Steven Strauss

Will Truthiness Destroy America?

"The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity" -- "The Second Coming", William Butler Yeats

Yeats' lines aptly describe our current age of political mediocrity. As we consider our politicians, we can hardly say...

Shown below is an open letter to the authors of a recent Fortune article: "Big Business should stop ignoring Washington." I would welcome your thoughts:

• Do you feel Big Business leaders are ignoring Washington?
• Do you feel Big Business knows best?
• Any thoughts...

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" -- George Santayana

Recently, U.S. Senators McCain (R-AZ), Lieberman (I-CT) and Graham (R-SC), together with various pundits, criticized President Obama's commitment to exhausting all diplomatic and political options in Syria before considering military options (for...

The Arab Spring presents a unique opportunity to envision a better Middle East, joining the global community with dignity and prosperity. If the people of the Middle East embrace this vision, America should provide significant support in achieving it, because a successful Middle East is our best defense against terrorism...

Was George W. Bush a pro-Shi'ite supporter of Iran? No, and Barack H. Obama isn't Pro-Islamic either.

"There's something sick about an administration which is so pro-Islamic that it can't even tell the truth about the people who are trying to kill us." --
Newt Gingrich...

"For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required." -- Luke 12:48.

Recently, the New York Times (NYT) praised Chelsea Clinton's current successes and commitment to public service. Ms. Clinton is the daughter of current U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and former...

The quality of mercy is not strain'd... It blesseth him that gives and him that takes. Shakespeare, The Merchant Of Venice

My brother committed suicide with a gun. When New York City's murder rate was 4 times its current level -- guns were often involved, and they're still...

Recently, the US Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) ranked Tennessee No. 1 among our 50 states for its low taxes and limited regulatory environment, and recommended Tennessee as a role model for the nation.

The Chamber, Tea Party, GOP, Grover Norquist, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich tell us...

Like all Americans, I yearn for a simplified tax code, and I stand second to no citizen in my passion for tax reform. My wife and I between us possess the following graduate degrees: Ph.D., M.Phil., two M.A.s and a J.D. from reputable institutions -- so grant that we are...

A friend lost his job just before Christmas. He's almost 50, has two children, no college degree, and worked 20 years for a company that 'de-hired' him by phone while on vacation. He faces a long struggle to find a new job -- and in today's economy, he's not alone....

I've worked with many entrepreneurs and VCs, and we've often discussed, "How can we predict which companies and services are going to be the biggest successes?" Some believe that, to be a great success, a company's value proposition must be misunderstood by the general public. For example, Fred Wilson (Managing...

A general theme of the Republican presidential debates is that government is a waster of resources, net destroyer of jobs, and stifler of innovation. Interestingly, these same candidates praise the private sector's innovation and creativity (e.g., Apple, Facebook, Google, etc.).

The GOP ignores that most of our excellence in...

Recent reports reveal that: GOP Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich received nearly $2 million for activities (not technically within the definition for lobbying) resembling lobbying, and former GOP Congressman Tauzin -- the country's highest paid lobbyist -- received $11.6 million.

With rare bi-partisan consensus, all members of Congress assure their constituents...

The GOP presidential candidates believe, as an article of faith, that the United States is an overly-regulated society. They want to eliminate "unnecessary" regulations and even entire regulatory agencies to, in their view, unleash the growth potential of American business. Governor Perry wants to eliminate 3 federal regulatory agencies...

During the 2008 election cycle, financial services (Finance, Insurance and Real Estate, aka FIRE) spent nearly $1 billion engaging with our political leadership: $500 million (personal and PAC) on campaign contributions and $456 million on lobbying. (All lobbying and campaign data are from www.opensecrets.org). FIRE's commitment to constructive...

No, I don't mean the so-called 1% -- for various reasons, they aren't leaving. I mean the immigrant entrepreneurs and foreign students at our best universities.

'The great competitive advantage of India is that it draws on the entrepreneurial and creative energy of 1.2 billion people. The great strength...

High and rising income inequality in the United States has recently been widely commented upon. What has not been as widely discussed is the role educational attainment has played in these disparities. Indeed, America is in some ways two different countries economically, segregated by educational achievement.

Table 1 below shows...

It has been something of an article of faith among conservatives that the solution to America's problems is in smaller government and lower tax rates. The argument on taxes goes something like: 'We need to unleash the wealth creators, who stimulated by the prospect of more income (due to lower...