Star Parker

I pull the following directly from the summary of the 2024 annual reports of the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees: “The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) Trust Fund (that is, Social Security) will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, unchanged from last year’s report. At that time, the fund’s reserves will become depleted and continuing program…

As we move to the conclusion of this election cycle, there seems to be only one thing about which all Americans agree. That is, that something is very wrong in our nation. In the latest Gallup polling, only 22% say they are satisfied with the direction of the country. The highest this has been over the last 16 years was 45% back in February of 2020. So, despite change in party control over…

The Fraser Institute in Vancouver, Canada, just published, for 2024, its annual Economic Freedom of the World Report. There are many ideas about what freedom means. Economic freedom, which the Fraser Institute focuses on, is of key and central importance. It is about the extent to which individuals have control of their economic life.

I reported last week about the decided move of young women to the political left and away from the religious affiliation of their childhood. But these measures, at least in the short run, do not appear to be relevant to the success young women are having in day-to-day living in America. By measures such as work and academic achievement, young women are doing much better than young men.

A newspaper story several years ago reported about an elementary school teacher who held elections in his class. The students picked their candidates — one little boy competing against one little girl. The little boy stood up before the class and shared his ideas for changes that would improve their lives. The little girl stood up and promised that everyone who voted for her would get ice…

My organization, CURE, Center for Urban Renewal and Education, organized a delegation of 20 prominent pastors to travel to Israel to host a press conference on Oct. 7 as a show of support for and solidarity with Israelis on the one-year anniversary of the horrendous, savage terrorist attack that took place. A few days ago, we were notified by Delta Airlines that our flight was canceled.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed this past week, at the invitation of House Speaker Mike Johnson, a joint session of Congress. The prime minister’s job that night was to make clear to the Congress, to the nation and to the world the “what” and “why” of Israel’s operation in Gaza, following the murderous attack by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, and why Americans should…

Homelessness, unfortunately, has become a persistent and growing problem in the United States. The Supreme Court, in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, just dealt with one big issue associated with this problem — the ability of cities to prohibit camping on public property. Per the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, the answer has been that the municipality can prohibit such activity.…

South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott hosted an event in Washington, D.C., marking the Juneteenth holiday, which showcased why he has been included among the candidates Donald Trump is considering as his running mate. Juneteenth, now a national holiday, commemorates June 19, 1865, the date of the final implementation of the Emancipation Proclamation in the State of Texas. It’s considered…

A Gallup poll of several months ago asked, “On the whole, would you say that you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the position of the United States in the world today?” Only one-third, 33%, said they were satisfied. This down from 53% in February 2020 at the conclusion of Donald Trump’s presidency. It’s a wonder that even a third of Americans are comfortable with President Joe Biden’s…

President Joe Biden makes no speech without mentioning the importance of democracy in our nation. We would like to believe this comes from deep ideals about human liberty lodged within our president. But more accurate is that Biden, a politician all his adult life, is defined by just that — politics. No word, no act emanates from our president that does not emerge from some political…

The trustees for Social Security have just issued their annual report. And, as we have learned annually over recent years, the system cannot meet its obligations. According to this latest report, the Social Security system will not be able to meet its obligations to retirees by 2035. In 2035, the system will be adequate to meet just 83% of its obligations. This is supposedly good news because…

The current demonstrations on college campuses against Israel remind some of the unrest on college campuses during the 1960s. But the comparison is not a good one. The unrest of the 1960s was defined by the war in Vietnam and by the Civil Rights Movement. Both had practical, personal impact on young Americans in their own country. American soldiers were fighting and dying in Vietnam. There was…

 Author Herman Wouk captured well how to understand heroism. “Heroes are not supermen; they are good men who embody — by the cast of destiny — the virtue of their whole people in a great hour,” observed Wouk. We have today an American hero in the name of House Speaker Mike Johnson. Anyone with eyes open knows the world today is a very dangerous place.