Does the Fed need a new playbook?
January 15, 2018
By Robert Samuelson The record of economists, including those at the Federal Reserve, over the past half century has been discouraging. The two greatest blunders are well-known: policies that…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Build the wall (cont’d)
January 10, 2018
By Robert Samuelson I repeat myself. For years, I have advocated a wall along our Southern border, which would (I believe) discourage illegal immigration without stopping it altogether. But…
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Will the economy save Trump?
January 8, 2018
By Robert Samuelson For President Trump, a lot is riding on the economy in 2018. If it continues to do well, it should bolster his popularity and his claim…
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Like a child
January 8, 2018
By Kathleen Parker I’m almost beginning to feel sorry for him. Donald Trump, that is. Having previously posited that it’s wrong to make fun of the mentally deficient, I’m…
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In search of progress
January 5, 2018
By Robert Samuelson As we begin a new year, it’s worth reflecting on the paradoxical and frustrating nature of progress. Progress is often disappointing, because even when it indisputably…
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Queen Carlson wins again
January 5, 2018
By Kathleen Parker If karma is a b—-, justice is a beauty queen. After recent revelations that the CEO of the Miss America Organization and its pageant scriptwriter were…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The Top 10 Stats of 2017
January 2, 2018
By Robert Samuelson Let us now praise Ben Beach, a Washington writer and longtime friend. Like me, Ben is a confirmed statistics buff. Unlike me, he’s disciplined. All through…
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Fake news IS the story
December 24, 2017
By Kathleen Parker As a functional obsessive-compulsive, I’m never happier than at year’s end when I get to make lists. Herewith, my picks for the most important stories of…
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Trump’s $1.5 trillion bribe
December 21, 2017
By Robert Samuelson What I most dislike about the Trump/Republican tax plan is the shameless cynicism with which it has been peddled. Recall how it works: The government borrows…
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Words that weren’t banned and those that should be
December 21, 2017
By Kathleen Parker The recent excitement over an incredible story about the government trying to ban certain words reminded me of all the words and phrases I despise and…
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Yellen’s legacy
December 18, 2017
By Robert Samuelson One of Washington’s permanent parlor games is how much credit or blame a president deserves for the state of the economy. Inevitably, then, the question being…
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Collateral damage of “credibly accused”
December 17, 2017
By Kathleen Parker As the #MeToo movement gained momentum the past several weeks — and more than a dozen powerful men accused of sexual misconduct were suspended, fired or…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The true tax gap: How about $12 trillion!
December 13, 2017
By Robert Samuelson When historians examine President Trump’s tax program, they will surely be struck by a large and momentous contradiction. Although the nation faces endless budget deficits —…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Women’s rage unleashed
December 13, 2017
By Kathleen Parker That special place in hell everyone keeps talking about is getting mighty crowded. The ball got rolling in 2016 when former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright…
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Why we must raise defense spending
December 11, 2017
By Robert Samuelson The Pentagon and the welfare state have been locked in brutal combat for decades, and the Pentagon has gotten clobbered. Protecting the country was once the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The aging monster
December 11, 2017
By Robert Samuelson No one can say we weren’t warned. For years, scholars of all shapes and sizes — demographers, economists, political scientists — have cautioned that the populations…
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The martyrdom of Al Franken
December 11, 2017
By Kathleen Parker With quavering voice and a tinge of stubborn denial, Sen. Al Franken announced that he would resign from office. The Minnesota Democrat’s remarks on Thursday marked…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Beware an economic boom!
December 4, 2017
By Robert Samuelson We don’t need an economic boom, but that’s what we may be getting. Since the 2016 election, the stock market is up roughly 24 percent, reports…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Kill the tax bill
December 4, 2017
By Robert Samuelson What the Republicans are offering on taxes is a bad bargain for America’s future. They would borrow — roughly $1.5 trillion over a decade — to…
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Michael Flynn’s holiday cheer
December 4, 2017
By Kathleen Parker At least three people must have celebrated the news that former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his conversation…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Fake news will out
December 4, 2017
By Kathleen Parker The phrase “the truth will out” has always been at home in American newsrooms where journalists dedicate their days to making it so. Sometimes Truth needs…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Big boxes and small towns
November 27, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Even though an estimated 115 million Americans rushed to malls and big box stores for Black Friday sales, others were reporting that the annual spend-a-thon has…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Because Sarah sez so, that’s why
November 27, 2017
By Kathleen Parker When White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders asked the press corps Monday to preface their daily briefing questions with a statement of thankfulness, reporters obliged.…
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Trump trade: A dead end?
November 20, 2017
By Robert Samuelson Most Americans likely think that our trade policies have been largely the same since the Republic’s earliest days. The assumptions are that we’re free traders now…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
A groper’s gallery of the grotesque
November 20, 2017
By Kathleen Parker It seems more than coincidence that the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency coincides with a trend that was heretofore unrecognized — groping. Gropers abound, it…
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Are tax breaks immortal?
November 13, 2017
By Robert Samuelson If you want to understand why the tax code is so hard to overhaul, consider the case of the mortgage interest deduction. The issue is so…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Under-taxed America
November 13, 2017
By Robert Samuelson We Americans are having the wrong debate. Almost all the arguing over the Trump administration’s proposed tax cut centers on two issues. Will the tax reduction…
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Republicans, pedophiles and polar bears, oh my!
November 13, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Desperation seems to be driving Republicans this grateful season as they seek to trade polar bears for tax cuts, while fervently praying that former Alabama Supreme…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
One year ago
November 13, 2017
By Kathleen Parker ‘Tis the season of looking back, which brings us inevitably to Election Day 2016. Donald Trump’s victory places last year as one of the most significant…
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Welcome to the Powell Fed
November 6, 2017
By Robert Samuelson It will be Powell’s Fed. Assuming he’s confirmed by the Senate, Jerome (”Jay”) Powell will become the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve Board in early…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
The future of health care?
November 6, 2017
By Robert Samuelson The big news in health care last week was the disclosure that CVS Health Corp. — owner of a vast network of drug stores — is…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
A quarter-century of Clintons
November 6, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Twenty-five years ago on Nov. 3, 1992, William Jefferson Clinton was elected president of the United States — and Hillary Clinton is still trying to take…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
FBI to Trump: Happy Halloween
November 6, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Beware the low-level volunteer. Virtually unheard of before Monday, when the FBI indicted two of President Trump’s campaign staffers, George Papadopoulos is either the key to…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Tax cuts and economic growth
October 30, 2017
By Robert Samuelson ”Do we have any historical evidence that lowering tax rates, particularly among the richest strata, generates economic growth, as the Republicans always predict? Has this ever…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
A NAFTA showdown?
October 30, 2017
By Robert Samuelson The NAFTA war is heating up. It’s a confusing conflict because perceptions are driven by political rhetoric, not economic reality. NAFTA, of course, stands for the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Statuary brawl
October 30, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Latest to the vandals goes Teddy Roosevelt, whose bronze likeness astride a horse in front of New York’s American Museum of Natural History recently received a…
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What’s in a name?
October 30, 2017
By Kathleen Parker If there’s any redeeming news this week, it’s that no one will ever forget La David Johnson’s name. Johnson, of course, was one of the four…
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A public safety problem that can no longer be ignored
October 29, 2017
By Richard Eckstrom S.C. Comptroller As I’ve travel the state over the years, it hasn’t been uncommon for members of the law enforcement community to bring up issues that…
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A budget primer for the weary
October 23, 2017
By Robert Samuelson It’s that time of year again when Congress debates the federal budget. For most Americans, it’s a turnoff. The dollar amounts are monstrous — trillions, not…
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North Korea’s cyber army
October 23, 2017
By Robert Samuelson It turns out that North Korea isn’t just a nuclear threat. It’s also a cyberthreat, and in some ways, this may be more frightening. Launched largely…
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Donald, dearest
October 23, 2017
By Kathleen Parker George W. Bush’s speech last week at a forum hosted by his eponymous institute might as well have been titled “Dear Donald.” The 43rd president all…
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#MeToo: Tipping point, or outrage du jour?
October 23, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Depending upon one’s distance from all things Twitter, recent revelations of sexual harassment in Hollywood are either the tipping point we’ve been waiting for — or…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Bernanke’s anxiety
October 16, 2017
By Robert Samuelson Ben Bernanke is worried — and perhaps we should be, too. As chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014, it was Bernanke who, along…
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Bernanke’s anxiety
October 16, 2017
By Robert Samuelson Ben Bernanke is worried — and perhaps we should be, too. As chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014, it was Bernanke who, along…
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Yes, build the wall!
October 16, 2017
By Robert Samuelson It’s time to build the wall — and, in doing so, prevent an estimated 690,000 DACA “dreamers” from being deported from the United States. It’s a…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Yes, build the wall!
October 16, 2017
By Robert Samuelson It’s time to build the wall — and, in doing so, prevent an estimated 690,000 DACA “dreamers” from being deported from the United States. It’s a…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
A dearth of virtue and the death of hypocrisy
October 16, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Hypocrisy, one of the most damnable sins, has been rendered obsolete. When everybody’s a skunk, nobody smells the stench. Or, more to the point, when everyone’s…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
A dearth of virtue and the death of hypocrisy
October 16, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Hypocrisy, one of the most damnable sins, has been rendered obsolete. When everybody’s a skunk, nobody smells the stench. Or, more to the point, when everyone’s…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Letter to the Editor: Protecting programs that feed hungry kids: SNAP
October 10, 2017Dear Editor: Although food insecurity affects more than 17% of people in South Carolina, it is often hard to see. When a child can’t focus at school because they didn’t…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz Category: headlines, health-care, op-ed
Letter to the Editor: Protecting programs that feed hungry kids: SNAP
October 10, 2017
Dear Editor: Although food insecurity affects more than 17% of people in South Carolina, it is often hard to see. When a child can’t focus at school because they didn’t…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc Category: headlines, health-care, op-ed
