SPIDER Blog

- by Robert Berning

The Public Charge Rule

You may not be aware or forgotten the basis for what follows. In the latest effort to “remove barriers” to immigration, the Biden administration recently changed and codified the ‘public charge rule.’ The change upends... Read More

Ever Hear of Personal Responsibility?

We all know our Constitution is based on the rights of the individual. The necessary adjunct to being guaranteed our God-given rights is that individuals take personal responsibility for themselves and those dependent on them.... Read More

Who’s Making the Decisions?

“The president was elected because we all thought he was going to be good at governing. … He was going to govern from the center, he was going to work with Republicans. But to have... Read More

Do You Believe in Free Markets?

Do you understand the question? I don’t think most of the younger generations do. At the same time, most would probably answer ‘yes’ because it sounds right. In the late 1700’s Adam Smith, considered the... Read More

The Fed’s Inflation Objective Will Fail

We all know the inflation the country is experiencing is painful. It’s a losing proposition for the vast majority of US workers, families and the population in general. In addition to the difficulties people are... Read More

What Happened to Civility?

You’ve seen me periodically question and lament the seeming loss of statesmanship in our leaders. I rarely see anybody in government exercise the ability, qualifications, wisdom, and skill in the management of public affairs and... Read More

Sense and Sensibility

It’s almost incredible that I sense the need to talk about sense - common sense. Have some things have gotten so far out of whack that I, or anyone else, need to make a case... Read More

Addressing the Climate Change Emergency

Before starting, be prepared to feel more pain because somebody(ies) decided Americans should save the world from climate change. Here’s a famous quote by President Clinton in 1998: “It depends on what the meaning of... Read More

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)

A little over a year ago (June 13, 2021) we used this space to talk about “Stakeholder Capitalism.” Under that woke umbrella, it’s postulated that companies should no longer have the single focus of serving... Read More

Our Immigration Laws

It goes without saying that the United States is a country of immigrants. It is. If you’re not a Native American, you or your ancestors were born somewhere else in the world. Because of the... Read More