Larry Elder In Quotes: RWN’s Favorite Larry Elder Quotes Over The Last Year

06 Mar, 2012 by John Hawkins

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“(John) Kerry reminds me of a story I once read about the San Francisco Giants’ slugger Barry Bonds. Mired in a batting slump, Bonds sat in the locker room and complained about his uncharacteristic struggle to get his offense going. I can’t put my finger on the problem, said Barry aloud. I’m struggling. Can’t buy a hit. Bonds then looked up and noticed a chronically poor-hitting teammate nearby. Bonds turned to him and said something like — you must feel like this all the time. ”

“The people who know Kerry best consider Kerry aloof, imperious and condescending. Even worse, Kerry can’t seem to retain their names. At a 1996 Massachusetts political affair, a Democratic Massachusetts State legislator said to his friends, “Watch this.” He walked up to Kerry and said, “Hi, Senator — Representative Butchy Cataldo.” At this, Kerry smiled, slapped his back and exclaimed, “Butchy, so good to see you again!” One problem — the guy, the state rep — was not Butchy Cataldo. In fact, Butchy Cataldo ran and lost to this Kerry-greeting legislator whose name is Bill Reinstein, a man bearing no resemblance to the tall, dark-haired Cataldo.”

“Japanese troops, after taking the city of Nanking in China, killed 250,000 to 300,000 civilians, mostly women and children. Japanese soldiers, in addition to reportedly raping some 20,000 Chinese women, also hacked some civilians to death. And during the infamous Bataan Death March, Japanese soldiers force-marched nearly 70,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war for 63 miles — beating, kicking and starving the soldiers along the way. Stragglers faced the bayonet, and 7,000 to 10,000 soldiers died during the long march.”

“Corporate welfare, of all types — subsidies for businesses ranging from farms to automotive to energy research — was budgeted, in 2003, to cost taxpayers $86 billion. Republicans properly trumpet the success of the Welfare Reform Act of 1996, which reduced welfare rolls by 50 percent. Government welfare, whether corporate or personal, takes money from party A and gives to party B, lessening the initiative of both the giver and given. Welfare distorts behavior, makes one less personally responsible and reduces the role of private charity. This principle applies to corporate welfare.”

“Is there something mutually exclusive about running an airline and making a profit? No. Southwest Airlines, a low-cost, fewer-frills operation, managed to make a profit in 2001 despite 9/11. Look at Jet Blue. Started in 2000, Jet Blue turned its 2002 $635 million in revenues into a $55 million profit. And, undaunted by the industry’s alleged scary future, Southwest, Jet Blue and AirTran Airways — less than one year after Sept. 11 — all announced fleet and flight schedule expansions. Unafraid, the new Independence Air just announced flights to 35 destinations. Somehow these upstarts and start-ups seem to make it work.”

“A recent Pew Research Center survey also noted the press corps’ lopsided liberal ideology. Pew found that 54 percent of national journalists self-describe as “moderates,” down from 64 percent in 1995. Only 7 percent of national journalists call themselves “politically conservative,” well below the 33 percent of the general public who call themselves “conservative.” National journalists who call themselves liberal increased to 34 percent, compared with 22 percent in 1995.”

“Under Ronald Reagan — who cut the top tax rate from 70 percent to 28 percent — black income, business development and business growth exploded. According to National Review, “From the end of 1982 to 1989, black unemployment dropped 9 percentage points (from 20.4 percent to 11.4 percent), Hispanic unemployment dropped 7.3 percentage points (from 15.3 percent to 8.0 percent), while white unemployment dropped by only 4.0 percentage points. . . . A black entrepreneurial class flourished. According to the Census Bureau, the number of black-owned businesses increased from 308,000 in 1982 to 424,000 in 1987, a 38 percent rise. At the same time, the total number of firms in the U.S. rose by only 14 percent. Receipts by black-owned firms more than doubled, from $9.6 billion to $19.8 billion. . . . From 1980 to 1990, the median income of black households grew 31 percent above inflation, compared to 19 percent growth for white households.”

“Former Clinton CIA Director Woolsey said, “Iraq’s ties with terrorist groups in the ’90s are clear . . . with a decade of connections between Iraq and al Qaeda, including training in poisons, gases and explosives. There was no need to show that Iraq participated in 9/11 . . . describing occasional cooperation of the sort that is well chronicled was quite sufficient.”

“Spain, a country of 41 million people, boasts a greater Gross Domestic Product (GDP) than the GDP of all of the 22 Arab countries combined! Despite the presence of oil in many Arab countries, the region remains under-developed. The per capita income growth in the last 20 years stands at a level just above that of sub-Saharan Africa. One in five Arabs lives on less than $2 a day, and some estimate unemployment at 15 percent. Productivity declines, with research and development weak or nonexistent, and science and technology practically dormant. Intellectuals flee this repressive political and social climate that stifles “creativity.”

“According to The World Almanac 2005 — which now lists illegitimate birth rates under the politically correct heading “Nonmarital Childbearing” — nearly 70 percent of black children are born outside of wedlock. With Latinos, the rate is almost 45 percent, whites nearly 30 percent, and Asians 15 percent. Overall, about 34 percent of America’s children today are born outside of wedlock.”

“We know history proved Reagan’s critics wrong. The Soviet Union — and the threat they posed — did, indeed, end up on the ash bin of history. Reagan’s tax cuts produced increasing government revenues, and Reagan policies ushered in an era of long-term prosperity. The Reagan years saw explosive job creation and income growth. The economy created 20 million new jobs. Individual and corporate charitable contributions increased.”

“Last year, American government provided 35 percent of worldwide relief aid. In private contributions, American individuals, estates, foundations and corporations gave over $240 billion to charitable causes in 2003, according to Giving USA Foundation. Privately, Americans give at least $34 billion overseas. Josette Shiner, former Empower America president, points out that more than 80 percent of Americans belong to a “voluntary association,” and 75 percent of households report charitable contributions. Shiner wrote in 1999, “Americans look even better compared to other leading nations. According to recent surveys, 73 percent of Americans made a charitable contribution in the previous 12 months, as compared to 44 percent of Germans, and 43 percent of French citizens. The average sum of donations over 12 months was $851 for Americans, $120 for Germans, and $96 for the French. In addition, 49 percent of Americans volunteered over the previous 12 months, as compared to 13 percent of Germans and 19 percent of the French.”

“Polls find young blacks less likely to call racism America’s No. 1 issue. A Time/CNN poll found 89 percent of black teens consider racism in their own lives to be “a small problem” or “not a problem at all.” Twice as many black teens as white believe that “failure to take advantage of available opportunities” is a bigger problem for blacks than discrimination. Polls and focus groups show younger blacks less likely to identify themselves as Democrats, and more likely to support partial privatization of Social Security, school vouchers and the abolition of race-based preferences. This spells trouble for the Democratic Party and its monolithic black vote.”

“Remember the claims by John Kerry and others of one million black voters disenfranchised in Florida during the 2000 presidential election? Peter Kirsanow, a black attorney and member of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, says the commission’s six-month investigation failed to find any evidence of black voter “intimidation.” “Not one person was intimidated,” says Kirsanow, “[or] had their vote stolen. There was no disenfranchisement . . . no truth to any of those allegations.”

“The Social Security “trust fund” doesn’t consist of any real assets. The government “borrows” fund money for other federal spending, replacing it with IOUs. The remainder of the “trust fund” is merely accounting entries attributing interest to the IOUs. Thus, current workers paying in support current retirees drawing out. According to the Social Security Administration, in 1945, 41.9 workers supported each individual retiree, while today only 3.3 workers support each retiree. This system cannot continue.”

“According to Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor of The Jerusalem Post, the Palestinian Authority in the last decade has received more money per capita, in constant dollars, than did Western Europe under the Marshall Plan.”

“Recall that the United Nations commissioned Arab scholars and analysts to publish the Arab Human Development Report. What causes the backwardness, the scholars wondered, of 22 Arab states, covering nearly 300 million people? Their conclusion? Of all world regions, the Arab countries scored the lowest in freedom, media independence, civil liberties, political process and political rights. The report found 65 million illiterate adults. Half of Arab women still cannot read or write. Ten million children between 6 and 15 years of age are not in school. The report points to a “severe shortage” of new writing. In the last 1,000 years, the Arabs have translated as many books as Spain translates in just one year. Only 1.2 percent of the population uses a computer, and only half of those access the Internet. In short, the peoples of these countries lack economic and political freedom.”

“But did the Founding Fathers ever intend for the federal government to involve itself in education, health care or retirement benefits? The answer, quite clearly, is no. The Constitution, in Article I, Section 8 — which contains the “general welfare clause” — seeks to restrain federal government, not expand it.”

“Washington usually mean lowering the projected increases. Take, for example, NASA, the U.S. Space Agency. The president proposes $16.45 billion for NASA in 2006. That’s a 2.4 percent increase over what the government is spending this year on the program. But it is $500 million less than what the space agency was expecting for 2006. So, NASA is listed as one of the 154 programs facing extinction or “drastic spending reductions.” Only in Washington does a decrease in the proposed increase equal a spending cut.”

“Outsourcing and globalization of manufacturing allows companies to reduce costs, benefits consumers with lower cost goods and services, causes economic expansion that reduces unemployment, and increases productivity and job creation. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, for every $1 outsourced, the economic gain to the U.S. as a whole is $1.12 to $1.14.”

“Consider the CEO who refuses to outsource, believing — as does Mr. Dobbs — this hurts America. His competitor, however, wants to increase profits. When he can, he lowers costs by “outsourcing,” using the savings to put back into his business. The CEO who refused to outsource now must explain to his finicky customers why he intends to charge them more.”

“What about the decline in manufacturing jobs? Can we blame outsourcing? For the most part, no. Manufacturing now employs a smaller percentage of workers, given our dramatic increase in worker productivity. Higher worker productivity means fewer workers required. Between 1995 and 2002, U.S. manufacturing jobs declined 11 percent — identical to the average world decline in manufacturing employment. Yet in the last 15 years, insourced manufacturing jobs grew by 83.”

“Jobs coming from other countries to the United States are called “insourced” jobs. While more jobs are outsourced from the U.S. than are insourced to the U.S., for the last 15 years insourced jobs grew by 117 percent, while outsourced jobs only grew by 56 percent. Insourced jobs account for nearly 5 percent of all private-sector jobs, and tend to be higher paying — with salaries an average of 31 percent higher than other private-sector jobs. Foreign-owned U.S. subsidiaries manufacturing their goods here in America account for 20 percent of all U.S. exports.”

“Thirty-five percent of Americans, according to a 2004 Pew Research survey, call themselves conservative, while only 22 percent call themselves liberal (43 percent call themselves moderate) — a 3 percent increase in conservatives since 1992. There is a reason for this — liberals keep getting it wrong.”