Op-Eds

Recent opinion pieces published in the Patriot-News.

A Moment in Time—and America Has a New President

October 24, 2020

President Trump met the coronavirus, and he prevailed. For this the nation is grateful. For a fleeting moment, one might have wondered if, following his brush with the dreaded disease, Trump had chosen to re-evaluate his outlook on life and the presidency. MORE >>

Breaking up is hard to do: the U.S. retreat from the international stage

Aug 17, 2020

The United States is finding it difficult to disengage from international institutions. Foreign policy objectives and domestic compulsions keep getting in the way.

Take the World Trade Organization, an early and frequent target of President Trump’s criticism. The global body was ineffective, excessively solicitous of China, and no friend to the United States. The U.S. blocked the nomination of key judges, paralyzing the dispute resolution mechanism designed to deal with trade disagreements among member states. MORE >>

A win at the WTO, but at what cost?

Sept. 6, 2019

The United States has scored a win at the World Trade Organization. In a ruling issued on Oct. 2, an arbitration panel of the WTO stated that the European Union (and specifically France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom) had provided illegal government subsidies to Airbus, the European aircraft manufacturer. These subsidies, which included low-interest loans, allowed Airbus to sell its aircraft to airline companies at a lower price, leading to reduced orders for Boeing’s planes. In 2012-13, Boeing’s lost sales to Emirates, Singapore Airways, United and Cathay Pacific was estimated to be 100 aircraft. MORE >>

Is democracy in peril in the land of Magna Carta and the land of Gandhi?

Sept. 6, 2019

In a move designed to forestall attempts to prevent the United Kingdom from leaving the European Union on Oct 31, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided to prorogue–or suspend–parliament. The prospect of a no-deal Brexit alarmed even members of Johnson’s Conservative party to contemplate collaborating with the Labor party to delay or alter the terms of Britain’s long goodbye to Europe. MORE >>

Withdrawing from international organizations: Is it a good thing?

Aug 24, 2019

President Donald Trump tends to regard multilateral institutions with a jaundiced eye. Some have been led by the United States for decades, often in the pursuit of strategic military and economic interests. But Trump finds them to be wasteful or, worse, inimical to American objectives, and has threatened to withdraw from them or cut their funding. Full story »

Brexit: slouching toward Gomorrah

Aug 16, 2019

Margaret Thatcher, that fiery icon of British conservatism, fervently wanted Britain to be part of the European Economic Community, the precursor to the European Union. In an Op-Ed published in 1975, she listed the benefits of remaining in the EEC: improved prospects for peace and security; access to the largest “trading and aiding unit in the world;” increased bargaining power with the rest of the world. Full story »

What a trade war looks like — a joyless series of tit for tat

Aug 9, 2019

Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs on Chinese goods. For years, said Trump, China had been taking advantage of America—but no longer! He would use Section 301 of a U.S. trade law to punish China for its unfair trade practices. Full story »

The economic picture is bright spots, but dark shadows threaten

Aug 3, 2019

The Great Recession ended 10 years ago. The severest economic downturn in decades began in December 2007, when President Bush was in office. Throughout 2008, legions of workers joined the ranks of the unemployed, homeowners lost their homes unable to pay their mortgages, and generally the nation found itself beset with a deep sense of financial insecurity. Full story »

It’s complicated: A White House visit by Pakistan’s prime minister

July 29, 2019

In his first visit to the White House, the prime minister of Pakistan received a gift he could scarcely have imagined. During a press conference, President Trump said he would be happy to mediate between India and Pakistan in their long-running Kashmir dispute. He added that he had been requested to intercede by the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Full story »

Better get your Japanese car now – higher tariffs could be coming!

July 22, 2019

Are you in the market to buy a Japanese car? If so, you may wish to buy sooner rather than later.

The Japanese auto industry is facing a major threat from its most important trading partner. The U.S. currently imposes import tariffs of 2.5 percent on passenger cars made in Japan. However, if trade negotiations currently in progress fail, these tariffs are set to increase up to 25 percent by the end of the year. Full story »

Japanese drummers cancel Mt. Gretna event — a casualty of Trump’s trade and immigration policies

July 19, 2019

An email landed in my inbox the other day. It said: “Yamato: The Drummers of Japan, which was to be held on Wednesday, July 24 at the Mt. Gretna Playhouse has been canceled.” Full story »

Newspapers shouldn’t be so quick to apologize for controversial content

September 18, 2014

Apologies from newspapers are coming thick and fast, with editors falling all over themselves to rectify any error of commission and to soothe ruffled feathers. Two recent instances, both involving the subject of slavery, illustrate the state of affairs.  Full story »

Why the Indian public got angry at the U.S., and how the spat ended

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January 14, 2014
Ms. Khobragade was arrested after dropping off her kids in school. She was handcuffed, strip-searched and held in custody. Eventually, bail was posted and she was released, but the damage had been done.  Full story »

Are colleges still teaching decency and fairness?

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April 16, 2013
You come to college to learn. In your humanities classes and in the social sciences, you learn about the importance of human rights—equality, fair treatment, various freedoms. In this interconnected world, the pigmentation of your skin, the presence of an extra X chromosome, the holy book that you subscribe to (if any), the gender of your mate—all these should be immaterial in how you treat each other…. Full story »

The triumph and hope of the American economic experience

Recovery
December 28, 2012
Four years ago, the housing market collapsed, the financial system imploded, and the country plunged into a recession the likes of which had not been seen since the 1930s. The magnitude of the decline, and the speed with which it occurred, was terrifying. Jobs were lost by the hundreds of thousands, households found themselves buried under mountains… Full story »

Budget austerity isn’t best path for our country

Home sales
September 4, 2012
Both parties are concerned about the looming fiscal catastrophe facing the country. In December, if no agreement is reached between the GOP and Democrats, taxes will rise and defense spending will fall, both substantially. Falling off the “fiscal cliff” will thus have the immediate effect of sharply lowering the budget deficit. The Congressional Budget Office, which supplies nonpartisan reports… Full story »

America’s free-market capitalism myth

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June 17, 2012
Politicians of all stripes routinely genuflect at the altar of free-market capitalism. The alternatives to the system are not appealing. There is socialism, of course, whose machinery of state intervention makes it immediately suspect as an inevitable harbinger of its more sinister cousin, communism. North Korea (or even Old Europe) are not shining examples. There is state-directed… Full story »

The various liberties of Ron Paul

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January 11, 2011
At a recent GOP debate, the presidential candidates were asked what they would be doing on a Saturday night if they weren’t running for president. The responses were typically safe and predictable, mostly having to do with watching sports, but one brave soul said he would be reading an economics textbook. That brave soul? Ron Paul. As… Full story »

Rick Perry’s prayer and politics

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August 20, 2011
In the fifth century, St. Genevieve’s prayers were credited with diverting Attila’s Huns from attacking Paris. Appeals to a higher power saved the city (although carping voices would note that the Huns chose to attack Orleans instead.) More recently, with Harrisburg facing a threat of its own, Mayor Linda Thompson called for prayer. The massive incinerator debt,… Full story »

Weak dollar, trade deals help bolster economy

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July 21, 2011
Last year, I led a group of students to Geneva, Switzerland. The exchange rate then was about $1 per Swiss franc. I took another group this year, but the exchange rate now stood at about $1.20 per Swiss franc. The 20 percent appreciation of the Swiss franc over the year meant that the study tour to Geneva… Full story »

Policies have helped the economy recover

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March 08, 2011
The rise of the stock market in recent months might have dulled investors’ memories about the devastating period that began in September 2008 and lasted till March 2009. On Sept. 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. The Dow lost 500 points that day. In the weeks that followed, the market continued to take punishing losses. Daily losses of 200… Full story »

India was one of President Obama’s few friends on Asia tour

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November 19, 2010
President Obama went to Asia recently. He said this was a “jobs tour” and that he was going to drum up business for American companies. He began with a stop in India. Soon there was talk of India buying several aircraft from Boeing. Obama pleased his hosts by stating that he would support India’s bid for permanent… Full story »

Religious intolerance makes progress difficult

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October 03, 2010
We live in an age where religious sensibilities are easily offended. And, depressingly, some religious leaders appear to be doing their best to offend. An obscure Christian pastor in Florida with a congregation of 50 — 50! — creates a worldwide furor with a threat to burn the Quran. Military officers are alarmed — they fear their already difficult… Full story »

Are unemployed receiving too sweet a deal? — Not this time

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August 03, 2010
When Tom Corbett, the Republican candidate for governor, suggested that extending unemployment benefits would discourage unemployed workers from looking for work — “people are just going to sit there” — he was roundly attacked for disparaging the work ethic of Pennsylvania workers. Eventually, perhaps realizing that some of those people “sitting there” might briefly cast off their lethargy in November… Full story »

Economic turnaround? This economist says yes

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April 27, 2010
When, after the latest unemployment report came out, I mentioned to a colleague that things were finally starting to look up, he wondered whether I was being Panglossian. Pangloss, you may recall, is the character in Voltaire’s satire “Candide” who argues that we live in the best of all possible worlds. The title character of the novel subscribes to this… Full story »

Fiscal restraint could prolong our recession

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November 29, 2009
In the last several months, the federal government has implemented far- reaching policies to address the country’s economic woes. And the list of woes is long. Unemployment is at 10.2 percent, a rate not seen in a quarter-century. Even this figure conceals disturbing details — most notably, the large number of discouraged workers (those who have stopped looking for… Full story »

Reforms signal end of ‘free market’ era in U.S. and around the world

July 04, 2009
The 1980s marked the golden era of free markets. Under President Ronald Reagan and Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the gospel of deregulation, limited government and the primacy of the private sector took firm root in the United States and U.K., before spreading inexorably worldwide. Developing countries threw off decades of shackles of government intervention and… Full story »

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