Random Articles
Pulling the Plug
(Copyright) by Joseph B. Baity (Charlotte, North Carolina) American leaders—particularly those on the political left and ostensibly concerned about managing climate change—are poised to rewrite the longstanding energy paradigm responsible for fueling the enviable lifestyle and productivity enjoyed by the United States since the Industrial Revolution. By outlawing or harshly regulating traditional means of power and fuel generation and promoting renewable but unreliable “green” technologies, these leaders look to “pull the plug” on the fossil fuel industry. Doing so will dictate wholesale changes in how we live, work, play, produce, and consume. While the politics behind these changes can be complicated, […]
The World’s Buckling Supply Chain
(Copyright) by Joseph B. Baity (Charlotte, North Carolina) A convergence of adverse and unexpected events has resulted in a global supply chain crisis of enormous proportions, threatening to derail worldwide economic activity in virtually every financial sector, with social and political stability stumbling in its wake. The trouble began with the global lockdown—beginning in the spring of 2020—in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumer demand for goods and services tanked rapidly, as many workers were laid off or forced to work from home. At the same time, students were required to school at home via the Internet, and everyone had to […]
The Vulgar State of America
(Copyright) by Joseph B. Baity (Charlotte, North Carolina) Time was, in America, when we did not accept crude language, gestures, or behavior in polite society—certainly not in mixed company—and never during prime-time television. Offensive words and actions, those that transgressed decency, were reserved for “adult-only” entertainment venues, back alleys, and the proverbial locker room. Alas, that is no longer the case. Public discourse and what passes for entertainment are now coarser than ever. Vulgarity has gone mainstream, and few, if any, seem to care. Nine years ago, Dr. R. Albert Mohler, as president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, penned an article […]
Universal Basic Income
by Joseph B. Baity (Charlotte, North Carolina) Regardless of one’s perspective, the COVID-19 pandemic historically upended the global community. Of the many burdens the world has suffered in its wake, some of the greatest have been economic. In the United States, many businesses—large, medium, and small—were forced to shut down or dramatically scale back their operations for the best part of a year as much of society sheltered-in-place at home. Tragically, many of these businesses never reopened. Unemployment naturally skyrocketed to levels not seen since the Great Depression, and with that unemployment came widespread economic pain. Responding to the many fiscal woes of […]
A Drop to Drink
by Joseph B. Baity (Charlotte, North Carolina) Water is growing markedly more precious with the extended and expanding droughts of the American West. Some sub-regions count 2021 as the twenty-first consecutive year of too little rain. Currently, 95 percent of the West—the most extensive area ever on record—is officially in drought, with 65 percent rated “extreme” or “exceptional,” the two direst categories. As a result, hydrologists and other water experts are anxiously preparing for an unpleasant announcement, expected later this month, of the first-ever federally declared water shortage on the Colorado River. This declaration includes Lake Mead, the nation’s largest capacity […]