Welfare Work Requirements Make Everyone Better Off
- By Star Parker
The Congressional Budget Office has just released its latest projection for the next ten years.
"In the agency's updated projections, annual deficits nearly double over the next decade, reaching $2.7 trillion in 2033 ... As a result of those deficits, debt held by the public also increases in CBO's projections, from 98% of GDP at the end of this year to 119% at the end of 2033."
The picture keeps getting worse.
The difference between Democrats and Republicans on the issue: Republicans say let's do something; Democrats say let's do nothing.
How To Honor Our Officers During National Police Week
- By Star Parker
I was proud and moved to participate in opening ceremonies, at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial in Washington, D.C., commemorating National Police Week.
President John F. Kennedy signed the proclamation, in 1962, designating May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day, and establishing the week in which this occurs as National Police Week.
It seems another strange and discomforting irony that the president who moved to establish a national day and week to memorialize police officers who have fallen in the line of duty is a president who himself was murdered.
Why Doesn't Drowning in Debt Bother Biden?
- By Star Parker
The most perplexing thing about President Joe Biden's stance on the debt ceiling issue is that the staggering national debt does not seem to bother him.
In remarks Biden made the other day, he noted that the national debt has "accumulated over 200 years." And he also noted the debt increased under President Donald Trump.
But the president's selective memory chooses to overlook that when the Obama-Biden administration took office in 2009, national debt stood at 60% of GDP. When they left eight years later, it was at 100% of GDP.
A History Lesson for 2024
- By Star Parker
President Joe Biden has made his bid for a second term official, and the first big news following the announcement is his latest approval rating released by Gallup. It shows Biden's approval reaching a new low in his presidency -- 37%.
But let's take a quick look at history before Republicans start celebrating.
Gallup shows Biden's approval rating average for the latest quarter of his presidency, his ninth, at 39.7%. Gallup also shows where each president post-World War II stood in approval at the same time in their presidency.
Biden Sleeps Tight While Nation Drowns in Debt
- By Star Parker
Hillary Clinton writes in The New York Times that Republican insistence to link any increase in the nation's debt ceiling to spending control and cuts threatens our national security.
"It's a sad irony that Mr. McCarthy and many of the same congressional Republicans seemingly intent on sabotaging America's global leadership by refusing to pay our debts are also positioning themselves as tougher-than-thou China hawks."
Tim Scott and American Exceptionalism
- By Star Parker
Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina has announced the formation of an exploratory committee for his candidacy for president.
You may have noticed that Scott is Black. We may ask, in this woke age of ours, the extent to which this matters in his candidacy.
I think it does matter, which requires some explanation given that I am adamantly opposed to identity politics in all its shapes and forms.
Should Scott run and win, he will not be America's first Black president. When America's first Black president, Barack Obama, did run and win, it was widely viewed as a turning point in American history.
The Source of Our Freedom Is Our Creator, Not Government
- By Star Parker
It is a unique and special time now because Christians, Jews and Muslims all are engaged in major holidays of religious contemplation and renewal. Christians with Holy Week and Easter, Jews with Passover, and Muslims with Ramadan.
We're talking billions around the world. So, although in our time there has been a retreat in various circles from religion, it still remains a major force and presence in our world.
In our own USA, as I have touched on in columns past, the number identifying with religion and attending religious services has dropped.
A Nation Committing Suicide
- By Star Parker
Historian Arnold Toynbee observed "an autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide."
It's hard not to think about this reading the results of the latest Wall Street Journal-NORC poll, appearing under the headline "America Pulls Back From Values That Once Defined It."
Only 38% of Americans now say patriotism is "very important," compared to 70% in 1998. Thirty-nine percent say religion is "very important," compared to 62% in 1998. And 30% say having children is "very important" compared to 59% in 1998.
Biden's Job Is Running US, Not Israel
- By Star Parker
Widely reported in the press is that President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his concern about judicial reforms that are currently being considered in Israel.
We must wonder why Biden, who demonstrably cannot run our own country, feels behooved to tell others, particularly one as successful as Israel, how to run theirs.
Looking into Biden's own backyard, per latest Gallup polling, a paltry 20% of Americans say they are satisfied with the direction of their country.
Silicon Valley Bank -- More Government, Less Reality
- By Star Parker
President Ronald Reagan once said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are 'I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.'"
Shock waves are rippling through the country after the announcement of the second largest bank failure in the country's history last week -- Silicon Valley Bank.
This just 15 years after the largest bank failure in the country's history -- Washington Mutual.
Biden Supports Republicans in Blocking D.C. Crime Bill
- By Star Parker
President Joe Biden announced he will not veto a resolution passed by the Republican-controlled House which overturns a new District of Columbia crime reform law, assuming the resolution passes in the Senate.
The district is under federal jurisdiction, so Congress can overturn D.C. legislation. But this is the first time in 30 years that it has happened.
Now a shell-shocked chair of the left-wing D.C. city council says he's pulling the bill, which reduces sentencing on many felonies, including carjackings and burglaries, as it heads for defeat in a Senate vote still scheduled to occur.
Vivek Ramaswamy: Bring Down 'Woke,' Bring Back America
- By Star Parker
The 2024 presidential race gets more exciting each day.
Now 37-year-old entrepreneur businessman Vivek Ramaswamy has entered the race as the newest Republican candidate.
Whether this political novice has a chance at winning the highest elective office in the land remains to be seen. But for sure he has something to say and contribute.
And worth noting is now the first two candidates to announce following former President Donald Trump's entering the race, Ramaswamy and Nikki Haley, are children of Indian immigrants.
Nikki Haley Brings a New Face to Freedom
- By Star Parker
The Republican Party's newest presidential candidate, former South Carolina Gov. and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, introduced herself by showcasing her roots as a child of immigrants.
Haley's family, originally from India, immigrated to the United States in 1969 and settled in a small, segregated town, Bamberg, South Carolina, where she was born three years later.
One can glean two reasons why Haley is spotlighting her background and presenting her candidacy as a successful minority woman.
Social Security Reform About Principles, Not Accounting
- By Star Parker
Per CNN and other media outlets, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ran his first campaign for Congress in 2012, he expressed support for "privatizing" Social Security.
They predict, with little surprise, that this should provide red meat for attacks from former President Donald Trump and from Democrats, should DeSantis announce a presidential run.
If indeed this is the case, it adds credence to Nikki Haley's slogan for her new campaign that we need a new generation of leaders.
Omar Not Just Antisemitic, But Also Anti-American
- By Star Parker
The Republican-controlled House has voted to boot Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., off the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
I salute Republicans for leadership, beneficial for the country and beneficial for Black Americans whose interests Omar pretends to represent.
Omar pushed back from the House floor, playing, of course, the race card. She accused Republicans of questioning her as an American because she is of a "certain skin color."
What Does It Take to Ensure That Policemen Are Human Beings?
- By Star Parker
Once again, the nation is traumatized by horrible video of police brutally beating to death a Black man. Need I note the victim was Black? Would we be less or more traumatized if the victim were white?
But the rule seems to be the victims are Black.
Everyone sees there is a problem. Everyone wants to fix it. But how?
The first question in the pursuit of a solution invariably is, "What is wrong with the system?"
Page 1 of 5
Star Parker is president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education and host of the weekly television show "Cure America with Star Parker." To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com
