Tag: Americans

Commentary: Borders and Taking Care of Our Own

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One of my favorite short stories is “The Lame Shall Enter First” by Flannery O’Connor. The plot centers on a young, atheist widower who takes in a violent teenage orphan and attempts to reform him. Neglecting his own young and motherless son, the widower focuses all his love and attention on the delinquent teen, even blinding himself to certain crimes the teen commits.

As is common in O’Connor’s work, the ending is gut-wrenching, with the father realizing his neglectful behavior too late as his son commits suicide.

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Commentary: Why Americans Are Staying Put, Instead of Moving to a New City or State

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by Thomas Cooke   The story of America is one of moving. A total of 13.6% of Americans today were born in another country, and most of us are descended from immigrants. This story of migration also includes moving within the country. Over the last 200 years, Americans have settled the frontier, moved away from cities toward suburbs and migrated away from cities in the Northeast toward the South and West. This narrative that Americans are constantly moving within the country is no longer true. Over the last 35 years, the number of Americans who have moved – within their county, state or out of state – has steadily declined to nearly half of their previous levels. Between March 2018 and 2019, only 1.5% of Americans moved from one state to another, and 5.9% moved from one home to another while remaining in the same county. Why are Americans more rooted? The decision to move is a complex one. People are often searching for better opportunities but must also take into account factors like family characteristics, lifestyle and community. I have studied American migration for over 20 years, and I see no evidence linking the migration decline to changes in…

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The Poorest 20 Percent of Americans Are Richer on Average Than Most Nations of Europe

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A groundbreaking study by Just Facts has discovered that after accounting for all income, charity, and non-cash welfare benefits like subsidized housing and Food Stamps – the poorest 20% of Americans consume more goods and services than the national averages for all people in most affluent countries. This includes the majority of countries in the prestigious Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), including its European members. In other words, if the U.S. “poor” were a nation, it would be one of the world’s richest.

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Commentary: Support for $15 Minimum Wage Plummets When Americans Are Told Its Economic Impact

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by Jon Miltimore   Minimum wage laws, I’ve noted, are popular with the public. This no doubt explains why House Democrats passed a bill Thursday that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Yet the minimum wage’s apparent popularity might be political pyrite (fool’s gold). A newly published Business Insider survey found that support for the minimum wage wilts when Americans—both Republicans and Democrats—are told of its full economic impact. Of the 1,100 poll respondents, 63 percent supported raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. Just 22 percent opposed the policy. However, when told of the Congressional Budget Office’s recent finding that raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would cost an estimated 1.3 million jobs, respondents soured on the policy. After being told that “a proposed policy” to raise the minimum wage could lead to 1.3 million job losses, people were considerably less enthusiastic. Thirty-seven percent of respondents would support a policy with those implications, considerably down from the 63% who backed a $15 minimum wage. The CBO, which projected that job losses could be as high as 3.7 million, explained in their report who would be most affected by the minimum wage…

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The Economic History of the Picnic

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by Alexandra Hudson   This week, Americans across the country and beyond prepare to celebrate the 243rd anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. Some are hosting large parties with fireworks. Others are organizing more intimate barbecues with neighbors, family, and friends. Still others are curating menus for a very American Fourth of July tradition: the picnic. We are all familiar with its rituals. Al fresco dining on a blanket with nibbles, beverages — a cold beer for some, chilled champagne for others — sandwiches, fruits, and more. It invokes warm feelings of gratitude for family and togetherness. However, the picnic was not always this way — so pervasive and available to all. The concept of the picnic as we know it far predates the word, though its etymological origins are unknown (some think it comes from the French words piquer, which means “to peck,” and nique, “a small amount”). The concept of an elegant outdoor meal dates back to the Middle Ages and is associated with the aristocratic hunt. As a delightful History Today article recounts, the picnic finds its origins in the rarefied realms of France’s aristocracy. The picnic was originally a meal shared with friends…

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Commentary: What Americans Often Forget

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by Janet Beihoffer   Our nation’s birthday is approaching once again, along with the celebrations which have accompanied the holiday for so many years. In recent years, however, Independence Day celebrations are often overshadowed by bickering over race or class. With this in mind, I’d like to share a story from my classroom years ago. As a former teacher of upper elementary grades, I spent nine weeks on human anatomy. The biological systems covered depended on the age of the students, which spanned nine to 12. All students were taught the circulatory, digestive, and respiratory systems. They were also taught about the five senses. At the end of this unit, students were required to make a model of an organ, write a report on its functions and diseases, and then give a presentation to the class on how important that organ or sense was to the human body. While these models were on display, my principal – a tall black man with a “John Bunyanesque beard and stance – came to our classroom. Spotting the science projects on the windowsill he asked, “What are those?” “These are our science projects at the end of our human anatomy unit,” I replied.…

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Half of Americans Back Stronger Role of Religion in Society

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Around half of Americans favor religion playing a greater role in U.S. society, while 18 percent oppose that idea, according to a Pew Research Center study published Monday. Despite there being a separation of church and state, religion plays a significant part in daily U.S. life: the president traditionally is sworn in using a Bible, while “In God We Trust” is printed on banknotes. France, Sweden and the Netherlands, meanwhile, posted almost opposite results: 47 percent, 51 percent and 45 percent respectively were opposed to religion playing a key role in society. Among the 27 countries surveyed in 2018, France (20 percent) and Japan (15 percent) were the countries with the lowest proportion of citizens favoring strengthening religion’s role in society. Indonesia (85 percent), Kenya (74 percent) and Tunisia (69 percent) came out as the countries most in favor of a bigger place for religion. The study did not make a distinction between different religions. In the U.S., the proportion rose to 61 percent among people aged 50 and over, but dropped to 39 percent among 18- to 29-year-olds. The study was carried out with a representative sample of at least 1,000 people in each country.        …

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Commentary: The Truth About How Much Americans Are Paying in Taxes

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by Adam Michel   As Americans file their taxes this April, they might be in for a surprise: Most Americans got a tax cut last year. It shouldn’t be a surprise given the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, but unfortunately, the media have produced a never–ending deluge of misleading or inaccurate reporting on the issue. Last year, The Heritage Foundation studied how the tax cuts would affect Americans in every congressional district across the country. We found that each of the 435 districts got a tax cut and that the average American household paid about $1,400 less in taxes as a result in 2018. Americans with children also benefit from the tax cuts. A married couple filing jointly with two children saw their tax bills fall by an average of $2,917. Depending on how much you make, where you live, and how many kids you have, the numbers can look different. You can check out the average tax cut in every congressional district here. Americans don’t just benefit from the lower taxes. They benefit a second time from higher wages generated by a faster-growing economy. Lower taxes for businesses and individuals help fuel more investment and innovation, which…

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Commentary: No Constitution for Divided Men

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by Helen Lamm   Whether we like it or not, the defining political disagreements of our time are no longer based on differences of constitutional interpretation. “Limited government” is probably the most broadly accepted unifying principle of the conservative movement. You can find the phrase in the mission statements of the country’s most prominent right-leaning think tanks. It is a hallmark of modern conservative thought, an homage to the glory days of Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. The conservative movement built its political identity on this principle, and for good reason. Bureaucratic tyranny, like Cthulhu, expands indiscriminately while crushing civil society under its ever-increasing weight. Bureaucratic overreach is a problem, but it is not the problem. Conservatives tend to distract and paralyze themselves by so rigidly focusing on the principle of “limited government.” Fearful of overreaching, they stand still as the Left reaches over them. Despite operating in what effectively is a post-constitutional context, they attempt to play by rules their enemies have long since abandoned. Take, for instance, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, one of 13 Republicans who voted with the Democrats to overturn President Trump’s national emergency declaration to build the wall. He tweeted late last month, “If…

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Majority of Americans Say Abortions Should Be Restricted, New Poll Finds

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by Courtney Joyner   A poll released Tuesday just ahead of the 46th March for Life demonstration in Washington, D.C, shows the majority of Americans support tighter restrictions on abortion, and would even like to see the landmark Roe v. Wade decision “reinterpreted” to allow more restrictions. The annual survey conducted by Marist in partnership with the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization, reveals that three-quarters of Americans oppose taxpayer funding for abortion abroad, even though 55 percent of Americans polled identify as pro-choice. Additionally, 75 percent of Americans—including those who identify as Republican (92 percent), Democrat (60 percent), and independent (78 percent)—said abortion should be limited to the first three months of pregnancy. “As in past years, this poll shows that the pro-choice label on the abortion issue is simply insufficient,” said Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson in a statement. “The majority of Americans—in both parties—support legal restrictions on abortion,” Anderson added. “Two-thirds of Americans want Roe revisited to allow for state regulation of abortion or to ban it altogether. The majority of the American people deserve to have their opinions heard.” Now in its 11th year, the poll, which randomly selected and surveyed 1,066 American adults…

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Record-High 70,000 Americans Died of Drug Overdoses in 2017

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by Evie Fordham   A record 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses according to 2017 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data released Thursday, prompting experts to point to the proliferation of the potent substance fentanyl. The CDC’s 2017 data shows that 70,237 Americans died of drug overdoses. That represents a nearly 10 percent increase from 2016, when 63,632 Americans died of drug overdoses. West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania were the states hardest hit in 2017. Analysts warned that a growing amount of drugs are laced with dangerous substances like the synthetic opioid fentanyl when the CDC released preliminary 2017 overdose statistics in August. Provisional numbers suggest that 2018 will see a similar number of drug overdose deaths as in 2017, according to the CDC. Deaths involving fentanyl, its analogs and the opioid tramadol jumped 45 percent from 2016 to 2017 alone, according to CDC data. 2017 saw more than 28,000 deaths involving fentanyl or similar synthetic opioids. Fentanyl is most common in the eastern and midwestern U.S., where the opioid epidemic is most concentrated. Illicit fentanyl is often made in Mexico or China and cut into supplies of heroin or cocaine as it is stronger and cheaper than both…

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Average Cost of Thanksgiving Dinner Drops to Lowest Price Since 2010

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by Hanna Bogorowski   The American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual survey on the price of traditional Thanksgiving foods revealed a drop in the average price of dinner for families. “Since 2015, the average cost of Thanksgiving dinner has declined steadily and is now at the lowest level since 2010,” AFBF Chief Economist Dr. John Newton said in a statement. The survey, which counted up the cost of classic Thanksgiving foods like turkey, sweet potatoes, bread rolls, cranberries, pumpkin pie mix and more, indicates that the average cost of this year’s meal for 10 is $48.90. That’s less than $5 per person, and a 22 cent decrease from the previous year’s average of $49.12. Thanksgiving dinner’s staple, the turkey, also costs slightly less this year, coming in at $21.71 for a 16-pound turkey and down three percent from 2017. Something to be thankful for: the real cost of a 2018 Thanksgiving dinner is lowest since 2010 and 26% lower than 1986 https://t.co/boMgeAN1yb — Mark J. Perry (@Mark_J_Perry) November 15, 2018 The AFBF survey revealed that this is the lowest price one can buy a turkey since 2014. ‘Thanks to an ample supply, turkey remains affordable for consumers, which helps keep the overall cost of the…

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Commentary: Here’s Why Trump’s Constant Criticism of the Media Resonates With Americans

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Donald Trump

by Jarrett Stepman   Americans aren’t fans of their media. A recent poll shows that while many Americans find President Donald Trump divisive, even more find the media to be divisive. A Politico/Morning Consult poll showed that 56 percent of Americans think Trump has done more to divide the country, while 64 percent of Americans think the media has done more. Only 17 percent of respondents said that they thought the national media has done more to unite the country. There were sharp partisan divisions over whether Trump has worked to unite or divide the country, but Americans across the political spectrum gave the media low marks. Reinforcing this poll about the media is another survey by Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog, that says media coverage of Trump and Republicans has been overwhelmingly negative and partisan. The study found that 92 percent of the broadcast network coverage of Trump was negative, compared to only 8 percent being positive. While much of the division in America may be natural and intractable, it is telling that the media, which has been so strongly negative toward the president, is being blamed even more for heightening conflict in this country. If anything,…

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Analysis: Quantifying the Progressive Extremism That Has Overrun the Democrat Party

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by Ken Masugi   A shrewd observer of American politics, Thomas Edsall sums up the evidence that the Democratic Party has rapidly become a far more left-wing party than it ever has been. In the last 18 years, the percentage of white Democrats identifying themselves as liberal doubled, from 28 to 55 percent, while percentages of moderates and conservatives fell. This dramatic change may explain not just the 2018 elections but the future of American politics: 2018 may be the year Democrats push America over the cliff. Using recent survey data, Edsall highlights several changes, notably: “Progressive activists are ‘more than twice as likely [than a typical American] to say that they never pray (50 percent to 19 percent), ‘almost three times more likely to be “ashamed to be an American”’ (69-24), eleven percentage points more likely to be white (80-69), and ‘twice as likely to have completed college (59-29).’” Ashamed to be an American by almost three to one. That just about says it all. The Progressive Democratic Party breaks with its honorable past as the world’s oldest political party and is recently reborn as the radical edge of History, the dictatorship of the enlightened. Within the blinders and…

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