Do we need a supranational authority to enforce social justice? The Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (PJCP) seems to think so. Its new document, “Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of a Global Public Authority,” calls for global economic regulation by a supranational body and a central world … Read more
Let’s say you go to the doctor with a pain in your gut, and the doctor very astutely discovers that you have been poisoned. He knows how and when it happened. He knows the precise kind of poison that victimized you. Then he gives your prescription: more poison in higher doses. You would be at … Read more
My husband and I are madly in love. I feel the need to announce this publicly because, on the surface, it can be hard to tell sometimes. Some days, the most romantic thing Dan and I do is grunt at one another about the funny noise the dishwasher is making again before going to bed, … Read more
Life has many good things. The problem is that most of these good things can be gotten only by sacrificing other good things. We all recognize this in our daily lives. It is only in politics that this simple, common sense fact is routinely ignored. In politics, there are not simply good things but some … Read more
History proves that fiscal policies can be effective in stimulating private demand in a downturn. To be meaningful, however, the actions must be large enough to restart influential economic sectors and sufficiently broad-based to incentivize consumption. History also shows that temporary measures or narrowly targeted programs simply do not work. The Obama Administration came … Read more
Two years ago, in June 2009, the American economy emerged from recession, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. But as this week’s Economist noted, with typical British understatement, “The recovery has been a disappointment.” And maybe not a recovery for long. Robert Shiller, the economist who first identified the housing bubble, said last … Read more
And you thought things couldn’t get worse on the housing front. The U.S. housing market is in the worst shape since the Great Depression, and now the Obama administration’s solution is to impose new rules that would banish 60 percent of current homebuyers from the market. The proposed Mortgage Qualification Rules are the result … Read more
Last year’s congressional elections turned out better than conservatives deserved. Republicans grabbed back the power of the purse with the House of Representatives, giving them the ability — if they have the strategy and the nerve — to hobble the rest of Barack Obama’s presidency. And on most issues, they should. For instance, Republicans should … Read more
The U.S. Treasury announced on its website that, at year end, the national debt topped $14 trillion for the first time. This was an increase from $13 trillion on June 1, 2010, and $12 trillion at year end 2009. When the recession officially began in December 2007, U.S. debt to Gross Domestic Product was about … Read more
I was just told about www.spokeo.com, a new “white pages” service costing (I believe) $2.95 annually. For free, I accessed my own name, approx. age, address, map location, house photo, phone number, and family members’ names (two of them, anyway), as well as how long I’ve lived in my house. If I were to pay the … Read more
American politicians, unlike European ones, not only can but must play the Jesus card when they are faltering. Accordingly, Obama has done so, and just as accordingly, earnest Christians are now mulling over the “Is he really a Christian?” question that always arises whenever any polarizing public figure says he or she believes in Jesus. … Read more
I like to imagine the wind that was blowing on that sparkling fall day, tousling my mom’s strawberry-blonde hair. In the photograph, she’s holding my older brother Jason, who was around 3 at the time. You can see he has his mother’s eyes — almond-shaped, dark brown eyes that are smiling. My mom’s arms draw … Read more
Since at least last March, the New York Times has been obsessed with a question: “What did Joseph Ratzinger know, and when did he know it?” At issue, of course, is the role played by Cardinal Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict XVI — in relation to the scandal of clergy sex abuse. It’s a fair … Read more
I know it’s not medically sound, but I find a nice summer tan appealing. We are the type of New Englanders who celebrate winter by staying as close to bed as possible from November to March, and when we emerge in the spring, we look like ICU patients freshly pried out of a full-body cast: … Read more
I know it’s not medically sound, but I find a nice summer tan appealing. We are the type of New Englanders who celebrate winter by staying as close to bed as possible from November to March, and when we emerge in the spring, we look like ICU patients freshly pried out of a full-body cast: … Read more
I’ve been accused of being absent-minded, and it is true. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t commit some egregious slip of the mind. Here are some of the most recent: –Going on a car trip without my driver’s license and credit cards. –Leaving the car running in the driveway after I go into … Read more
I’ve been accused of being absent-minded, and it is true. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t commit some egregious slip of the mind. Here are some of the most recent: –Going on a car trip without my driver’s license and credit cards. –Leaving the car running in the driveway after I go into … Read more
Perhaps the most telling sign that our country is headed for trouble is the phenomenon of the shrinking middle class. Once the hallmark of America’s promise, America’s middle class was dealt a serious setback last year against the backdrop of the imminent death of the domestic automobile industry. In the past, America’s salvation … Read more
Not every villain in history can be confined to a single vice. In pointing out, for instance, the Gluttony of François Mitterand, I didn’t mean to clear this polygamous socialist of any suspicion of Lust or Envy. Quite the contrary: As St. Francis de Sales implied when he suggested that giving way to Lust made … Read more
Having worked through the Deadly Sins, the opposite neuroses, and the Virtues that stand in the Golden Mean between them, it’s time to help the gentle reader put this knowledge to use. As I warned you, there will be a quiz. Since it’s truth that sets us free, the key to attaining Humility is stark … Read more