Free Republic

Republicans disheartened by growing fears of electoral losses at the federal level this fall can take some solace in evidence from a new, soon-to-be-released study that we coauthored for Unleash Prosperity, a group focused on promoting pro-growth policies. The graph below shows the results from that study, revealing that in this century economic growth has been substantially greater in the Republican Red states. The new study focuses on the more recent years 2020-2024, using modern statistical techniques to show that even after other factors impacting economic change—like climate, the proportion of the population working in manufacturing or producing oil, or...

In a bizarre twist of fate, many college students may be living even better than their parents while at school. And these days schools are not only competing for students, but also for luxurious perks to lure those students, ranging from free skiing to free laundry service, free computers, and personalized birthday cakes. Ohio University’s Richard Vedder calls it the “country-clubization of the American university,” adding that “a lot of it is for great athletic centers and spectacular student union buildings. In their zeal to get students, they are going after them on the basis of recreational amenities.” Dr. Vedder...

Earlier, I asked whether this was "Obama's Nation" or whether his policies were an "Obamination." After listening to last night's ersatz State of the Union address, there is no question in my mind that it is the latter. It was the single most frightening speech I recall having heard from an American politician over more than a half of century of listening to such speeches. Given my hypertension, I had to take it in small doses, but I would predict that on February 24, 2010, the economy will be in no better shape than now (unemployment above 7.5 percent, a...

When it comes to education, conventional wisdom argues that it’s better to go to college after high school. Conventional wisdom states that an educated society will spur economic growth, that a college degree leads to a higher income, and that America needs to increase college enrollment to strengthen against international competition. However, in George Leef’s essay, The Overselling of Higher Education, he argues that this conventional wisdom has flooded universities with apathetic students, subsequently causing a “deterioration of academic standards, credential inflation and soaring costs of college attendance.” Leef serves as executive director of The John William Pope Center for...