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Walter E. Williams
Walter E. Williams: Black education in Baltimore
- "Hard Times at Douglass High” is an HBO documentary that aired last June. It captured much of the 2004-2005 school year at Baltimore’s predominantly black Frederick Douglass High School. The tragedy is that what is seen in the documentary is typical of most predominantly black urban schools.
Walter E. Williams: Scapegoating speculators
- Despite Congress’ periodic hauling of weak-kneed oil executives before their committees to charge them with collusion and price gouging, subsequent federal investigations turn up no evidence to support the charges. Right now oil company executives are getting a bit of a respite as Congress has turned its attention to crude oil speculators, blaming them for high oil prices and calling for tighter control over commodity futures trading.
Walter E. Williams: Humans are ultimate resource
- Why is it that mankind enjoys cell phones, computers and airplanes today but not when King Louis XIV was alive? The necessary physical resources to make cell phones, computers and airplanes have always been around, even when cavemen walked the Earth. There is only one answer to why we enjoy these goodies today and not yesteryear. It’s the growth in human knowledge, ingenuity along with specialization and trade that led to industrialization, coupled with personal liberty and private property rights.
Walter E. Williams: Washington does not know better than we do
- I have no idea of the number of traffic signals in our country, but whatever the number, how many of my fellow Americans would like the U.S. Congress to be in charge of their operation? Congress, or a committee it authorizes, would determine the length of time red stays red and green stays green and what hours of the day they can be flashing red.
Walter E. Williams: Avoiding airport tyranny
- It’s been at least five years since I’ve flown commercial, and for good reason: I don’t wish to be arrested for questioning actions by often arrogant, rude Transportation Security Administration workers. Two years ago, my decision was reinforced by my daughter’s experience when going through airport security with her two lovebirds. Having shown her ticket and ID to security personnel, and walking toward the metal detector, they started shouting to her, “Miss, you’re going to have to take them birds out of the cage.” I watched with incredulity as she approached the metal detectors. Fortunately, a TSA worker took the cages and my daughter followed without further incident. Had it been I traveling with the birds, I might have told the TSA workers something that would have gotten me arrested.
Walter E. Williams: Are Americans pro-slavery?
- L et’s do a thought experiment asking whether Americans are for or against slavery. You might say, “What are you talking about, Williams? We fought a war that cost more than 600,000 lives to end slavery!” To get started, we might find a description that captures the essence of slavery. A good working description is: Slavery is a set of circumstances whereby one person is forcibly used to serve the purposes of another person and has no legal claim to the fruits of his labor.
Walter E. Williams: Congress underestimates the American people
- What assumptions do congressmen make about the American people? Do they assume that we’re dumb or ill-informed about the energy problems we are experiencing? Every time there has been a huge spike in gasoline prices, Congress hauls oil company executives before their committees to accuse them of greed, obscene profits and price fixing. One federal investigation after another of supposed oil company misconduct turns up nothing to substantiate congressional allegations.
Don’t blame futures markets for world’s high food prices
- In searching for villains for rising food and oil prices, some commentators have turned to speculators, namely people trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and similar exchanges around the world. A sample of the claims: “Biofuels and droughts can’t fully explain the recent food crisis — hedge funds and small investors bear some responsibility for global hunger.” “The global food crisis is likely to persist if speculative investment by the corporate world is not reined in soon, warned a top expert responsible for reporting to the United Nations on human rights violations.” “Financial speculators reap profits from global hunger.”
Walter E. Williams: Control criminals not guns
- Every time there’s a highly publicized shooting, out go the cries for stricter gun control laws, and it was no different with the recent murder of Philadelphia Police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski. Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, in a letter to the state congressional delegation demanding re-enactment of the federal assault weapon ban, said, “Passing this legislation will go a long way to protecting those who put their lives on the line every day for us. There is no excuse to do otherwise.”
Walter E. Williams: Environmentalists’ wild predictions
- Now that another Earth Day has come and gone, let’s look at some environmentalist predictions they would prefer we forget.
Walter E. Williams: Politics that hurt black Americans
- Thomas Sowell’s April 10 column, “Republicans and Blacks,” pointed out the foolhardiness of Republican strategy to secure more black votes. He pointed out that it is a losing strategy to reach blacks through civil rights organizations and black politicians. It’s like a quarterback trying to throw a pass to a receiver surrounded by a bunch of defenders. The second losing strategy is to appeal to blacks by offering the same kinds of things that Democrats offer — token honors, politically correct rhetoric and welfare state handouts.
Walter E. Williams: Foreign trade angst
- Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, pandering to anti-trade activists, suggest that should they become president, they will restrict trade agreements. Before you buy into their promised paradise, there are a few trade questions you might consider.