MINOT, N.D. — Not so long ago we here in North Dakota had a debate about refugee resettlement. Some of our elected leaders, including Fargo City Commissioner Dave Piepkorn and former West Fargo state lawmaker Chris Olson, wanted to collect more data on the social and fiscal impacts of refugee resettlement. They pushed for the state…
Let’s Hope the NBA’s China Debacle Removes Our National Blind Spot From That Country’s Monstrous Abuses
I’ve never been enamored with America’s fascination with celebrity punditry. The bulk of it comes from the left, if or no other reason than because the politics of our entertainment and media industries lean so heavily that way. The right also has no problem becoming enamored with the blustery pronouncements of some famous person. I…
A part of the 2019 Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests, the Tsuen Wan March took place on August 25, 2019. Studio Incendo
Our Nation’s Political and Business Leaders Don’t Have the Luxury of Ignoring China’s Suppression of Democracy Any More
A few days ago former North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp wrote a column critical of the Trump administration’s approach to China. It wasn’t a particularly insightful piece, meandering as it did through the typical Democratic talking points on that issue. What was notable, actually, is what wasn’t in the column. Not a single mention, anywhere,…
There Is No “Demand for Ethanol” if the Government Has to Make People Use It
This quote, from a news story about the woes the ethanol industry is facing, has to be one of the least self-aware comments I’ve read in a while: “The demand for ethanol is there. If you look at the RFS, the demand for ethanol is supposed to be 15 million gallons of corn-based ethanol. That’s…
The Farmer Bailouts Are Now Bigger Than the Detroit Bailouts, but What if That’s the Cost of De-Fanging China?
This morning a reader tagged in a Tweet for a Bloomberg story which finds that the farmer bailouts – the aid packages the Trump administration and Congress have deployed as a way to cushion the economic harm caused by the trade war with China – are now larger in terms of dollars than the Detroit…
Trade Cannot Be the Only Lens Through Which We See China
As I write this I am attending the 2019 Policy Summit put on by the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce. The first panel this morning was about trade and tariffs, and while the discussion was illuminating, I can’t help but feel that an important part of the debate was missing from it. The panel…
If Democrats Are Worried About Trade, Why Aren’t They Ratifying the USMCA?
North Dakota Democrats are trying to make hay on trade, hoping to leverage some of the pain farmers may be feeling as a result of the trade war with China into political progress. That talking point didn’t get a lot of traction during the 2018 election cycle, but it’s hard to blame them for keeping…
Plain Talk Podcast: Armstrong Says Speaker Pelosi “Does Not Want to Give the White House a Win” on Trade
On this episode of Plain Talk, Congressman Kelly Armstrong talks about the impeachment question and the realities of the trade war with China. Armstrong says Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi may be holding back a vote on a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada because “she does not want to give the White…
Plain Talk: Auditor Says He Would Have Preferred Legislature Coming Back Into Session to Restore His Office’s Powers
Recently state Auditor Josh Gallion met with legislative leaders to discuss last-minute legislation jammed through at the recent session in Bismarck to diminish his office’s ability to perform performance audits. While that meeting seems to have produced a consensus that the legislation should have been subjected to a more thorough debate, Senate Majority Leader Rich…
What if the Trade Fight With China Is Bigger Than Soybeans?
In 1995 then-President Bill Clinton extended Most Favored Nation status to China. His justification for the move, coming as it did after ripping George H.W. Bush for being soft on China during the 1992 campaign, was believing we could make China a better neighbor by trading with them. “This decision offers us the best opportunity…