I Believe

Let’s begin the process of registering an agricultural product on a blockchain as a capability demonstration for agricultural cooperatives! Let’s pick up where we left off with agricultural blockchain cooperatives by addressing a couple of listener questions. 1. With this blockchain partnership, how does the rancher or farmer expect to be paid? The rancher needs to be paid in US dollars. While cry...

How might we change the premise of Social Security to make it fully funded, more equitable, and sustainable indefinitely? Social Security is societal insurance, not an individual retirement plan. It’s intended to protect individuals against income loss due to retirement, disability, or death. It supports disabled individuals, survivors, and children and reduces poverty. Social Security protects ta...

“Drain the swamp” is a metaphor likening the government to a swamp that needs to be drained to remove undesirable elements. But who’s the swamp? It’s not the people, and characterizing it as such is political theater. Most Americans who work in government want to make life better for other Americans. The real swamp is the self-serving rules—government working for itself, not the people. We need to...

Last week, we examined the goal of traceability in beef markets. Traceability helps ensure a safe food supply and keeps markets open. Further expanding traceability from birth to beef empowers individual choice and supports American ranchers. USDA doesn’t have to achieve this goal alone. Blockchain-driven agricultural cooperatives could play a crucial role in achieving these goals. As the demand f...

Do you know where your beef comes from? Cattle wear earrings. They’re not decorative; their primary purpose is to assist ranchers in managing and aiding their herds. The earrings have unique patterns of numbers or letters, allowing ranchers to identify individual cattle. On April 26, 2024, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) passed a final rule requiring animal agriculture producers to use ele...

Чи підтримує Америка боротьбу України проти Росії, бо це відповідає її власним інтересам? Чи слід нам припинити фінансування цих зусиль в Україні? Філософія Томас Гоббс у своїй праці "Левіафан", опублікованій у 1651 році, виклав свої погляди на теорію суспільного договору. Протягом цього періоду Англія пережила значні потрясіння. Громадянська війна в Англії була на піку, фракції боролися за владу...

Is America supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia, acting in our self-interest? Or should we stop funding the effort in Ukraine? Philosophy Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan , published in 1651, presented his views on social contract theory. During this period, England experienced significant upheaval. The English Civil War raged, with factions fighting over monarchy power, religious discord, and social...

The Rise and Fall of an Industrial Giant The lack of tariffs on foreign steel led to the downfall of American steel. We watched as plants closed and people lost their jobs amid a significant decline in the domestic industry's global competitiveness. Augustus Wolle founded the Saucona Iron Company in 1857 in Saucon Valley, Pennsylvania. The company moved to Bethlehem in 1861 and rebranded as Bethle...

We often hear that land doesn’t vote; people do. How about a different perspective? Land doesn’t have rights, but land endows rights. What would repealing Birthright Citizenship mean? We often hear that “land doesn’t vote; people do.” This phrase highlights the humanity of our democratic republic. The adage emphasizes rights of the individual and the collective power of the electorate to shape gov...

Has capitalism failed the housing market? We need to examine the decisive points that lead us through some philosophy to consider capitalism’s impact on housing affordability and supply. Ultimately, our goal should be to achieve an adequate supply of homes, resulting in a median home price of two times the median household income for that area. Capitalism and Housing Scottish Economist and Philoso...

Mostramos nuestro compromiso con el ideal estadounidense cuando interactuamos entre nosotros con gracia y dignidad. Desde los debates sobre el idioma del siglo XVIII hasta la reciente tragedia en Baltimore, no necesitamos hablar el mismo idioma para respetar los derechos de los demás y agradecernos mutuamente por nuestro servicio. ¿Cuál es el idioma oficial de América? El 9 de enero de 1794, un gr...

We show our commitment to the American ideal when we interact with each other with grace and dignity. From 18th-century debates on language to the recent tragedy in Baltimore, we don’t need to speak the same language to respect the rights of others and thank each other for our service. What’s America’s official language? On January 9, 1794, a group of German-Americans in Virginia petitioned the 3r...

Some grow frustrated with our progress in convincing Russia to leave Ukraine. We could take deliberate steps to increase our negotiating strength. Just as a thought experiment, a case study—should we enforce a blockade of Kaliningrad? June 24, 1948 . Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader during World War II, directed a blockade of all supplies going into West Berlin, Germany, by road, rail, or river. D...

We are endowed with radical freedom, but this freedom is inherently linked to societal obligations and responsibilities. Where is the line between personal liberty and our obligation to society? What about when others disagree with our healthcare decisions? We are Condemned to be Free. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, and novelist. He saw first-hand...

America is torn by division. The battle for the nation's soul rages on, touching every aspect of society. An intense struggle over American culture and individual rights unfolds, fueled by deep-seated disagreements over social reform. Voices on both sides of the spectrum argue passionately. We are a society at a crossroads. The political scene is characterized by unprecedented divisiveness. Disenf...

Two weeks ago, we asserted that Americans need to be able to connect to big human capital infrastructure. Job training. Education. Professional qualifications. Further, we posited that building collective individual capability fuels national growth, security, and competitiveness. We concluded that individuals collectively need effective policy, accessible education, and equitable infrastructure to...

What is the philosophical basis for education and public funding? The context of this piece is the premise that Americans need to be able to connect to big human capital infrastructure. Job training. Education. Professional qualifications. Individuals and communities need effective policy, accessible education, and equitable infrastructure to realize their potential. Enhancing collective individua...

Big infrastructure projects benefit Americans. These projects increase individual capability. Combined individual capability generates national capability. Last week, we established the state has a duty to provide resources for individual capability. An obvious question is…how should the state provide these resources? Should we create handout programs supporting individual Americans? The passage o...

Does the state have a duty to provide resources for individual capability? Let’s set the stage with some background. June 21, 1788 . New Hampshire ratified the US Constitution . With New Hampshire’s ratification, the Constitution became legal. The Constitution included this verbiage in the Preamble: We the People of the United States, in Order to… promote the general Welfare …do ordain and establi...

Even if we call something by a different name, that doesn’t make it true. The bedrock of America is liberty. We’re all liberals! Abraham Lincoln liked to tell a profound truth with a simple analogy. The analogy is recounted in REMINISCENCES OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN , copyright 1885, pg 242. In the story, someone asks a boy how many legs his calf would have if he called its tail a leg. The boy replies, “...

The American Dream is part of the institution of America. How would we enable young Americans to progress toward the American Dream? Two weeks ago, we considered steps conservatives could take to preserve the American Dream . They involved low government and business-first approaches to address wages and home ownership. In addition to conserving the vision, we need to enable Americans the ability...

America is an ideal. We have equal rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We believe liberty is more final than death. Believing we've achieved this ideal makes you inherently conservative. If you see the ideal as unmet and strive towards it, you're a progressive. Like conservatives , progressives believe in the American ideal. Some philosophy guides conservatives. We spent the las...

We need to conserve the American Dream. It motivates and shapes the American spirit. All Americans should be able to decide their own potential. They must be able to achieve this through effort and dedication, regardless of where they were born. In at least two areas we can use conservative principles to achieve our goal. We need to increase wages. And we need to create a healthy supply of move-in...

What is American conservatism? Edmund Burke  is the father of philosophical conservatism. His ideas laid the foundation for conservative philosophy, particularly in the United States. He advocated preserving established institutions and societal norms, balanced by a cautious approach to reform and adaptation. Born January 12, 1729, Burke was an Irish statesman and philosopher. His ideas and writin...

Our last three articles/podcasts established conditions allowing for the legal and orderly movement of goods and people across the border. In devising legal conditions supporting these activities, we created unambiguous indications that other movements across the border are illegal. We need to stop the illegal movement of goods and people across the border. When there are legal options to move goo...