Archived Columns From 2018

by Walter Williams

2018 January

Dangers of Government ControlJanuary 03, 2018

We are a nation of 325 million people. We have a bit of control over the behavior of our 535 elected representatives in Congress, the president and the vice ...

Dirty College SecretsJanuary 10, 2018

A frequent point I have made in past columns has been about the educational travesty happening on many college campuses. Some people have labeled my observat...

Constitutional Ignorance -- Perhaps ContemptJanuary 17, 2018

Hillary Clinton blamed the Electoral College for her stunning defeat in the 2016 presidential election in her latest memoirs, “What Happened?” Some have clai...

We Don't Need Bad LawJanuary 24, 2018

President Donald Trump said, “We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws so that when somebody says something that is false and defamator...

Immigration Lies and HypocrisyJanuary 31, 2018

President Donald Trump reportedly asked why the U.S. is “having all these people from shithole countries come here.” I think he could have used better langua...

2018 February

Let's Limit SpendingFebruary 07, 2018

Some people have called for a balanced budget amendment to our Constitution as a means of reining in a big-spending Congress. That’s a misguided vision, for ...

Black History MonthFebruary 14, 2018

Carter G. Woodson, noted scholar, historian and educator, created “Negro History Week” in 1926, which became Black History Month in 1976. Woodson chose Febru...

Will Automation Kill Our Jobs?February 21, 2018

A recent article in The Guardian dons the foreboding title “Robots will destroy our jobs — and we’re not ready for it.” The article claims, “For every job cr...

Another Liberal-Created FailureFebruary 28, 2018

A liberal-created failure that goes entirely ignored is the left’s harmful agenda for society’s most vulnerable people — the mentally ill. Eastern State Hosp...

2018 March

Hidden Agenda or Ignorance?March 07, 2018

Before we discuss violence with guns, I’d like to run a couple of questions by you. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every day ne...

Trump's Steel and Aluminum TariffsMarch 14, 2018

There are a couple of important economic lessons that the American people should learn. I’m going to title one “the seen and unseen” and the other “narrow we...

Not Always Like ThisMarch 21, 2018

One of the unavoidable tragedies of youth is the temptation to think that what is seen today has always been. Nowhere is this more noticeable than in our res...

How Ignorant We AreMarch 28, 2018

Here’s a question for you: In 1950, would it have been possible for anyone to know all of the goods and services that we would have at our disposal 50 years ...

2018 April

Discrimination and DisparitiesApril 04, 2018

I don’t mind saying that this column represents a grossly understated review of “Discrimination and Disparities,” just published by my longtime friend and co...

Black Political Power Means ZilchApril 11, 2018

It’s often thought to be beyond question that black political power is necessary for economic power and enhanced socio-economic welfare. That’s an idea that ...

A Mayor's Most Important JobApril 18, 2018

When World War II ended, Washington, D.C.’s population was about 900,000; today it’s about 700,000. In 1950, Baltimore’s population was almost 950,000; today...

Educational Fraud ContinuesApril 25, 2018

Earlier this month, the 2017 National Assessment of Educational Progress, aka The Nation’s Report Card, was released. It’s not a pretty story. Only 37 percen...

2018 May

Colleges: Anti-Diversity and Pro-ExclusionMay 02, 2018

Just within the past week or so, some shocking professorial behavior has come to light. In the wake of Barbara Bush’s death, California State University, Fre...

Before and After Welfare HandoutsMay 09, 2018

Before the massive growth of our welfare state, private charity was the sole option for an individual or family facing insurmountable financial difficulties ...

Kanye and DemocratsMay 16, 2018

In the aftermath of the Kanye West dust-up, my heart goes out to the white people who control the Democratic Party. My pity stems from the hip-hop megastar’s...

From Russia With LoveMay 23, 2018

Robert Mueller’s investigation into whether President Donald Trump and the Russians colluded to rig the 2016 presidential election so far has borne little fr...

Capitalism vs. SocialismMay 30, 2018

Several recent polls, plus the popularity of Sen. Bernie Sanders, demonstrate that young people prefer socialism to free market capitalism. That, I believe, ...

2018 June

Past Versus Present AmericansJune 06, 2018

Having enjoyed my 82nd birthday, I am part of a group of about 50 million Americans who are 65 years of age or older. Those who are 90 or older were in schoo...

Diversity and Inclusion HarmJune 13, 2018

In conversations with most college officials, many CEOs, many politicians and race hustlers, it’s not long before the magical words “diversity” and “inclusiv...

Blind to Real ProblemsJune 20, 2018

For several decades, a few black scholars have been suggesting that the vision held by many black Americans is entirely wrong. Dr. Shelby Steele, a scholar a...

Diversity and Inclusion Harm IIJune 27, 2018

My column a fortnight ago, titled “Diversity and Inclusion Harm,” focused on the dumbing down of science, technology, engineering and mathematics curricula t...

2018 July

College Destruction of Black StudentsJuly 04, 2018

Amy Wax, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, has come under attack and scathing criticism because she dared criticize the school’s racial preferences...

Shooting Ourselves in the FootJuly 11, 2018

The Canadian government, lining the pockets of its dairy producers, imposes high tariffs on American dairy imports. That forces Canadians to pay higher price...

Our Rules of the Game: US ConstitutionJuly 18, 2018

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, leading to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, has thrown progressives, the De...

Can We Trust Experts?July 25, 2018

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers predicted that if Donald Trump were elected, there would be a protracted recession within 18 months. Heeding its expe...

2018 August

Some Ideas to Think AboutAugust 01, 2018

Poverty is no mystery, and it’s easily avoidable. The poverty line that the Census Bureau used in 2016 for a single person was an income of $12,486 that year...

Colleges: A Force for EvilAugust 08, 2018

Many of the nation’s colleges have become a force for evil and a focal point for the destruction of traditional American values. The threat to our future lie...

Enough's EnoughAugust 15, 2018

During the weekend of Aug. 4-5 (and the preceding Friday night), 12 Chicagoans were shot dead, and 62 others were shot and wounded, the Chicago Tribune repor...

Bad Men, Good PresidentsAugust 22, 2018

With the continuing hysteria about Donald Trump’s presidency, a few questions come to mind. The first: Can a bad man become a good president? The second: Doe...

Immigrants and DiseaseAugust 29, 2018

The Immigration and Nationality Act mandates that all immigrants and refugees undergo a medical screening examination to determine whether they have an inadm...

2018 September

South Africa QuestionSeptember 05, 2018

South Africa has been thrown into the news because of President Donald Trump’s recent tweet that he instructed his secretary of state to “closely study” alle...

It's Our Constitution -- Not KavanaughSeptember 12, 2018

One of the best statements of how the Framers saw the role of the federal government is found in Federalist Paper 45, written by James Madison, who is known ...

Reasoning About RaceSeptember 19, 2018

So much of our reasoning about race is both emotional and faulty. In ordinary, as well as professional, conversation, we use terms such as discrimination, pr...

University CorruptionSeptember 26, 2018

I’m thankful that increasing attention is being paid to the dire state of higher education in our country. Heather Mac Donald, a fellow at the Manhattan Inst...

2018 October

Racial Disparities in School DisciplineOctober 03, 2018

President Barack Obama’s first education secretary, Arne Duncan, gave a speech on the 45th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selm...

Real EconomicsOctober 10, 2018

A widely anticipated textbook, “Universal Economics,” has just been published by Liberty Fund. Its authors are two noted UCLA economists, the late Armen A. A...

The Electoral College DebateOctober 17, 2018

Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, seeking to represent New York’s 14th Congressional District, has called for the abolition of the Electoral Col...

Price Gouging During a Natural DisasterOctober 24, 2018

Thirteen states — Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wes...

Democratic-Controlled HouseOctober 31, 2018

Democrats are hoping the coming election will give them a majority in the House of Representatives. Republicans and much of our nation dread that prospect. M...

2018 November

Skin in the GameNovember 07, 2018

In describing the GOP tax cuts, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that they and bonuses American workers were getting were “crumbs.” They were “tax cut...

We Have an Identity ProblemNovember 14, 2018

According to a recent report in The New York Times, Health and Human Services Department officials have been circulating a proposal to define sex. Their memo...

Fruits of College IndoctrinationNovember 21, 2018

Much of today’s incivility and contempt for personal liberty has its roots on college campuses, and most of the uncivil and contemptuous are people with coll...

Black Education: What Makes Sense?November 28, 2018

What do you think of the proposition that no black youngsters should be saved from educational rot until all can be saved? Black people cannot afford to acce...

2018 December

Miseducated or Stupid?December 05, 2018

A recent Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation survey found that 51 percent of American millennials would rather live in a socialist or communist country ...

Acceptable RacismDecember 12, 2018

How appropriate would it be for a major publicly held American company to hire a person with a history of having publicly made the following statements and m...

FDA Policies KillDecember 19, 2018

Among the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s responsibilities are approval and regulation of pharmaceutical drugs. In short, its responsibility is to ensure...

Disparities GaloreDecember 26, 2018

Much is made about observed differences between sexes and among races. The nation’s academic and legal elite try to sell us on the notion that men and women ...