Political Commentary & Opinion
Analysis, commentary, and opinion essays on politics and policy from The Daily Signal’s contributors and experts.
-
opinion
Seeking Lower Taxes, Companies Flee the U.S.
The last several months have seen a wave of American companies merging with foreign companies, a process known as “inverting.” In effect, inversion is the corporate equivalent of a renunciation of American citizenship. By some estimates, about $250 billion of these deals have been consummated since the start of the year, and another $100 billion… -
news
Taxpayers Pick Up the Tab for IRS Union’s Salaries, Office Space
While Congress takes its five-week vacation, the hard work of union organizing continues at the National Treasury Employees Union. And it’s subsidized by taxpayers. The Washington Times reported this week the Internal Revenue Service provides government salaries, office space and equipment to NTEU operatives, whose union says it represents 92,000 IRS employees. The IRS’ deputy commissioner calculates… -
news
Navy’s Shrinking Fleet Has Far-Reaching Consequences
When the Ingalls Shipyard closed in Gulfport, Miss., last month, the nation’s shipbuilding capacity reached a critical point. At Ingalls, the problem was ship design as well as money. First, the Coast Guard passed on composite deckhouses for its new class of fast-response cutters, going to a different design. When the Navy decided to transition… -
opinion
The Unions’ War on Small Businesses
Would you like to own a small business someday? If so, sorry — the Service Employees International Union would rather you didn’t. The SEIU has convinced the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to eviscerate the franchising model that many small-business owners rely on. Under the current model, these small-business owners pay for the right to… -
news
Anti-Israel College Professor Stands By Call for ‘Jihad’
A Kent State University history professor is standing by his call for “jihad” and statement that Israel is “a regime that is the spiritual heir to Nazism.” In an “open letter” to “academic friends of Israel,” professor Julio Pino accused the pro-Israel academic community of being “directly responsible for the murder of more than 1,400… -
opinion
Is America Heading In the Right Direction?
You’ve no doubt seen those polls in which Americans are asked if they think our country is heading in the right direction. Perhaps you’ve even been asked that yourself. Whether the answer is yes or no, we all know it’s not scientific. It’s based on a general impression, and those impressions are shaped by what… -
opinion
Americans Should be Spooked by Argentina’s Fiscal Woes
Thursday’s headline in the Los Angeles Times — “Argentina Defaults on International Debt” — spooked me, as it did investors. The stock market tanked on the news. All Americans should feel the same apprehension. Argentina has about $200 billion in debt including billions in restructured bonds that it still can’t make payments on. Now Argentina… -
news
State Strikes Deal to Let Uber, Lyft Operate … With a Few Strings Attached
Virginia is open for business to rideshare companies Uber and Lyft—at least, for now, and with lots of strings attached. Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Attorney General Mark Herring announced this week a temporary agreement with the two companies that allows them to operate, so long as Uber and Lyft comply completely with a slew of “safety-related” precautions…. -
news
As ISIS Tells Yezidis to ‘Convert to Islam or Die,’ One Man Pleads for Help at White House
In January, Mirza Ismail married his wife, Nofa Kamal, in Sinjar, Iraq, near the mountainous region where today thousands of Yezidi Iraqis are stranded. After three months in Sinjar, Ismail, the chairman of the Yezidi Human Rights Organization, left for his home in Brampton, Canada, before Islamic militants escalated their campaign to wipe out non-Muslims…. -
opinion
Meriam Ibrahim Is Safe. But Millions More Live Under Oppression.
As The Daily Signal reported last week, Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, the Suadenese mother sentenced to death for her Christian faith, has arrived safely in America. This represents an important victory for religious freedom, but Ishag’s story is far from an isolated event. At the release of the 2014 U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom… -
opinion
A Consumer Choice Option in Health Care
“Direct primary care” is a rapidly growing alternative to the traditional “fee-for-service” model of paying for medical care. Instead of the patient or his insurance plan paying the doctor separately for each visit or service, the patient pays the physician a set monthly fee. In exchange, the physician is available to consult with and treat… -
opinion
Cyberbullying Law Struck Down in New York
A state court in New York recently struck down that state’s cyberbullying law as violating the First Amendment. The case arose when a 15-year-old Albany County high school student, Marquan Mackey-Meggs, created an anonymous Facebook page called “Cohoes Flame,” from which he created posts about other teens, including pictures. The posts were graphic and often… -
opinion
Traffic Fatalities of Marijuana-Positive Drivers On Rise In Colorado
On Tuesday, the Washington Post published an op-ed by pro-pot author Radley Balko headlined, “Since Marijuana Legalization, Highway Fatalities in Colorado Are at Near-Historic Lows.” The piece leaves the reader with the impression that legalizing marijuana may have something to do with traffic fatalities going down in Colorado. He does admit that the fatality figures… -
opinion
Q&A: How Should the U.S. Respond to New Violence in Iraq?
Military expert Steven Bucci, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, takes your questions on the current situation in Iraq. Q: What is the U.S. doing in response to the Islamic State’s violence in Iraq? The U.S. was again caught by surprise by the insurgent army known as the… -
opinion
Cartoon: Meet the Food Police
Students often hold bake sales to raise money for field trips and school equipment but a federal law championed by First Lady Michelle Obama to curb childhood obesity is putting such sales at public schools across the country in jeopardy. Cup cakes and candy bars are out. A dollar for a carrot? -
opinion
Mandatory Labeling of GMOs Is Big Government and Anti-Consumer
Neither the federal government nor state governments should impose mandatory labeling of genetically modified organisms in food. Here’s why. For thousands of years, humans have changed the genetic makeup of their food, including introducing genes from other species. Through genetic engineering, a gene with desired traits or characteristics can, with efficiency and precision, be inserted… -
opinion
How Surrogacy Can Create Victims
A baby born to a surrogate mother Wednesday entered the world amid a messy custody battle. Former “View” host Sherri Shepherd and her estranged husband Lamar Sally are reportedly involved in heated discussions about whether she has a legal obligation to this child, who was conceived using egg donation and surrogacy. US Magazine pithily summed… -
news
Most of Government’s Own Watchdogs Say They’re Stonewalled
More than half of the federal government’s inspectors general have joined to lodge a formal complaint that the Obama administration places “serious limitations” on their ability to uncover waste, fraud, and abuse. A total of 47 of the 73 government watchdogs sent the unprecedented letter to leaders of two congressional committees, Fox News reported. In… -
opinion
A Border Agent Was Murdered. Genevieve Wood Weighs In.
“Under President Obama, just in 2013, ICE, which is responsible for getting people and deporting them, released over 30,000 criminals, illegal aliens who had committed crimes in this country, released them back into the American community.” -
opinion
Revitalizing the Caring Community
A recent report from the Harvard Graduate School of Education revealed that the overwhelming majority (80 percent) of 10,000 high school and middle school youths ranked achieving at a high level and personal happiness above caring for others in importance. Likewise, the Index of Culture and Opportunity, recently released by The Heritage Foundation, documents a…