U.S.

<p>A recent Associated Press story, which stopped me in my tracks, said the gap in employment rates between America&#8217;s highest- and lowest-income families has stretched to its widest levels since officials began tracking the data a decade ago. Rates of unemployment for the lowest-income families — those earning less than $20,000 — have topped 21 [&hellip;]</p>

<p>President Obama received much criticism during the 2012 campaign for his remark, “You didn’t build that.” Although he uncharacteristically said it in a fairly clumsy way, what he meant was that for every proud self-made entrepreneur there is a huge web of supporting institutions and infrastructure built by the government.</p>

As a conservative, I’m fully on record as a critic of President Obama’s policies. Today, however, I’m on board with the president’s decision to ask for congressional authority on Syria. Moreover, if the intelligence is solid, then Congress needs to give President Obama his requested authority. It is absolutely correct for the president to seek [&hellip;]

The average home price in 20 major cities rose 12.1 percent over a 12 month period ending in June, according to the S&amp;P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, a leading measure of the U.S. real estate industry. But this trend may be coming to an end as the increase in home prices appears be slowing partly due [&hellip;]

Reacting to the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers, which portended a further implosion of banking, The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) was enacted in 2010. As this financial catastrophe reaches its third anniversary, a recent bipartisan panel from the American Enterprise Institute characterized the Dodd-Frank Act for what it is...

I&#8217;ve seen a lot of presidents come and go. The vast majority of them have made some type of mistake that hurt their popularity as well as their legacy, but there hasn&#8217;t been as big a mistake as President Obama&#8217;s mishandling of so-called Obamacare. To his credit, the president has been willing to embrace the comprehensive [&hellip;]

In July, the number of persons employed part time for economic reasons, sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers, was essentially unchanged at 8.2 million. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. Contrast this to 2004 when The Heritage...

Since the beginning of the Great Uncertainty — the period that began with the “stimulus,” the auto bailout, the push for another major entitlement program, Dodd-Frank, the regulatory dam burst, the subsidies for favored industries, and the proliferation of distinctly anti-business rhetoric from the White House — President Obama has appeared puzzled by the dearth...

Recent developments in U.S.-Chinese relations again have crossed into the technological world, as the U.S. has become increasingly concerned over Chinese cyber attacks. In turn, the Chinese government has vehemently denied any participation, stating any actions taken were by independent hackers. Nevertheless, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan recently met [&hellip;]

President Obama recently announced the appointment of a completely unqualified Caroline Kennedy as U.S. ambassador to Japan. This is a mistake. If there ever was a time to have an experienced ambassador with solid credentials, it is now. The increasingly important Japanese market, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which is the largest free-trade agreement in history, [&hellip;]

Monthly U.S. headlines trumpeting the death of inflation hide a painful truth for American families: rapidly rising food prices. News reports rarely mention this pain because economists’ preferred inflation metric, so-called “core CPI,” omits both food and energy due to concerns about their volatility. Although this omission might make sense from a purely economic perspective, [&hellip;]

Comparisons almost always cause resentment. The French political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau argued that when humans lived alone in the state of nature, they were happy with their lot and needed only their own self-approval. But the move to society, living cheek by jowl with others, invited precisely those comparisons with others that creates ill-will, envy [&hellip;]

The Academy Awards are presented to the best acting performances of the year. A very select group has claimed this award. But millions of people receive acting awards each day pretending that they are disabled and can no longer work. These people don&#8217;t get a little statuette, but they can earn $1,111 per month and $300,000 [&hellip;]

Since 2009, the federation government has grappled with difficulties stemming from a debt crisis in Dubai and the threat of internal unrest amid the Arab Spring in 2011. To all appearances, the emirs have met those twin challenges with success. The wave of rebellion that swept across the region largely bypassed the UAE. It was [&hellip;]

Someone tell Nestlé that Europe&#8217;s economy is on the ropes. In the past 18 months, the Vevey, Switzerland-based nutrition and food services giant has invested in new facilities in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland — and three in the UK (not to mention China, Jamaica, the UAE, Malaysia and Argentina, among other places). It&#8217;s also expanding [&hellip;]

SPECIAL REPORT—Political tensions that had been simmering ever since the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) romped to victory at legislative elections held in late 2011 and early 2012 finally boiled over in early July 2013. In a scene reminiscent of the events that brought the downfall of the entrenched autocratic regime headed by [&hellip;]

Every American should be sickened by the news that Detroit is bankrupt. What was once the envy of the world for its pioneering automobile industry has become a showcase of empty buildings, abandoned neighborhoods, and high crime. What went wrong? In one word: unions.

August 10th is a special event in the energy industry. It marks the tenth year since the famous Northeastern blackout plunged millions of people into total darkness. While some small pockets of the region escaped unscathed, the vast majority of the homes and businesses suffered some type of financial loss. The question is, ten years [&hellip;]

July 8th marked the official commencement of the much anticipated Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations in Washington, DC. An eventual agreement could eliminate tariffs and curb superfluous rules and regulations that impede commerce and raise costs for businesses and consumers in the world’s largest economies. Those prospects make the effort worthy of our attention...

In a series of lawsuits spanning 10 countries over three plus years, technology giants Apple Inc. and Samsung Group have been fighting a high stakes international patent war. The heart of this and other patent wars revolves primarily around the infringement of technology patents used in both smart phones and tablet devices.