The Latest Videos
Victor C. Bolles
September 3, 2024
Today we are going to discuss taxes. I could go on and on about taxes but today we will just investigate some broad concepts and not the specific proposals of the presidential candidates. That comes later. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, outlines some of the problems with American tax policies and compares them to the Nordic welfare state policies.
Highlight from the commentary:
Presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ economic plan, announced a couple of weeks ago, is also packed with mandatory programs and tax expenditures at a cost estimated by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget to be close to $2.0 trillion over ten years. But don’t worry. You won’t have to pay for it. Ms. Harris is going to make somebody else pay for it.
Victor C. Bolles
August 28, 2024
Replacing Joe Biden with Kamala Harris has not really improved the options we voters have in the 2024 presidential elections. The campaign promises of Trump and Harris run the gamut from dopey to scary. Most Americans do not support their radical agendas. Come this November we must vote wisely to protect America. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, explains why he recommends a vote for divided government to keep these radical policies at bay.
Quote from the commentary:
The problem we face is that it is not enough to block Donald Trump’s MAGA Republicans from sweeping to power if they can control both the executive and legislative branches. We also need to block Kamala Harris’ progressive Democrats from doing the same thing. And the only way we can do that is through divided government.
Victor C. Bolles
August 23, 2024
In her economic policy speech, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris blamed inflation on price gouging by greedy corporations. But Nobel prize winner Milton Friedman is famous for saying, “Inflation is made by Government and no one else.” Why does Ms. Harris and other progressives doubt that inflation is caused by government? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, will investigate what is behind this belief.
Quote from the commentary:
“So why do our progressive friends always blame inflation on greedy corporations and price gouging (other than it is always easy to blame someone else for something you did. We all learned that as a kid.). It all comes down to Marxist thinking. Marx said that profits are derived by the exploitation of the workers, so profits – any profits – are bad.”
Victor C. Bolles
August 20, 2024
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. We were fooled by Barack Obama. We were told that Joe Biden was the centrist alternative. Now we are being told that Kamala Harris has changed her mind on her progressive policies such as banning fracking and Medicare for all. Amid all the excitement about her candidacy are we going to be played for fools again? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host Victor Bolles delves into her announced economic policy and its impact on Americans.
Quote from the commentary:
Ms. Harris recently announced her economic plan -a cornucopia of tax cuts, subsidies, debt forgiveness, cash giveaways and price controls that the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) estimates would cost between $1.7 and 2.0 trillion. She blames all the economic problems confronting us on corporate greed and exonerates the government from any responsibility for the economic situation we are facing.
What the Heck is National Conservatism?
And Why Should You Care?
Victor C. Bolles
August 12, 2024
The little-known movement of National Conservatism rose to prominence after its recent conference featured many speakers from Donald Trump’s Republican Party including J. D. Vance who was named Trump’s vice-presidential running mate only days after his speech at the NatCon Conference. But what is National Conservatism and what does it stand for? In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles tries to help us to understand what National Conservatism is and how it will impact us in the future.
Quote from the commentary:
National Conservatism in its Statement of Principles emphasizes God and Country and rejects globalism and Enlightenment philosophy and values. National Conservatism states that only the national values based on traditional culture and religion are appropriate for each country and asserts that the universal values of the Enlightenment are not universal at all.
What is Trumpism without Trump?
Victor C. Bolles
August 1, 2024
To better understand Trumpism we need to look at the policies he is proposing and how they will impact us after he is gone. In his rallies he proclaims a great new movement that will transform America and he has anointed a new acolyte to carry on this new movement after he is gone. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, will look at how Trump’s movement will impact our lives after he is gone.
Quote from the commentary:
Mr. Trump’s economic policies seem to originate in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the height of colonialism and mercantilism. Mr. Trump favors tariffs and protectionism for American industries. He believes our country should be self-sufficient and that the government should subsidize favored industries.
Victor C. Bolles
July 25, 2024
So why does he lie? I don’t know. We can only speculate. We have gone from George Washington saying, “I cannot tell a lie” (which is probably a lie because there is no proof he ever said it) to “I cannot tell the truth because I don’t know what is the truth.” Lying is so pervasive now that lying has been renamed “gaslighting.” In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, tries to understand why Donald Trump (as well as most other politicians) tell so many lies.
Quote from the commentary:
Now, not only do our leaders lie to us, the people that are supposed to hold politicians’ feet to the fire, a fierce and independent free press, are also lying to us. The Russia hoax, Hunter’s laptop, the Wuhan lab leak, all these were declared to be false. Even the so-called fact-checkers are lying.
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Victor C. Bolles
July 8, 2024
The Democrats howl because the Supreme Court does not bow down to the popular will not realizing that the entire purpose of the Court is to frustrate the fickle and often irrational urges of the popular will. Constitutional change requires broad and sustained consensus not a slim majority that could change at a moment’s notice. In this podcast, the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, looks at recent decisions of the Supreme court and examines how they reflect the intent of the Framers.
Quote from the commentary:
There is a reason that the Supreme Court has consistently overturned most of the initiatives of the Biden Administration. It is because the Biden Administration has been so focused on the ends (outcomes) that it has ignored the means (the Constitutional processes). If you want to forgive student debt you need an appropriation from Congress, not an executive order.
Victor C. Bolles
January 9, 2024
Once again, while our so-called political leaders are completely absorbed by their campaigns for reelection, they ignore the urgent national priorities that need to be addressed, or worse, use those issues as political levers to galvanize their base at the expense of the American people. In this podcast the Edifice of Trust host, Victor Bolles, revisits those priorities that have become even more urgent as we enter a tumultuous election year.
Quote for the Commentary:
“Critics on the left will moan that meritocracy would worsen inequality. But equality of outcomes in education would mean driving all children down to the lowest common denominator (which you would understand unless you had been taught the new “equitable” math). But meritocracy will provide equality of opportunity. In fact, you cannot have equality of opportunity without meritocracy.”
Victor C. Bolles
December 30, 2021
In the year 2022 the United States will be challenged to address urgent priorities of national importance, but our political leaders will be distracted by political priorities as we approach the upcoming off-year elections. As citizens, we need to make sure that our elected representatives focus on issues of national importance and not on ideological agendas or the egos of political leaders. In this commentary, we identify some of these urgent national priorities as well as the distracting political priorities that we need to put behind us.
Quote from the Commentary:
“There are priorities that affect all Americans, rich and poor, black and white, young and old, whatever. We live in a complex and dangerous world. While our country is rich and powerful, it is not invulnerable. We cannot ignore the events happening around us and we need to be able to influence those events or be prepared to suffer the consequences.”
December 31, 2011
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On New year's Eve El Salvador's capital city turns into a virtual war zone of celebrations.
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