A recent study of Wisconsin’s Medicaid program revealed that Walmart ranked first on state’s list of Medicaid enrollment by employer. In other words, Walmart employees in Wisconsin comprise a plurality of the state’s Medicaid recipients. Altogether, a single Walmart Super Center costs Wisconsin taxpayers about $900,000 per year in poverty subsidies for its employees, such… Continue reading Stop Subsidizing Walmart: Raise the Minimum Wage
Author: Aaron
Is There a Middle Ground on Gun Laws?
Although I did not grow up in a home with guns, I was exposed to them at an early age. From the annual Boy Scout summer camp to visits with extended family, I had frequent opportunities to use guns, and as an adult, have thoroughly enjoyed periodic recreational shooting as well as have taken weeks… Continue reading Is There a Middle Ground on Gun Laws?
Putting the ‘Conserve’ Back Into ‘Conservative’
During my freshman year at BYU, a conservative friend of mine tried to explain to me why recycling, and caring for the environment in general, were scripturally unsound practices. He cited the LDS Doctrine and Covenants Section 59 verses 16 to 19, which, in a nutshell, indicate that the Lord provided all of the natural… Continue reading Putting the ‘Conserve’ Back Into ‘Conservative’
A Supreme Precedent for Gun Laws
In the aftermath of any mass shooting in the U.S., an all-or-nothing rhetoric about guns typically infects the public discourse regarding what ought to be done to prevent such tragedies in the future. In many communities, inhabitants are warned that the government has a hidden agenda seeking to ban all future gun sales and intends… Continue reading A Supreme Precedent for Gun Laws
Church Leaders’ Political Opinions Aren’t Official Doctrine
In past decades, there have been a few General Authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have been outspoken on American politics. Some Church members frequently quote from these politically outspoken former General Authorities in order to justify certain right-wing political views, often implying a doctrinal quality to such views, and,… Continue reading Church Leaders’ Political Opinions Aren’t Official Doctrine
After Obamacare, Can Congress Make You Eat Broccoli?
Opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 frequently criticized the law’s central component — the individual insurance mandate — and argued that if Congress was permitted to compel everyone to purchase health insurance, it could also pass other laws that compelled Americans to buy products such as broccoli. In his ruling against ACA,… Continue reading After Obamacare, Can Congress Make You Eat Broccoli?
Violence and Mental Health
The recent mass shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut reinvigorated the national debate about gun control. While I believe that additional measures must be adopted to make it more difficult for criminals and the mentally ill to obtain firearms, it is equally important that Americans evaluate other areas in our society… Continue reading Violence and Mental Health
2012 Election Not a Mandate for More Gridlock
When Barack Obama was re-elected to the presidency last November, House Speaker John Boehner observed, “the American people have spoken. They have re-elected President Obama. And they have again elected a Republican majority in the House of Representatives.” Republican House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell noted that the voters, “have simply given [Obama] more time to… Continue reading 2012 Election Not a Mandate for More Gridlock
President Obama Endorsed by Mormon Democrats
In 2008, President Barack Obama was elected into one of the worst economic disasters since Franklin Roosevelt stepped into the Oval Office. The United States economy was shedding approximately 800,000 jobs per month. Home foreclosures were skyrocketing and the stock market plummeted. From continuing the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and the Recovery Act, to the… Continue reading President Obama Endorsed by Mormon Democrats
An Economy on the Rebound
When President Barack Obama took the oath of office on January 20, 2009, the U.S. economy was in free fall. During the preceding year and half, some of the nation’s largest and most important financial institutions went bankrupt, including Bear Stearns, Countrywide, and Lehman Brothers, as risky loans and other investments failed. Many other large… Continue reading An Economy on the Rebound
The Case Against Mitt Romney
Mitt Romney’s nomination as the 2012 Republican candidate for President is an important and historical moment for me and many other members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints across the U.S. and the world. A thick glass ceiling was shattered when Romney, a prominent member of my faith, overcame anti-Mormon bigotry prevalent… Continue reading The Case Against Mitt Romney
Does Romney Believe Laziness Causing High Unemployment?
Remarks that Mitt Romney made to wealthy donors back in May 2012, have put Romney in an awkward position. Romney denigrated nearly half of the population of the U.S. and erroneously claimed that Obama supporters were all dependent on government assistance. After receiving a question about how Romney would be able to win the election,… Continue reading Does Romney Believe Laziness Causing High Unemployment?
The Problem with Citizens United
Does Spending in Elections Influence Outcomes? You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes that money isn’t absolutely crucial to running an effective campaign for political office. It costs money to rent campaign offices, travel, run phone banks, rent speaking venues, print leaflets, film commercials and purchase television ad time, and otherwise publicize a candidate’s… Continue reading The Problem with Citizens United
How I Benefited from the Obama Housing Policy
I am someone who has personally benefited from some of President Obama’s economic policies. In addition to getting the temporary payroll (Social Security) tax break, I am now refinancing my underwater home through President Obama’s Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). My home is now worth about $25K less than I owe due to the collapse… Continue reading How I Benefited from the Obama Housing Policy
Thoughts on Gay Marriage
President Obama’s recent announcement of his support for gay marriage sparked a firestorm of debate across the country. For Mormon Democrats such as myself, it has put us at odds with Obama on an important social issue. In Support of Traditional Marriage As a Latter-Day Saint, I believe in traditional marriage. I believe, as the… Continue reading Thoughts on Gay Marriage
Affordable Care Act Focuses on Workers, Removes Perverse Incentives
President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) was not directed at the poorest Americans, who already have Medicaid, but at the working poor. This includes those who work full-time, but cannot afford their own health insurance policy. In addition, low-wage jobs are far less likely to provide health insurance benefits. Thus, typical low-wage earners are left… Continue reading Affordable Care Act Focuses on Workers, Removes Perverse Incentives
Universal Health Care Benefits Everyone, Eliminates Free Riders
Positive rights should not just be viewed through the lens of entitlement. Positive rights are similar to public goods in that they provide positive benefits to society as a whole (in economics, this phenomenon is called a positive externality). This is especially true with health care. If everyone has access to good health care, the… Continue reading Universal Health Care Benefits Everyone, Eliminates Free Riders
A Minimum Living Standard in the World’s Wealthiest Country
In the last post, I illustrated how the positive right to an education is essential to a modern economy. Most Americans do not question the right to a public education, perhaps because it has been a fact of American life for over a century. Other positive rights adopted to some extent by American society, which… Continue reading A Minimum Living Standard in the World’s Wealthiest Country
The Right to a Public Education
In my last post, I mentioned certain “positive rights” that Americans have come to assume are part of the social contract. Public education is perhaps the least controversial example of a positive right in America. As a society, we generally believe that every child has a right to a high school education, regardless of his… Continue reading The Right to a Public Education
Defending a Century of American Progress
Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, in an oft-seen video clip, describes how a thriving industrialized economy is dependent on government taxation and redistribution for the creation of key institutions, infrastructure, and social programs: She notes, “there is nobody in this country who got rich on his own.” She mentions factory owners who “move [their] goods… Continue reading Defending a Century of American Progress