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news
EXCLUSIVE: Biden Admin Adds LGBTQ Strings to Foreign Agriculture Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture intends to cultivate the transgender ideology on a global scale using international farm-aid programs. That could mean attaching strings to international grants that the USDA doles out to support the Biden administration’s LGBTQ agenda, which President Joe Biden ordered in a presidential memorandum. The USDA’s Sub-Working Group for the Memorandum… -
news
Supreme Court Agrees to Review Federal Ban on Bump Stocks
The Supreme Court agreed Friday to hear a case challenging the federal ban on bump stocks, an accessory that increases a semiautomatic rifle’s rate of fire. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit struck down the rule earlier this year in Garland v. Cargill. The Supreme Court granted the government’s appeal of the ruling in a brief order…. -
news
Pentagon Has Billions Left Over for Ukraine, but Not to Replenish US Weapons Stocks
The Pentagon still has billions remaining for military assistance to Ukraine after Congress’ stopgap government funding bill omitted any provisions for aid, but concerns remain about the Pentagon’s ability to replenish stockpiles of U.S. weapons, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Defense Department officials. Officials said they were not sure how much longer the funding… -
opinion
Feminism Has Weakened Women
Here’s a joke: “Every girl is bi. You just have to figure out if it’s polar or sexual.” This joke was retweeted last week by Dave Weigel, a Washington Post reporter. He retweeted it because he thought it was funny. He thought it was funny because it is. But, of course, unless a joke is… -
opinion
5 Things to Know About Agriculture Amnesty Bill
The House of Representatives is expected this week to take up one of the most egregious immigration amnesty bills in recent memory, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act. In 2019, the House passed the bill, but fortunately, it went nowhere in the Senate. Now, the new Congress is taking it up. The legislation would, among other… -
opinion
Expect US Agriculture Exports to China to Increase in Coming Months
Since the signing of the U.S.-China trade deal in January, much media focus has been on China’s agreement to buy over $142 billion worth of U.S. manufactured, energy, and agriculture goods this year. At this point in time, it is likely that China will fall short of its purchase agreement. However, there is ample reason… -
opinion
USDA Is Funneling ‘Trade Aid’ to the Agriculture Sector. It’s Old-Fashioned Corporate Welfare.
There is renewed hope for trade talks with China—a welcome development for the American economy. But the damage caused by the fight continues. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is using the situation as an excuse to funnel more taxpayer money to the agricultural industry. It is spending $16 billion on trade aid for farmers affected… -
opinion
New Bill to Tax Stock Market Could Devastate Ordinary Savings and Retirement
A new tax proposal in Congress aims to stick it to the rich. But if passed, it could devastate the U.S. financial system and ruin the value of ordinary Americans’ retirement accounts. The proposal, introduced by a team of Democrats in the House and Senate, would assess a penalty each time someone sells a stock,… -
opinion
Rejecting Much-Needed Reforms, Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill Favors Status Quo on Costly Subsidies
The House Agriculture Committee’s farm bill is a complete rejection of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2018 farm bill principles when it comes to farm subsidies. Here are a few examples: USDA principle: “Provide a fiscally responsible farm bill that reflects the administration’s budget goals.” The committee’s farm bill doesn’t include any of the Trump… -
opinion
Responding to a Critic of Having More Freedom in Agriculture
A former Obama administration official has written a new agricultural study that is critical of The Heritage Foundation’s publication “Farms and Free Enterprise: A Blueprint for Agricultural Policy.” Most of the arguments in this agricultural special interest-sponsored study are the same recycled claims that get trotted out any time someone challenges the farm subsidy status… -
opinion
Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill Would Expand Crony Handouts for Cotton Industry
What are Senate appropriators doing to address two new farm programs whose costs are spiraling out of control? They are increasing the costs even more. Cotton growers just can’t seem to get enough handouts, and many Senate appropriators are happy to funnel even more money their way at the expense of taxpayers. The Senate agriculture… -
news
Trump’s Agriculture Chief Tosses Out Michelle Obama’s School Lunch Rules
Former first lady Michelle Obama’s dictates on school lunches were thrown out Monday by one of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet members. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue signed a proclamation to begin to undo federal standards that the Obama administration placed on lunches in public schools and return those decisions to local schools. “This announcement is the… -
news
Stock Market Reacts Better for Trump Than Any Previous President-Elect
The U.S. stock market has been on an unprecedented upward climb since President-elect Donald Trump won the White House. Trump’s election sparked the biggest one-month S&P 500 rally in its 93 years of existence. The index rose nearly 5 percent from Nov. 9 to Friday morning, breaking the previous 30-day record set after the election… -
opinion
Why the Stock Market Shouldn’t Be Used to Judge Brexit
Last week, the United Kingdom decided to leave the European Union. The U.K.’s earlier decision to stay out of the euro currency (which most, but not all, EU member states use) contains an unexpected lesson about economics and humility. In 2003, British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown announced that Britain’s economy had not met… -
opinion
The Connection Between China’s Stock Market Collapse and Its Past Spectacular Growth
In mid-June, China’s Shanghai Composite Index was up a dazzling 60 percent since the beginning of the year. It was the highest level in more than six years. Some took it as a sign that the recent weakness in China’s economy would be short-lived. Yet it is only a little more than two months later,… -
opinion
The Fed Shouldn’t Pay Attention to Short-Term Changes in Stock Market
Back in grad school (not all that long ago), we pondered whether a central bank should target equity (or other asset) prices to conduct monetary policy. In theory, as the value of consumers’ stock portfolios rises, they will spend more, because they are wealthier. It turned out, though, that the empirical link among monetary policy,… -
opinion
Three Things Americans Should Know About the Stock Market Turmoil
It’s too early to know if the stock market drop is just one of the periodic corrections by which the market reallocates capital to more profitable uses, or the start of a more dramatic contraction signaling a long-term decline. In any case, if the roller coaster ride of the last few days goes on much… -
opinion
How US Should Respond to China’s Stock Market Collapse
To give perspective, China is the world’s second largest economy, as well as the second largest importer. It is the largest trading nation for 75 countries and is by far the largest importer of commodities in the world. Over the past seven years, China has accounted for an incredible one-third of global growth. But its… -
news
China’s Economic Woes Jolt Global Stock Markets
U.S. stock markets plummeted Monday, furthering a global market decline that has eliminated nearly $10 trillion from international shares as concerns grow over China’s economic health. The Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 1,000 points soon after trading began, continuing losses from last week that marked the worst for U.S. stocks in four years…. -
opinion
Why The Chinese Stock Market Continues to Unravel
As the Chinese stock market unravels, liberal economists are eating their words on the supposed benefits of heavy government intervention in the financial sector. On Monday, the Shanghai stock index declined by 8.5 percent, the largest single-day drop in 8 years. Before this point, the government had already taken extraordinary steps to further preserve the…
