I Believe

The ideal path to managing the challenges at the US border is proactively addressing the conditions leading to the influx of refugees. What approaches could we use to address the underlying reasons for the refugee movement to the southern border? Two Roosevelts left indelible marks on US policy in Central and South America. In the 1904 Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine , President Theodor...

Are the people crossing the southern border refugees? What can we do about that? There’s some additional context we didn’t address last week. What’s the difference between an immigrant and a refugee, and why is the difference significant? Immigrants choose to relocate  to another country. They move voluntarily, seeking better living conditions, economic opportunities, and family reunification. Imm...

Can we send the US military to secure the southern border? First, some background. March 26, 1790. President George Washington (no party affiliation) signed the Naturalization Act  into law. This law laid the groundwork for future US citizenship and immigration laws and reflected the racial and social biases of the time. It excluded Native Americans, indentured servants, enslaved people, free blac...

Americans believe in free speech. We share a social contract that assures every individual the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. What happens when these cherished principles intersect with the realities of corporate responsibility and societal norms? Should Americans boycott companies that enable the distribution of offensive speech? How should companies that champion First Ame...

Because Americans, like twelve black men in Arkansas in 1919, endured hardship, and individuals like President and Chief Justice Taft dedicated themselves to the constitutional rights of all Americans, more Americans today have the opportunity to be great. We must dare to be great, and we must realize that greatness is the fruit of toil and sacrifice and high courage. — William H. Taft Elaine, Ark...

Collectivism is a social and political philosophy that emphasizes the importance of the common good — what’s best for society. If collectivism sounds good, why did American founders reject it? Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), writing a century after John Locke, is the foundational Western philosopher of collectivism. Rousseau starkly contrasted John Locke’s individualism (see John Locke: Ownersh...

How do Americans regard John Locke’s principle of self-ownership? Across the political spectrum, Americans believe in an individual’s right to own themselves, their property, and the product of their labor. Conservatives might interpret self-ownership in terms of economic freedom and property rights. Progressives might focus more on personal liberties and rights in healthcare, reproductive rights,...

Could we create a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to incentivize builders to build small, affordable homes? My grandfather and great-grandfather built my grandparents’ first house. It was a short distance down the lane from the ranch house. My grandparents were 18-year-old newlyweds; they would go on to be married until he passed away nearly 50 years later. The house was two used...

If we’re serious about reducing carbon emissions, we need to address a significant source of emissions: wildfires. What do we think causes more carbon emissions, thinning trees from the wilderness landscape or letting them burn? Wilderness fires release significant carbon emissions . Scientists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of Chicago analyzed greenhouse g...

How will we unify America and achieve our grand vision? It’s not enough to say why we believe in the American ideal. Though inspirational, it’s a broad brush vision that lacks decisive substance. A united America is only achievable when we set the cornerstones to support the structure. We need a framework for the vision. To frame our discussion, let’s reconsider our American ‘why.’ Our vision is t...

Today marks a year of weekly editions, the 52nd edition of “I Believe.” I’d like to thank you for reading. I learn a great deal from writing every article, and I hope you learn from reading (or now listening to!) them. The name of this publication is “I Believe” because I believe in America. This journal isn’t just a history lesson. America has some big problems, and we need to think through optio...

Do government officials, such as a school board, have the right to restrict a student’s education in the school library? Do parents have the right to dictate their child’s education? New York, 1975. An activist group named Parents of New York United compiled a list of books they deemed offensive due to “anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic, and just plain filthy” speech ( Pico , 1982 at 857...

What would be the worst-case outcome of the ongoing United Auto Workers (UAW) and looming Kaiser Permanente strikes? What would be the ideal outcome? To conceptualize the labor dispute situation, we must first identify the stakeholders. When we understand the stakeholders and their motivations, we can think about ways ahead. The first stakeholders are… * The workers They want more pay and better b...

As an alternative to raising the minimum wage, how about we give small businesses that pay livable wages tax credits? We should reward the many great American businesses that pay livable wages. These businesses would be more profitable, and this approach would reduce the need for social programs. Wo… Get full access to I Believe at joelkdouglas.substack.com/subscribe

The spirit of giving is deeply ingrained in the close-knit community of the Air Force’s 321st Missile Squadron. Now former members are raising money and starting a college scholarship endowment at Laramie County Community College to honor one of their fallen, 1st Lt. Blake "Moose" Woockman.  On the afternoon of June 29, 2017, I met Blake Woockman. That morning, I had become the commanding officer...

Should we consider limits on executive pay for companies that don’t pay workers livable wages? Let’s first consider executive compensation to set the stage for our discussion. The Economic Policy Institute published that in 2021, companies paid CEOs nearly  400 times  more than a typical worker. These CEOs made  seven times  more than the top 0.1% of the top-paid salaried workers. The  article  de...