Michael McKenna
Columns by Michael McKenna
Hopelessly broken Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs overhaul for U.S. to compete with China on AI
Americans have various sentiments about artificial intelligence, ranging from a collective shrug to enthusiasm about the technology's enormous economic potential to fear of the apocalypse. Published October 4, 2024
Federal government encouraging dependence is a terrible policy
The Economic Innovation Group recently issued a report that makes a pretty conclusive case that a large and growing percentage of the population gets a significant portion of its income from government transfers. Published October 2, 2024
Politicians think we’re stupid
A friend has contended for several years that politicians think we are stupid. I have routinely resisted that, but recent events are causing me to reassess my resistance. Published September 28, 2024
Can Harris or Trump stop the killing in Ukraine and Middle East?
I was recently part of a conversation about the election with a crew from finance land, and the question arose, what Donald Trump's plan is to "solve" the war between Ukraine and Russia should he return to the White House. Published September 25, 2024
Real estate developer Larry Silverstein’s vision realized after 9/11
In the wake of the sack of Athens about 500 years before Christ, the city's citizens were faced with a decision. Published September 21, 2024
Keep the circus in perspective: Many things are more important to life than Harris, Trump
A friend of mine who intends to vote for Vice President Harris recently wondered whether our friendship would survive the upcoming election. Published September 18, 2024
Harris, Trump both met expectations in debate, but it doesn’t matter
The unavoidable and sometimes unpleasant reality of this presidential campaign is that it can be reduced to those voters who are for former President Donald Trump and those who are voting against Mr. Trump. Published September 15, 2024
D.C. appeals court prepares to scuttle Trump policies on energy production
I'm certain we are all grateful that Vice President Kamala Harris was ecumenical enough in Tuesday night's debate to acknowledge that she is in favor of increased oil and natural gas production. Published September 11, 2024
Musk’s ability to game the system may pay off for Trump’s efficiency panel
Former President Donald Trump announced last week that he would create a government efficiency commission if elected. He also announced, that Elon Musk would lead this commission. Published September 6, 2024
Harris in hiding: Democratic nominee’s advisers know she is weak
Kamala Harris has been the de facto nominee of the Democratic Party for about six weeks now, yet has managed to sit for only one softball interview with a reliable stooge of the legacy media, Dana Bash at CNN. Published September 4, 2024
Trump, Harris now need specific commitments
After months of twists and turns, the presidential campaign has been reduced to its essentials. In nine weeks, about 500,000 voters in seven swing states will decide who will be the next president. Published September 1, 2024
Tax cuts lead to more growth, more tax revenue
Last weekend, as part of his renewed emphasis on policy, former President Donald Trump said that tax cuts in general and the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in particular lead and have led to economic growth and (as a result of that growth) to increased federal tax revenue. In making that correct assertion, Mr. Trump placed himself squarely on the side of the right thinkers concerning tax issues. Published August 28, 2024
Democrats’ support for abortion shows that we have forgotten God
Abortion has unfortunately become a political issue. Published August 24, 2024
Trump-obsessed Democrats against self-rule and democracy
On the first night of the Democratic National Convention, speakers mentioned the word "Trump" 147 times. They mentioned "inflation" - the issue identified by voters as their most important issue - three times. Published August 21, 2024
Trump should take Reagan’s lead and release his inner optimist
Now that former President Donald Trump has started to lean into the policy differences between himself and Vice President Kamala Harris, the 2024 presidential campaign is starting to look like 1980. Published August 17, 2024
The week Trump finally started focusing on policy
There has been a rising sense of concern among some supporters of former President Donald Trump about the need for him and his campaign to engage more energetically on issues that voters care about. Published August 14, 2024
Replacing Biden with Harris has changed campaign’s direction, but not its fundamentals
If you are one of those unfortunate souls who are over-invested in the current presidential campaign, it is probably difficult to accept that the race so far is about where it has been for the last eight months. Published August 11, 2024
No, this is not the most important election of your lifetime
Every election cycle, some jokers try to sell the public on the idea that this is the most important election in history to boost television ratings or (now) clicks. Every cycle, they turn out to be wrong. Published August 7, 2024
Tight polls suggest presidential race is more about Trump’s flaws than Trump’s policies
This is your biennial reminder that you should take all survey results from here to Election Day with a grain of salt, always keeping in mind that those who paid for the survey research have a vested interest in the outcome. Published August 2, 2024
Most people know raising children is more important than raising cats
There is so much grist for the mill this week that figuring out where to focus is a challenge. Published July 31, 2024