Unemployment fell to 3.5% in July, the same historically low level as February 2020. The labor market remains strong despite high inflation and a seeming impending recession. The labor market’s performance refutes a central element of Modern Monetary Theory’s (MMT) license for government spending. The unemployment rate excludes persons not seeking jobs, so economists also […]

It was a fearful time in 2006 when a number of rural churches were burned in Alabama. I remember a deacon’s meeting in which we discussed whether we ought to take night shifts at our church to protect our property. One of our deacons dismissed the idea: “We’d probably end up shooting each other,” he […]

The longer I continue to write about Alabama politics, the more I realize that Alabama really is a “Big Front Porch” – a saying made famous by our legendary Alabama storyteller, Kathryn Tucker Wyndham. I have been involved in the world of Alabama politics for 60 years. I have been writing this column for over […]

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville recently introduced a critical piece of legislation, the “Financial Freedom Act” (S.4147). The bill was filed in response to an administrative action from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), who earlier this spring issued a guidance document which would effectively limit the ability of investors to manage their 401(k) accounts as […]

In 2018, as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I voted for the Fair and Open Competition Act designed to preserve open competition and federal government neutrality. Competition is the only way to ensure our U.S. military receives the very best at the very best price. Right now, the U.S. Air Force is […]

This past Friday, the House voted on the Inflation Reduction Act, and it passed along party lines. You probably heard this bill talked about in the news because the Senate passed it a few days before and then sent it to the House.  My office got a LOT of calls from constituents who strongly opposed […]

When Governor Kay Ivey called the Alabama Legislature into special session in January of this year, the task was clear: Allocate hundreds of millions of dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to benefit Alabamians through game-changing investments in broadband, health care, and water and sewer infrastructure. The Legislature responded decisively to Governor Ivey, […]

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) does little to address inflation, primarily because it is a spending measure and government spending fueled our current inflation. One place where the IRA addresses prices is prescription drugs. Unfortunately, the IRA relies on price controls instead of the Trump administration’s successful deregulatory approach. We do not have a competitive […]

It was one of the worst blunders of all time when Major John Armstrong said, “Baltimore’s the thing.” Armstrong was Secretary of War under President James Madison during a momentous time— the War of 1812. It was actually 1814 when the British fleet threatened the Eastern Seaboard. Many feared for the security of the U.S. […]

Prior to the American Revolution and more than a decade before the French Revolution, there was the Swedish Revolution, which marks its 250th anniversary this month. While often out of the orbit of discussions of western civilization, Sweden was and continues to be a repository of enlightened democratic values. With a remarkable history of military […]

“Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo” is a perfectly fine, grammatically correct English sentence describing how some New York bison intimidate others. But it can read confusing if you don’t know the word “buffalo” can serve as an adjective, noun, proper noun and verb, each with a different meaning. This lexical ambiguity is […]

Alabama has more than 100,000 low-income kids across the state who depend on free or reduced-priced breakfasts and lunches at school (there are more than 30 million kids who get free or reduced-priced lunch and 14 million who get free or reduced-price breakfast). For many of these students, the meals they get at school are […]

Inflation-adjusted (real) GDP dipped 0.9% in the second quarter (Q2) after declining 1.6% in the first quarter, igniting debate over whether we are in a recession. We may not be in a recession but rather degrowth. A recession is a broad economic decline, the contraction phase of the business cycle. This differs from a slump […]

During our years in Selma, Ala., two movie production crews came to the city. The first was the crew of “Blue Sky,” who filmed at the former Craig Air Force Base. Powers Boothe, Tommy Lee Jones and Jessica Lange were in town for several months. I called the film company asking how I could contact […]

You won’t hear it in White House press room propaganda, but America is on a collision course with disaster. Inflation, fueled by “stimulus” packages like the $2 trillion “American Rescue Plan,” has risen 13.8% since Joe Biden took office. For 15 straight months, Americans’ real wages have declined. Gas and energy prices are through the […]

As the primary election season is cooling down, the general election is heating up. There is much at stake in November for our state and nation. The tone-deaf Democrats are insistent on ignoring the will of the American people with their consistently ignorant stubbornness on most issues that are clearly harming our country. While Republican […]

Several weeks ago, I shared some of my thoughts about the gun control debate. There’s no doubt we have a real problem in this country because we are no longer teaching our children and grandchildren to value life, and our nation is doing nothing to address the mental health pandemic happening around us. Unfortunately, so […]

I’ll take the names out of it so it’s not so personal. Last week the state executed a man who killed his ex-girlfriend in 1994 – 28 years ago. He was put to death by lethal injection, which is supposedly the most humane procedure to put someone to death. The officials involved said, “Justice has […]

Governments are promising to end fossil fuel use by 2050 or sooner. Fossil Future by Alex Epstein, founder of the Center for Industrial Progress, argues that this would be tragic. Contrary to conventional wisdom, he believes that expanding the use of fossil fuels is humanity’s only moral course. I will detail the steps of Mr. […]

Best-selling author James Patterson in his new autobiography told about being on the “Oprah” show in Chicago. He and his co-writer came to promote their latest book that contained a lot of questions they called “mostly ridiculous.” Ms. Winfrey took one of the questions and asked it of her audience: “For two million dollars, could […]

It is hard to believe it has been 60 years since George Wallace’s first victorious race for governor. Let’s go down memory lane and reminisce about the 1962 governor’s race and Wallace’s classic inaugural victory. The 1962 governor’s race really began in 1958. The governor’s chair and the race for it was the big show […]

July is Disability Pride Month. It’s been 32 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. Reflecting on this, I recall how my entire life has been shaped by a person with a disability. My cousin, Olin George Holley, Jr. — known in our small town […]

Violent criminals should be incarcerated, not walking free in our communities and on our streets. Unfortunately, that is the case in our state all too often. Under current Alabama law, judges have limited authority to deny bail to violent offenders unless the suspect is charged with a capital offense or poses a flight risk. That […]

Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 207,416 migrant encounters at our southern border last month, which makes it the worst June on record. For perspective, this means there are more than enough illegal immigrants crossing the border every single month to equal the population of Mobile. June was also the fourth month […]