Amid pleas to spare the rich, the right is accusing the Obama administration of waging vile class warfare. They envision wooden carts carrying the wealthiest 2 percent to the guillotine. Are the critics right? Only in the tumbrels of their mind.
When a pizzeria closes, the pizzeria down the block usually sees a surge in business. That principle applies to commerce in the larger North American neighborhood. Whenever the United States locks the gate on a plausible economic activity, Canadians move in and profit.
How big should government be? The answer is: As big as it has to be -- and for small-government types, no bigger than it has to be.
Let bankruptcy courts modify the terms of home mortgages, says President Obama and legislation now before Congress. Banks don't like the idea, but it's a good one, possibly even for them.
Open most any urban newspaper to the foreclosure notices, and you'll find the list heavy with Hispanic names. Times are tough for Americans of every demographic, but for Latinos they are grimmer still.
The War on Drugs is ridiculous, behold the storm over Michael Phelps' partaking of marijuana, an illegal substance that at least two presidents have used.
"Round up everybody that can ride a horse or pull a trigger," John Wayne says in "Chisum." "Let's break out some Winchesters."
Barack Obama never guaranteed he would end partisan rancor in Washington. He said he'd try.
Tom Daschle's withdrawal from consideration as future secretary of Health and Human Services had to happen. So seemingly strong on health-care policy but weak on ethics, the man President Obama had picked to remake the American health-care system had set off wild mood swings among the public.
I envy Sports Man. He can rise above his own problems by focusing on the triumphs or setbacks of The Team.
I know a lot of greyhounds. A greyhound track operates near my house, and many of its retirees end up in the neighborhood. Something you notice about these dogs: Greyhounds are built for speed, but once they move into a comfy home, they're in no hurry to go anywhere.
Mark Twain was thinking big in 1874 when he moved into his new 19-room mansion in Hartford, Conn. The Missouri-born writer was not one to economize. Following the success of "Tom Sawyer" in 1881, he hired none other than Louis Comfort Tiffany to "do" the interior.
Let the name-calling begin. A national health plan is again proposed, and its foes are trying to deal it death by unflattering labels. The old favorites include "socialized medicine" and "government takeover of health care."
Even in this awful economy, the voters seem content to toggle between the two main political parties. If Republicans aren't doing the job, then let Democrats try. Barack Obama? He seems competent. There's little agitation for a radical third-party response.
During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama portrayed his tax plan as a way to help "spread the wealth around." That was an unfortunate choice of words, though not as silly as the "conservative" formulation that raising taxes "punishes success."
There are those who regard politics as sport and those who see it as an adjunct to government. They frame things very differently.
First come the shady operators, then comes the collapse, then comes the bailout, then come the shady operators. That, too often, is the sad history of financial meltdowns and their cleanups.
Barack Obama's pick for commerce secretary, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, vows to create millions of technology jobs that can't be outsourced. Sounds good, particularly in this melting economy.
Everyone knows what must be done if there is to be a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel's forceful response to rocket attacks from Gaza does not change that.
"Doing it yourself these days?" asks the Depression-era ad for bleach. It shows pampered hands wading in a tub full of laundry.
