The Weekly Column

March 26, 2025

The speed and seriousness with which Donald Trump is shaking up Washington has everyone's head spinning.

If the president called me and asked my advice how he should explain to the American people what he is doing, I would say he should tell every American to read our Declaration of Independence.

Donald Trump is working to restore the principles and foundations that the nation's founders clearly laid out there that define the American republic. The serious problems we are confronting today stem from our departure from those principles, that the nation's founders signed, with "a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence" pledging "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."

"....all men are created equal...are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, —That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles."

These are the words that liberated the American people from tyranny and established a new country and a new chapter in history, in which individuals could be free to take full responsibility for their own life, as given to them by God.

Men set up government "to secure these rights." Government is there to protect God-given life, not to become God.

As the Democratic Party soul-searches to understand why it has lost the trust of the American people, this is all they have to read. This is where the Democrats' take on America has gotten lost — government is not God.

Joe Biden turned over to Donald Trump a country in which the federal government now consumes almost 25% of our GDP, the output of our national economy.

New treasury secretary Scott Bessent has been making media rounds explaining that we need to get the federal government's consumption of GDP back to 18%, where it stood for most of the half-century after World War II.

During those years when government was taking 7 percentage points less, our growth was averaging 3.5% per year. Now, the Congressional Budget Office projects 1.8% for 2026 and 2027, half that.

We will restore growth by cutting government and returning the country to its citizens.

Visit the Congressional Budget Office website and you will see a clear infographic summarizing the 2024 federal budget.

Total Outlays: $6.8 trillion. Total Revenues: $4.9 trillion. Deficit: $1.8 trillion.

Net interest on our debt (cost of what we must borrow to finance our deficit): $881 billion. Interest costs now are $31 billion more than our $850 billion defense budget.

The single largest government program? Social Security: $1.5 trillion.

It's a sign how far Americans have gone to turn their God-given lives over to government that so many are still happy to have government take 12.4% of their paycheck to finance a system whose own trustees say will not be able to meet its obligations beginning 2033.

Black Americans, who were forcibly left out in 1776, today are agreeing to be left out. According to the Federal Reserve Board Survey of Consumer Finances, in 2022, the average value of retirement accounts held by Black Americans was 39% that of White Americans. This would not be the case if they could take ownership of that 12.4% of their paycheck and invest it over a lifetime rather than government controlling it.

The press reports that many politicians cringed when Elon Musk called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme."

But we have the problems we have because too many who pretend to be leaders are afraid of the truth.

Let's fix America's biggest and most broken government program by returning control to American citizens of their own earnings.

Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Her recent book, "What Is the CURE for America?" is available now. 

March 19, 2025

Confirmation of President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has been held up in the Senate. Word now is that hearings will be held next week.

What's holding things up? Pressure from Democrats, of course.

If anyone is qualified to be America's ambassador to Israel, it is Mike Huckabee. As the former two-term governor of Arkansas, where his daughter Sarah is the current governor, former Republican presidential candidate, cable TV celebrity, Baptist minister and Evangelical Christian, Huckabee is a perfect candidate.

Huckabee is a great American patriot who also loves the state of Israel and understands that the latter in no way diminishes the former. Rather, Huckabee's support of Israel is a consequence of his American patriotism because he understands the common principles that drive the success of both countries.

Huckabee has led countless missions to Israel, in which I have been a participant, and he knows the terrain and history of the Holy Land inside out.

So, what's the problem with the Democrats?

The problem is that Mike Huckabee is a friend of Israel and many Democrats are not.

What is driving this schism?

Opening any news/commentary site these days, one finds a plethora of soul-searching columns trying to figure out what's wrong with the Democratic Party. They were defeated across the board in 2024. Now Democrats are trying to regroup to rebuild. In order to do this, they need to understand what's wrong.

It's not so different from what any caring parents consider in raising their children. They want to convey values and principles that will serve to build a successful life and future.

Any party platform worth anything must do the same. It must contain policies that embody the principles upon which we can build today and secure our future as a nation.

Here is where Republicans and Democrats part company big time. One word: religion.

More and more Americans are leaving behind the principles of the Bible. Per Gallup, in 1960, 2% of Americans said they have no religion. In 2023, this was up to 22%.

Most Americans who think Biblical truth is not relevant to their life are Democrats. Again, per Gallup, in 2023, 61% of Republicans said they are religious compared to 37% of Democrats.

Democrats have become the party of woke, transgender, abortion and big government. Of course, anyone is free to choose what to believe. But to think this means there is no truth, sorry about that.

A country with no families, no children, no respect for private property — which is what big government is about — is a country with no future.

We're already showing the dangerous signs of this wrong road so many in our nation have chosen. A country with a declining population, disappearing family, and excessive government spending and debt is not exactly a model of a healthy present or future.

Back to Huckabee and Israel. The reason Democrat support for Huckabee is weak is because Democrat support for Israel is weak, and Democrat support for Israel is weak because Democrat support for religion is weak.

Per Gallup, among those who say they have no religious identity, over the period 2020-2024, 34% express more sympathy for Israel and 43% express more sympathy for the Palestinians.

In Gallup polling in February 2025, 33% of Democrats said they are very/mostly favorable to Israel compared to 83% of Republicans. And 45% of Democrats said they are very/mostly favorable to Palestinians compared to 18% of Republicans.

Let's be clear that expressing support for the Palestinians in Gaza is expressing support for Hamas, the murderous terrorist regime they have chosen as their leadership.

With the election of Trump, the terrorists no longer have reason to believe they have a sympathetic confused leftist in power in Washington.

Let's get on with it, Republicans. Let's get Mike Huckabee confirmed as America's man in Israel.

March 12, 2025

The 36 million who watched President Donald Trump's address to Congress also watched as Congressional Black Caucus member, Rep. Al Green, shook his cane and shouted at the president.

When he refused to desist, Speaker Mike Johnson ordered him removed from the chamber.

Two days later, in a bipartisan vote, the House censured Green.

The Congressional Black Caucus stood in firm support of Green's actions and, in their own move to disrupt, CBC members sang "We Shall Overcome," an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, as Johnson read the censure on the House floor. When they refused to stop disrupting, the Speaker gaveled the session to recess.

CBC Chairperson Rep. Yvette Clarke, noting Black Caucus support for Green, then went into the usual refrain about refusing to accept spending cuts in "programs like Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security while giving tax cuts to billionaires like Elon Musk."

But there have been no discussions about cuts in Medicare and Social Security, nor are there tax cuts targeted to billionaires.

Regarding Medicaid, this is the usual Democrat distortion, calling reducing proposed increases in spending a cut.

What Republicans propose is an increase in Medicaid spending over the next 10 years of $1.5 trillion rather than the programmed $2.4 trillion. A reduction in an increase in spending is not a cut, Madam CBC chair.

Per the Wall Street Journal, Medicaid expenditures have increased 207% since 2008 and 51% since 2019. As a share of federal spending, Medicaid has increased from 7% of total federal spending in 2007 to 10% in 2023.

Most offensive is these increases result from scamming the Medicaid program by states, who use the funds beyond what Medicaid was meant to do. Medicaid was supposed to be about health care support for "poor children, pregnant women, the elderly and disabled."

But it has gone way beyond that. Medicaid funding is used for housing vouchers, food stamps and sundry other non-health care programs.

This happens because federal health care funding matches state funding by one to three dollars per state dollar. So, the more states spend, they get multiples in subsidies from the federal government.

The bottom line is Medicaid is a broken, poorly structured program where federal spending has exploded.

The Civil Rights Movement was about freedom and justice. It was about combatting discrimination in which Black Americans were denied the same inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as other Americans.

Longshoreman philosopher Eric Hoffer reportedly observed, "Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business and eventually degenerates into a racket."

The Civil Rights Movement culminated in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which set law to address the institutionalized discrimination that existed.

But after the crowning achievement of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, the movement was captured by the left and was transformed from being about personal freedom and justice into a movement about endlessly growing government and growing government dependency.

"We Shall Overcome" is now about the struggle against those who want to reduce the dangerous and massive expansion of government.

In 1965, the year after the Civil Rights Act was passed, federal spending stood at 15.9% of GDP. By 2024, it reached 23.1%.

In 1965, federal debt held by the public stood at 35.1% of GDP. By 2024 it was up to 97.1%.

Per the Congressional Budget Office, we've arrived in 2025 where the percent of federal spending consumed by interest on our debt is about as large as our defense spending.

The Congressional Black Caucus hurts our country and Black citizens alike by transforming the ideal of freedom to the ideal of big government.

House Speaker Mike Johnson has helped all Americans of all colors by refusing to be intimidated by those militantly carrying the banner of the welfare state.

March 5, 2025

Jeff Bezos is shaking things up at The Washington Post.

The Post has always been part of the big-government, left-wing establishment part of our country.

Bezos wants to change that.

He wrote to the newspaper's staff that editorial policy is going to change.

"We are going to be writing every day in support and defense of two pillars: personal liberties and free markets," wrote Bezos.

Opinion page editor David Shipley immediately tendered his resignation, and more staff shake-ups are sure to follow.

Bezos clarified in his communication, possibly anticipating accusations that this is just about him seeking favor with the new Trump administration, that this move reflects his personal convictions.

"I am of America and for America, and proud to be so. Our country did not get here by being typical. And a big part of America's success has been freedom in the economic realm and everywhere else. Freedom is ethical — it minimizes coercion — and practical — it drives creativity, invention, and prosperity."

But Bezos, founder of Amazon, has owned The Washington Post since 2013. If his commitment to free markets is so deep, so strong, why has it taken him more than 10 years to shake things up at this deeply entrenched left-wing megaphone?

Looking at Bezos' track record of political and philanthropic giving, we see no signs of a free market libertarian.

His personal political contributions, which can be reviewed on OpenSecrets, are largely to Democrats.

Checking out Amazon, in the 2023-2024 cycle, Amazon made $6,941,498 in political contributions. Of these, $5,154,937 went to Democrats and $1,062,201 to Republicans; $674,511 to liberal groups, $63,239 to conservatives.

Regarding Bezos' billions in philanthropic giving, no signs emerge that this is a man driven by the core importance of individual liberty and free markets. I run a nonprofit that supports these ideas, and I know the organizations that are in this space. They are nowhere to be found in Bezos' philanthropy.

On the contrary, the flavor of Bezos' philanthropic preferences reflects the mindset of a man of the left.

For instance, his $10 billion commitment to climate change via his Bezos Earth Fund.

One extract from the thinking: "The market economy can play a valuable role in shifting to a green future, but free markets alone can simply perpetuate past pollution and depletion."

The Bezos Scholars Program in the Bezos Family Foundation, founded by his parents, headlines its work with diversity, equity and inclusion — "We employ policies and practices that foster diversity, equity and inclusion."

It's very possible to see Bezos' move at the Post through the eye of a cynic. Yes, indeed, this is not a man of conviction but a man of money who will support the best ideas that money can buy. If Trump means free markets, that's what Jeff Bezos will support, regardless of what he supported in the past.

On the other hand, no one can deny that this a very, very smart, extraordinarily capable, and, yes, courageous businessman.

The media business as a whole is in shambles and needs shaking up.

New data from Gallup shows that the percentage of Americans who say they trust mass media a "great deal/fair amount" has dropped from 68% in 1972 to 33% in 2024.

Regarding confidence in newspapers, 18% say that have a "great deal/quite a lot," and 48% say they have "very little/none".

If Jeff Bezos is someone who started from modest beginnings, became very successful and very, very rich in America and then supported left-wing policies and politicians, he wouldn't be alone.

There are many like this. One can achieve great success and not really understand the source of their blessings.

Being able to learn and grow throughout one's life is praiseworthy.

So maybe Jeff Bezos, despite his multibillions and legendary success, remains a modest man who continues to grow.

Maybe now he sees the truth. I hope so.

February 26, 2025

President Donald Trump's proposal to transfer the few million Palestinian Arabs in Gaza to other Arab countries and then rebuild and redevelop Gaza was met with some surprise and pushback.

Isn't this unfair? Doesn't this violate rights of Palestinians in Gaza?

Usually when we think about those who see a world with rights and without responsibilities, a world with claims but without obligations, we think about the political left.

But Palestinian Arabs may qualify as the world experts in this mindset.

The great economist Milton Friedman observed, "There is no such thing as a free lunch." Everything has a price. But this basic truth seems to elude too many Palestinians.

Palestinian Arabs sit today amid almost total destruction in Gaza as a result of years, years, years of doing nothing but saying "no."

In 1947, with the return of Jews from around the world to their historic homeland, the United Nations voted to divide the area between Jews and Arabs — create a Jewish state and an Arab state.

The Jews said yes; the Arabs said no. The Jews started building, and the Arabs attacked and went to war.

Fortunately for both the Jews and the Arabs, the Jews won the war. They built a new modern country, the product of total perseverance over seemingly insurmountable odds.

But many Arabs refused to accept this new reality. Sitting and doing nothing except hating and terrorizing is no way to build a better life.

Israelis built a country despite being surrounded by those who only have "no" in their vocabulary.

The latest go-round was in 2005. Israel pulled out all their presence in Gaza and turned it over 100% to the Palestinians living there. The following year, elections were held, and Hamas terrorists were elected and given control.

Everything was there to build the country the Arabs living there claimed they wanted. But instead, billions in aid were channeled to endless rocket attacks on Israel and construction of underground tunnels for hiding and smuggling.

Countries are built by loving your brother, not by hating your neighbor — a simple truth that has never made it to Arabs in Gaza.

Then came the horrible attack of Oct. 7, 2023. More than 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians were brutally murdered and terrorized, and 251 were taken hostage.

Everything was there to build the country the Arabs living there claimed they wanted. But instead, billions in aid were channeled to endless rocket attacks on Israel and construction of underground tunnels for hiding and smuggling.

Countries are built by loving your brother, not by hating your neighbor — a simple truth that has never made it to Arabs in Gaza.

Then came the horrible attack of Oct. 7, 2023. More than 1,200 innocent Israeli civilians were brutally murdered and terrorized, and 251 were taken hostage.

If there is one message the Palestinians have conveyed to the world, it is that they are incapable of governing themselves.

Per the World Population Review there are 1.9 billion Muslims in the world and approximately 50 countries with majority Muslim populations.

Per the Times of Israel, there are 15.8 million Jews in the world. And there is only one Jewish country.

I repeat that the U.N. voted to create a Palestinian state in 1947 and the Arabs said "no" because the price was one single Jewish state in the whole world.

There is a price to war. People are killed, hurt, displaced. After the establishment of Israel, from 1948-1972, 820,000 Jews were purged from Arab countries. An estimated 586,000 were taken in by Israel.

Trump is right. After 75-plus years of Palestinian Arabs saying no, doing zero to solve their own problems, creating nothing but death and destruction, and enriching a terrorist leadership to the tune of hundreds and hundreds of millions, it's time to move on.

Let the victims of this destructive history choose among the 50 Muslim countries when deciding where to build new lives.

And let Donald Trump develop beautiful beachfront property in Gaza.

February 19, 2025

The left is screaming that President Donald Trump is on some kind of ideological crusade.

Some recent headlines: "Trump and Musk's Purge Isn't Cost Cutting — It's a Coup"; "DOGE is About Ideology and Mindless Budget Cutting"; "Elon Musk's Indiscriminate Carnage"; "Dems Must Stand Up Against the Bully in the White House."

It's sort of like labeling a company CEO ideological because he is driven to keep his company profitable and competitive.

One column in The Guardian says Trump is "lacerating the structures of U.S. democracy."

In other words, protecting taxpayers and running the country efficiently is anti-democratic. But forgiving $189 billion of student loan debt — done under Biden — and dumping it all on taxpayers is not. Or government spending trillions and larding it all onto the federal debt rather than raising taxes is not.

The Congressional Budget Office just issued its latest 10-year outlook, and it is not a pretty picture regarding today's economic realities of the nation.

It forecasts that the federal debt will grow from 100% of GDP in 2025 to 118% of GDP by 2035, the highest in American history.

CBO forecasts GDP growth over this same 10-year period to average 1.8% per year. It is not ideology to point out that this is pathetic and dangerous.

It's about one-half the 3.5% per year that the U.S. economy grew over the half century from 1950 to 2000.

Hoover Institution economist John Cochrane has pointed out that if the U.S. economy grew 2% per year from 1950 to 2000 instead of 3.5% per year, per capita income would have been less than half what it was in 2000.

Ideology is about words — slogans with no reality check. Business is about numbers, measurement and performance.

The failure of socialism, the failure of societies with oversized intrusive government and the failure of ideas like social justice falling into the realm of politics is politicians seizing more and more power and taking less and less responsibility. When government expands at the expense of individual freedom, productivity and creativity suffer, and economic growth shrinks. These are not words. They are quantitative results.

In a recent Pew Research survey, 74% of Americans said they feel that our children will be worse off financially than their parents. These are Americans living in a country with government bigger and more intrusive than that of their forebears.

The Fraser Institute in Vancouver, Canada, publishes annually an Economic Freedom of the World report.

Fraser measures economic freedom in 165 countries around the world. For every country, they measure the size of government, the extent of regulation, the extent to which the legal system works to protect personal freedom and private property, the extent to which every country is careful to not debase its national currency, and the extent to which it allows citizens and firms to trade freely internationally.

Every nation is quantitively scored in each of these areas and given a score for overall economic freedom.

The top 25% of countries in overall economic freedom scores have average per capita income — $52,777 — 7.6 times higher than average per capita income of the lowest 25% — $6,968.

These are numbers, measurements, performance. Not ideology.

It's much harder to diet and lose weight than to overeat and get fat. It's much harder to sober up than to drink in excess.

But every individual, every country, sooner or later, must deal with reality.

Our country has lost its way.

Those on the left who are verbally assaulting the new Trump administration are the ideologues. They are in love with empty words and bankrupt ideas.

Fortunately, we now have tough and courageous leadership willing to do the very hard work of getting a great country that has lost its way back on track.