Will the UAW Strike Perpetuate the Death Spiral Already Mandated for the Auto Industry?

workers-on-strike.jpg

The UAW strike that began September 14th by 146,000 UAW union members seeking a 46 percent pay raise, and a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay, and restoration of traditional pensions  read more »

Whatever Happened to the Great West Coast Cities?

SanFrancisco-bay-from-Hawk-Hill.jpg

As recently as the early Nineties, when the great cities of the Midwest and East Coast were careening toward what seemed like an inevitable downturn, the urban agglomerations along the Pacific coast offered a demonstrably brighter urban future. From San Diego to the Puget Sound, urban centers along America’s western edge continued to thrive  read more »

Beauty and the Rust Belt, Part 2: The Lakefront Dividend Example

chicago-lakefront.png

Here’s a followup to some of the points made in my last post, and a response to readers and Twitter (X) commenters.

First, a quick refresh on my earlier post.  read more »

Subjects:

History Matters

Thanksgiving.jpg

If history is deprived of the Truth, we are left with nothing but an idle, unprofitable tale.
~Polybius, The Rise of the Roman Empire  read more »

Subjects:

Richards Bay: the Gateway for Africa’s LNG Goldmine

Sasol-gas-pipeline-in-Mozambique-Photo-Supplied.jpg

South Africa is one of the few countries that developed from the interior towards the coast, with Gauteng’s prosperity built around mining activity, the steady supply of water from Lesotho, and the availability of energy from the rich coal fields of the Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces.  read more »

Subjects:

Mandating EVs While Discouraging Mining is a Recipe for Disaster

EVs-vs-Mining-Policy.png

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds,” wrote the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This may prove no problem to the West’s climate-obsessed elites, who rail about the coming apocalypse, even while undermining the production of the very resources that would be essential if they are to have any chance to reach their cherished “net zero” utopia.  read more »

Sen. Marco Rubio's Report on the Working (and Non-Working) Man

senator-marco-rubio.jpg

For Labor Day, Senator Marco Rubio’s office issued a report on “The State of the Working (and Non-Working) Man.” I thought it was very interesting and wanted to highlight parts of it.  read more »

U.S. Fertility Rates Lowest in History

Total_Fertility_Rate_by_U.S._state.png

U.S. fertility rates have fallen to just 1.6 per woman. This has led some to fear that the United States may face the same kind of demographic collapse that is besetting Japan.  read more »

Subjects:

Skate Parks: Appreciating Another Third Place

skate-park-venice-ca.jpg

My young daughter was extremely excited when I pulled up to the large, two-level skate park in Riverhead, New York. I have been taking her brother there for many years and, despite her young age and small size, she wanted to take her scooter to the park.  read more »

More Proof That The Electrify Everything Push Is A Regressive Tax

flame-gas-burner.jpg

On December 14, 2022, the Biden administration held “the first-ever White House  Electrification Summit.” The goal of the meeting, which included officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Climate Policy Office, and Office of Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation, along with leaders of various NGOs, including the American Federation of Teachers, Greenlining Ins  read more »