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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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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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…
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Economic cannibalism
October 9, 2017
By Robert Samuelson The spoils society advances. The “spoils society” is a phrase I coined some years ago to illustrate a basic problem of wealthy societies, including, of course, the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Economic cannibalism
October 9, 2017
By Robert Samuelson The spoils society advances. The “spoils society” is a phrase I coined some years ago to illustrate a basic problem of wealthy societies, including, of course, the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Distracting ourselves to death
October 9, 2017
By Kathleen Parker When President Trump said a few days ago that now isn’t the time for a debate about gun control, presumably he meant that we should respect…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Distracting ourselves to death
October 9, 2017
By Kathleen Parker When President Trump said a few days ago that now isn’t the time for a debate about gun control, presumably he meant that we should respect…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The resilient American consumer
October 4, 2017
By Robert Samuelson The American consumer is the great engine of growth for the $19 trillion U.S. economy, representing nearly 70 percent of spending. If the consumer is confident…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
The resilient American consumer
October 4, 2017
By Robert Samuelson The American consumer is the great engine of growth for the $19 trillion U.S. economy, representing nearly 70 percent of spending. If the consumer is confident…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Just a guy and the search for meaning
October 4, 2017
By Kathleen Parker The horror the horror. The English language, expansive as it is, lacks sufficient vocabulary for the near-ceaseless popping sound of an automatic weapon pounding bullets into…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Just a guy and the search for meaning
October 4, 2017
By Kathleen Parker The horror the horror. The English language, expansive as it is, lacks sufficient vocabulary for the near-ceaseless popping sound of an automatic weapon pounding bullets into…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Why “the swamp” survives
October 2, 2017
By Robert Samuelson President Trump isn’t draining the swamp. He unveiled his long-awaited “tax reform” package last week, and although many crucial details were missing (for example, the income…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Why “the swamp” survives
October 2, 2017
By Robert Samuelson President Trump isn’t draining the swamp. He unveiled his long-awaited “tax reform” package last week, and although many crucial details were missing (for example, the income…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Are entrepreneurs a dying breed?
October 1, 2017
By Robert Samuelson Maybe we’re not “’Shark Tank’ nation” after all. The incredibly popular cable business program, which features budding entrepreneurs pleading for backing from wealthy investors (the “sharks”),…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Are entrepreneurs a dying breed?
October 1, 2017
By Robert Samuelson Maybe we’re not “’Shark Tank’ nation” after all. The incredibly popular cable business program, which features budding entrepreneurs pleading for backing from wealthy investors (the “sharks”),…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Stranger than Strange
October 1, 2017
By Kathleen Parker The political resurrection of Alabama’s Roy Moore — the Moses of the South — and the mortal end of Hugh Hefner are not entirely unrelated. It’s…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Stranger than Strange
October 1, 2017
By Kathleen Parker The political resurrection of Alabama’s Roy Moore — the Moses of the South — and the mortal end of Hugh Hefner are not entirely unrelated. It’s…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
Rocket Man and Dotard go bonkers in Toontown
October 1, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Pity the Pacific, a portion of which faces ultimate destruction should “Rocket Man” follow through on his reported threat to test a hydrogen bomb in the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Rocket Man and Dotard go bonkers in Toontown
October 1, 2017
By Kathleen Parker Pity the Pacific, a portion of which faces ultimate destruction should “Rocket Man” follow through on his reported threat to test a hydrogen bomb in the…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: op-ed
Driverless madness
September 25, 2017
By Robert Samuelson Driverless vehicles may not be all that they’re cracked up to be. Indeed, they may be harmful to our collective security and well-being. Unless you’ve been…
Read MorePosted in: lowcountrybizsc, midlandsbiz, upstatebizsc Category: headlines, op-ed
