up lesson in how government works as part of the Palmetto Boys State and Palmetto…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: government, on-the-move, op-ed
American Legion Baseball championship tournament set for July 25-27 at Spirit Communications Park
July 1, 2018This year’s South Carolina American Legion Baseball championship tournament will be held in Columbia. The 2018 tournament is set for July 25-27 at Spirit Communications Park in Columbia’s Bull Street district. This…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: op-ed, sports
The return of Smoot-Hawley?
June 27, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The ghost of Smoot-Hawley seems to haunt President Trump. You will recall that Smoot-Hawley was the sweeping tariff legislation that Congress passed and President Hoover signed in…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The Max vs. The Don
June 26, 2018
By Kathleen Parker If I were a cartoonist … , I would often say to my friend Doug Marlette, the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist who died 11 years ago.…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Losing the trade war
June 25, 2018
By Robert Samuelson If we are to have a “trade war” with China, it would be best to win it. We should be better off after the fighting. Unfortunately,…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Who will fill the global power vacuum?
June 13, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The commentariat is bursting with speeches, diatribes, essays, analyses, stories and tweets about the impending collapse of the post-World War II international order. This threatens global peace…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
U.S. ENERGY SECURITY: Lessons from the battlefield that will save lives and ensure energy and economic security
June 12, 2018By Thomas S. Mullikin DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE IRAQ WAR, specifically the post-invasion conflict against Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the resupply convoys of the United States and…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: energy, op-ed
U.S. ENERGY SECURITY: Lessons from the battlefield that will save lives and ensure energy and economic security
June 12, 2018
By Thomas S. Mullikin DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE IRAQ WAR, specifically the post-invasion conflict against Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), the resupply convoys of the United States and…
Read MorePosted in: midlandsbiz Category: energy, op-ed
The cowardice of the political class
June 11, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The trustees for Social Security and Medicare issued their annual reports last week. This is cause for discouragement because it reminds us how much we’ve mortgaged the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Why the economy roars
June 5, 2018
By Robert Samuelson Every year, the Federal Reserve conducts a massive survey of American households to paint a portrait of their economic habits and spirits. The recently published findings…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Critical role of philanthropy in S.C. higher education
June 4, 2018By John P. Dowd III The Citadel recently celebrated a significant milestone as its six-year Foundation for Leadership campaign came to a close. Over this period, we raised a record…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz Category: education, on-the-move, op-ed, philanthropy
The threat from Italy
May 30, 2018
By Robert Samuelson If you’re nostalgic for the 2008-09 financial crisis, you can cheer up. Another debacle may be on its way. Its epicenter would be Italy, which may…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The China fiasco
May 28, 2018
By Robert Samuelson President Trump’s education in global trade continues. Not long ago, he declared that trade wars “are good and easy to win.” He knows better now. The…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Trump should make clear to North Korea that the Libya model is indeed on the table
May 28, 2018
By Marc A. Thiessen After months of pretending to be normal and reasonable on the diplomatic stage, North Korea’s mask has slipped, and Pyongyang is back to threatening a…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Trump is proving to be the most fearlessly pro-life president in history
May 24, 2018
By Marc A. Thiessen President Trump’s critics were apoplectic last week when the president referred to MS-13 gang members as “animals.” Of course, no one should be dehumanized. Yet…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Trump is proving to be the most fearlessly pro-life president in history
May 23, 2018By Marc A. Thiessen President Trump’s critics were apoplectic last week when the president referred to MS-13 gang members as “animals.” Of course, no one should be dehumanized. Yet…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The old capitalism returns
May 21, 2018
By Robert Samuelson We flatter ourselves into thinking that we live in a time of exceptional economic upheaval. The truth is that the present resembles the past. What we…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
