William Smith

Jefferson Forum
June 8, 2017
On June 1 came the encouraging news that President Trump has decided the United States will exit the U.N. Paris climate agreement. The agreement imposes huge burdens while producing little or no impact on the global climate. From the outrage shared by the media, one would think Trump has doomed...
Jefferson Forum
June 8, 2017
It has been said that capitalism works for a very simple reason – people can be counted on to do what is in their own interest. That has been the basis of human interaction since the beginning of time. One villager would catch fish and sell them to others, which...
Jefferson Forum
June 6, 2017
This week I am addressing Heritage's view on subsidies. It claims "Government intervention creates numerous problems and makes the status quo of agricultural subsidies an untenable situation. Subsidies distort planting decisions of farmers so that instead of responding to the market, they make decisions based on the incentives provided by...
Jefferson Forum
May 24, 2017
From Richard Nixon to Donald Trump, conservatives have long known how to be “tough on crime." But there is an increasing movement by conservatives to be “Right on Crime” -- to insist on transparency in the criminal justice system with the goal of protecting the public, lowering crime rates, and...
Jefferson Forum
May 24, 2017

The president released his budget submission to Congress and there will be plenty of heat surrounding it but not nearly enough light. There will be loud talking about budget cuts that hurt the poor, the sick, the elderly, children, and so on but what does that really mean? In reality,...

Jefferson Forum
May 24, 2017

Registered voters in Virginia favor construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) by an almost two-to-one margin over those who oppose it, according to a poll released by the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) today. Fifty-four percent support the controversial project strongly or somewhat, while 31% oppose it. Eighty-three percent of...

Gary Baise
May 24, 2017

Last September the conservative leaning Heritage Foundation issued a report entitled “Farms and Free Enterprise: A Blueprint for Agricultural Policy”. The Report (Here) reviews agricultural policies which Heritage believes needs to be changed and eliminated. This did not go unnoticed. One group, Farm Policy Facts, issued a press release on...

Jefferson Forum
May 24, 2017

Here is a headline we could have written any time during the past twenty years, and probably any time in the next twenty: Washington Monument Closed Again.Closing the landmark to pressure Congress into giving the Park Service more money is so common that it has a name in the dictionary:...

Jefferson Forum
May 10, 2017

Yes, President Trump’s proposed 15% corporate income tax will make America great again as the best place to start and grow a new company, encourage American firms to stay in the US, stop off-shoring jobs, and bring their overseas cash back to invest in the US. Even more importantly, it...

Jefferson Forum
May 10, 2017

If you had $1.2 billion to spend, what would you do with it? Before you answer, there are some strings attached. First, you are required to invest in electric vehicle technology, electric vehicle infrastructure, or something that would result in “zero emissions” vehicles. Now what would you do with all...