Opinion and commentary on news, politics, culture, and policy impact.
In 2010, the Michigan economy was on the rocks—715,000 people were out of work, and the Great Lakes State’s gross domestic product had contracted by 7.6 percent by the time the recession ended. Today, Michigan is the comeback state, and international trade plays a vital role in its growth. Here are seven facts about the…
I hate the question, “What’s the secret of your success?” There is no secret to being successful. Ask anybody who is successful and they will say some version of the same thing—perseverance, mental toughness, or my personal favorite: grit. Grit is getting up again and again after being knocked down to continue the fight. Grit…
With all the talk going on about the merits of free trade and the U.S.’s free trade agreements, it might be helpful to look at an example from the past. Debates over free trade vs. protectionism are nothing new, and politicians can learn a thing or two about the downfalls of protectionist tariffs from Depression-era…
Americans seem inordinately concerned with where their cars, clothing, and food are produced. Approximately eight out of 10 consumers say they would purchase an American-made product over a foreign one, oftentimes even if it is more expensive. A reason for this might be their belief that buying American is the easiest way to help the…
The Arctic is shaping up to be one of the most strategically important regions in the 21st century. However, the United States has fallen far behind in building the specialized ships necessary to traverse the region’s treacherous waters. On June 10, Russia launched its first new military icebreaker in half a century. The Ilya Muromets,…
“Keep it in the ground.” That mantra of the Greens encapsulates the restrictive energy policies imposed by the Obama administration. But there’s a better approach: one that relies on the ingenuity of free enterprise to produce abundant, reliable, and affordable energy for all. That approach, rather than the restrictive, bureaucratically directed model favored by the…
The Games of the XXXI Olympiad open tonight in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As you watch the parade of nations, you may notice Russia’s contingent of Olympians is noticeably smaller. That’s because well over 100 Russian athletes have been banned from competing in the Olympics for their use of performance-enhancing drugs. In December 2014, the…
Criminal investigations into the Environmental Protection Agency’s disastrous handling of its Gold King Mine spill are under way. This is a laudable step toward accountability for the agency, which for one year has avoided accountability for conduct that would in all likelihood have resulted in criminal prosecution had the acts been performed by private parties….
A guiding principle for physicians is primum non nocere, the Latin expression for “first, do no harm.” In order not to do harm, whether it’s with medicine or with public policy, the first order of business is accurate diagnostics. Racial discrimination is seen as the cause of many problems of black Americans. No one argues…
Air Force Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, commander of Air Combat Command, this week declared the F-35A fighter jet ready for combat. While many pundits and politicians have questioned the worth of this jet, the only people who know the ground truth are the pilots themselves. A total of 174 U.S. pilots currently have been trained…
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July jobs report contained little bad news. The bureau found that employers created a net 255,000 new jobs since June. Strong growth in the professional and business services (+70,000), health care (+49,000), leisure and hospitality (+45,000), and government (+30,000) sectors lead the way. (One exception was the mining sector, which…
Michael Ramirez, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist who for years has skewered the powerful and saluted everyday heroes, joins The Daily Signal this week. "Michael Ramirez has a unique ability to communicate complex issues through his editorial cartoons." —@RobertBluey Ramirez will produce an exclusive cartoon each week for The Daily Signal with a conservative perspective…
President Barack Obama has supported a ban on nuclear testing since his earliest days in office, but has been unable to rally support for ratification of a nuclear test ban treaty in the U.S. Senate. Frustrated with this opposition and facing the end of his second term, The Washington Post reports, Obama will bypass Congress and seek a United…
The National Institutes of Health has announced its support for expanded research into the development of chimeras, experimental genetic combinations of human beings and animals that, some experts say, may yield immense benefits in medical treatment and scientific knowledge. To understand the significance of NIH’s proposed expansion, it is important to understand what chimerism is—and…
It’s a nuisance when an ATM charges you money to take money out. Imagine having to pay 31 cents for every dollar you withdraw. That’s how much it costs U.S. businesses to comply with the byzantine corporate income tax code. Taxpayers—businesses and individuals—are spending an enormous amount of time and money simply figuring out how much…
Countries around the world have made maintaining low corporate tax rates, as well as reducing rates, a priority in recent years. Meanwhile, the United States has stood on the sidelines. As a result, the U.S. now has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world, exceeding the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average by…
KYIV, Ukraine—One year ago on Saturday, a 19-year-old Ukrainian soldier named Daniel Kasyanenko died on a battlefield in eastern Ukraine. He died alongside one of his friends, a fellow Ukrainian volunteer soldier, when a mortar fell on them. They were among 18 Ukrainian soldiers to die in a 10-day stretch from Aug. 1 to Aug….
States have passed so-called “medical marijuana” laws under the theory that pot has medicinal benefits that can’t be produced by other, legal means. But what if there was a Food and Drug Administration-approved drug that gave you all the benefits of the active ingredients in marijuana, such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or cannabidiol? What if that…
Much has been said about the risks Zika virus presents to tourists and athletes visiting Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics. Several competitors decided to skip the games because of the epidemic. But the fact is, crime is a much bigger threat, and the numbers prove that. It is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and the…