The World and Everything In It — April 8, 2021

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

Georgia’s new voting laws seek to restore election integrity, but opponents say it’s racist. We’ll tell you what the law actually says.

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: Also we’ll talk to an economist about how to counter the influence of liberal activism in corporations.

Plus a visit to a Bible Bee.

And commentator Cal Thomas on which economic system is best. Or the least bad.

REICHARD: It’s Thursday, April 8th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

BASHAM: And I’m Megan Basham. Good morning!

REICHARD: Up next, the news. Here’s Paul Butler.

PAUL BUTLER, NEWS ANCHOR: UK virus variant no dominant in United States » The coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK is now the dominant strain in the United States.

And since that B117 variant is more contagious, it’s giving the virus a leg up in the foot race against COVID-19 vaccines.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky:

WALENSKY: The virus still has hold on us, infecting people and putting them in harm’s way.

The rate of new daily cases has been stuck at around 65-to-70,000 since late February. And new hospital admissions are still ticking upward.

WALENSKY: Hospitals are seeing more and more younger adults, those in their 30s and 40s, admitted with severe disease. 

The GOOD news: deaths from COVID-19 continue to fall now just over 800 per day. That’s the lowest that number has been since October.

And President Biden’s chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that a new study suggests that the vaccines provide long lasting protection.

FAUCI: Antibody activity remained high in all age groups out to 209 days. 

That’s more than six months after immunization. A group of immunologists conducted the test with the Moderana vaccine. And Fauci said it’s quite possible that protection lasts much longer.

Pfizer says studies show its shot provide similar long lasting results.

EU drug regular finds “possible link” between AstraZeneca and rare clots » Meantime, the European Union’s drug regulator now says it has found a “possible link” between the AstraZeneca vaccine and rare blood clots.

Director of the European Medicines Agency Emer Cooke:

COOKE: The reported cases of unusual blood clotting following vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine should be listed as possible side effects of the vaccine. 

Experts reviewed several dozen cases in Europe where around 25 million people have received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Cooke said Wednesday the benefits of the shot still far outweigh the risks, and the EMA declined to impose any new age restrictions.

But British authorities recommend that the AstraZeneca vaccine not be given to adults under 30 where possible.

The EMA, the World Health Organization and numerous other health authorities have said repeatedly that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe and effective.

World powers begin effort to revive Iran nuclear deal » Talks are underway in Vienna as members of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal work to revive the agreement. WORLD’s Leigh Jones reports.

LEIGH JONES, REPORTER: Officials from five world powers began a new effort this week to bring both Iran and the United States back into compliance with the agreement.

The United States, of course, withdrew from the deal in 2018, and Iran is no longer abiding by its terms.

The meeting in Vienna includes envoys from Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain, and Iran. It began as U.S. officials started their own indirect talks with Tehran.

So far, Iran has insisted that Washington drop all sanctions against it before it will honor the terms of the agreement. President Biden says Tehran must first start complying.

Russia’s delegate to the nuclear deal tweeted that the initial talks were—quote—“successful.”

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Leigh Jones.

Texas, Louisiana leading lawsuit alleging release of migrant criminals » Texas and Louisiana are leading a lawsuit claiming the federal government is failing to deport migrants who have committed felony crimes.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday,

PAXTON: If Texas is holding a prisoner who has committed a felony, once they’re released, ICE is supposed to issue a detainer and then they’re supposed to deport these people. They’ve stopped issuing a lot of these detainers, so these people are being released after committing felonies and other crimes in our states. 

The federal government has yet to respond to the lawsuit.

Customs and Border Protection released a report that claims the agency made over 171-thousand migrant apprehensions at the southern border last month. That is a 71 percent increase from February.

A U.S. envoy arrived in El Salvador on Wednesday for talks on immigration amid a surge of child migrants on the U.S. border.

Top officials in the Biden administration say they’re committed to addressing the root causes of emigration from Central American countries at the source.

I’m Paul Butler.

Straight ahead: Georgia defends its voting laws against attacks from corporate America.

Plus, Cal Thomas on the push for bigger and bigger government.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: It’s Thursday, the 8th of April, 2021.

Thanks for coming along with us for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Megan Basham.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

First up: hardball politics in baseball.

Major League Baseball is drawing fire over its recent foray into politics in the state of Georgia.

Two years ago, the league awarded the 2021 All-Star game to Cobb County, Georgia, home of the Atlanta Braves.

MANFRED: Good evening, I’m Rob Manfred, the commissioner of baseball. All of us in Major League Baseball are excited for the return of the All-Star game in 2021 in Atlanta.

BASHAM: But last Friday, MLB announced it would relocate this year’s game. It will now take place in Denver. Commissioner Rob Manfred said the move was in protest of a new election law in Georgia.

WORLD’s Kent Covington reports.

KENT COVINGTON, REPORTER: Last month, Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brain Kemp signed new voting rules into law. He said the changes are about making voting more secure and making voters more confident in the integrity of elections.

But Democrats have roundly denounced them as racist. They say the changes are really an effort to discourage people, particularly minorities, from voting.

President Biden told reporters,

BIDEN: This is nothing but punitive – designed to keep people from voting. 

James Beverly is the Democratic minority leader in the Georgia House. He characterized the bill this way:

BEVERLY: The most egregious voter suppression bill that we’ve seen this millennium. 

Immediately after the governor signed the bill into law, liberal activists began pressuring Major League Baseball and other corporations to speak out against it.

Days later, MLB agreed and announced it would move the All-Star game.

That drew a furious response from Republicans in Georgia, in Washington, and in Texas where Gov. Greg Abbott blasted baseball’s decision. In protest, he cancelled his plans to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Texas Rangers’ home opener in Arlington.

ABBOTT: I could not associate myself with Major League Baseball that had gone out and done something that was absolutely ridiculous. It was taking positions with regard to these voter and election laws in the state of Georgia where clearly Major League Baseball had not read, not studied, and did not know what those laws provided. 

Here’s what law in question does:

While Georgia law already required identification to vote in person, the new law requires ID for mail-in voting. But it offers a range of options.

Voters will be asked to provide their driver’s license number or other state-issued identification number with a mail-in ballot. But if they don’t have that, they can write the last four digits of their social security number along with their date of birth. And a voter who has none of those things can enclose something like a utility bill.

Additionally, the law limits, but does not eliminate, ballot drop boxes, which were not used at all in the state prior to the pandemic.

But the law also expands early voting to two Saturdays before a general election, instead of just one, and it leaves two Sundays as an option.

Gov. Kemp last week fired back at Major League Baseball and other corporate critics, including Delta Airlines and CocaCola.

KEMP: Major League Baseball, headquartered in New York, Delta’s flying in New York. I’m sure CocaCola sells a lot of product in New York. When you look at New York’s voting laws, you have to have an excuse to vote absentee by mail in New York. You do not in Georgia. 

Critics also accused Manfred and Major League Baseball of acting hypocritically.

Some have noted that just five years ago, the Tampa Bay Rays played a game in communist Cuba against the Cuban national team.

And very recently, MLB expanded its contract with Chinese tech company Tencent. The firm has deep ties to the country’s communist government and was behind a blackout of NBA games in China after the Houston Rockets general manager voiced support for democracy in Hong Kong.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wrote to Major League Baseball this week saying, since MLB now appears eager to—quote—“demonstrate ‘unwavering support’ for fundamental human rights, will you cease your relationship with the Chinese government, which at this very moment is committing genocide?”

Others have criticized baseball’s move simply because, in their view, it doesn’t punish those who passed the law and only hurts the Braves, Cobb County, and local businesses.

Cobb County Commission Chairwoman Lisa Cupid:

CUPID: As we are coming out of a pandemic, many more people are getting vaccinated, and we looked for many people to descend into Cobb County for the All-Star game, and with that was not only going to be an uptick in our mood but also in our economy. 

Some in Cobb County said sure, we happen to be located in Georgia, but if a national law ever passes with which some baseball executives disagree, perhaps all future All-Star games will be held in Canada.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Kent Covington in Atlanta.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: liberal activism in corporate America.

There’s room for Christians to come down on either side of the debate with regard to Georgia’s voting law. But whether we’re talking about an election law or something else like sanctity of life or religious liberty, or even bathrooms, it does seem that in recent years, major corporations have regularly sided with liberal activists.

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: Five years ago, the NBA announced it was moving its All-Star game out of North Carolina over the so-called bathroom bill that LGBT activists opposed.

But just a few years later, the NBA apologized to the Chinese communist government after that tweet from Rockets GM Daryl Morey in support of pro-democracy demonstrators.

REICHARD: And the political left now holds increasing influence in all kinds of boardrooms across the country.

Here how to help explain why corporate America is drifting left is Jerry Bowyer. He is the chief economist at Vident Financial and author of The Maker vs. the Takers: What Jesus Really Said About Economics and Social Justice. Jerry, good morning!

BOWYER: Good morning to you, Mary.

REICHARD: Well, we just reported on Major League Baseball, relocating the all star game, I’m guessing that did not surprise you. What was your reaction to that move?

BOWYER: My reaction was once again to talk to my tribe, which is Evangelical Christians of conservative political bent and say, how long is it going to take us to wake up to the idea that we need to be involved and engaged and acting as salt in light, as opposed to essentially, completely abandoning any responsibility to be a witness to the boardroom, in the proxy process at annual meetings?
When do we start playing catch up, because we have basically been completely out of the game. And they showed up, they were very well organized. They are a minority of shareholders a minority view in American politics. They buy one share and use it to show up at an annual meeting. Whereas conservatives and Christians are probably the major shareholders than the United States.
And we don’t say anything. Now, Major League Baseball isn’t a publicly traded company, but these other examples are largely publicly traded companies—I would say that corporate America is probably the largest unreached people group that evangelicals have failed to send missionaries to. And I think it’s time that we reverse that.

REICHARD: Can you talk to how organized the campaign by the left is to influence corporations? How organized are they?

BOWYER: They’re extremely well organized. I have a friend who’s a conservative activist who goes to some of these annual meetings. He’s like one person, he says, Jerry, when I’m in the room with 200 people, there’s 199 left wing activists, and then there’s me. It’s weird, it’s um, they are super well organized.

They’ve been working on these relationships with corporate managers for some time. They tend to come in through diversity type functions in the company, human reason, human relations and diversity. People are coming out of universities and studying human relations or diversity, and they go and become diversity officers. And they essentially have a pre-stamped ideology, which is diversity, skin deep, but no further. So ethnic diversity, which by the way, is a wonderful thing, the kingdom of God is ethnically diverse, but diversity of thought, no interest, no awareness that that’s even an issue. So I talked to one of the largest proxy services in the country. Proxy services, the group—most people and even most funds don’t actually vote in these corporate elections. We can, but it’s generally outsourced to a company that’s called a proxy service. So I talked to the proxy service. And, you know, they routinely come down on the left side of issues automatically. So I asked them, well, haven’t any conservatives talked to you about this?’And they said, no. They weren’t even aware of the issues that were of concern to us. They weren’t aware that we existed. So I think that’s why corporations have been going left.

REICHARD: So interesting. So I hear you say Christians need to get more involved. And as far as leftward corporate drift goes, you know, we see that some Christians think the right thing to do is just divest. You know, move away from companies that do things that upset them. Other Christians see opportunity here. Where do you think you fall along that spectrum?

BOWYER: I’d say I’m pretty well on the opportunity side of things. And I think that that’s one of the things that kept Christians out of the game, which is, I think, something based on not an actual biblical conception of holiness.

There’s something about to some degree, the evangelical consciousness that his retreat and separation as a first instinct, so you see a bank, and maybe it would be a good bank to invest in, but they give money to Planned Parenthood. And our first impulse is to scream the sin out. Whereas I think following the example of Jesus, the first impulse should be to move closer in, not to disengage, but to engage. When Jesus is confronting the rich young ruler, who is involved with corrupt practices, I argue, in my book, who walks away? The rich young ruler walks away. Jesus doesn’t walk away. And at some point, we became the walkaway people. And I think we actually have a moral obligation within the limits of conscience to speak truth to the boardroom. Whether they listen or not, that’s in God’s hands. But like God said to Ezekiel, if you warn them, and they disobey the sins on them. But if you don’t warn them, and they disobey, then the guilt is on you.

So I think Christians need to speak clearly, into the corporate context, we own the shares, we can attend annual meetings. This year, the annual meetings are all online. So it’s extremely easy to attend the annual meeting, we can vote on members of the Board of Directors, directors, we can vote on proxies, and we can actually go to the website of the companies we own. And then you know, type in investor relations, and there’ll be a little portal, that’s just for people who own the shares. And you can write and say, Netflix, we don’t think you should be promoting movies that sexualize little girls.

Or we can write to some large bank or we can write to an energy company or whatever and say, we don’t think you should sign on as co, as supporters of the Equality Act just automatically and ignore the fact that it’s destructive to religious liberty and would violate the conscience of physicians who do not want to participate in, say, transgender operations or abortions.

It’s really easy to do. They do it a lot. They’ll take one share and dominate a meeting. We’ll  be the majority of shares and not know that we’re there. So I guess I’m right about that enough. So now it’s time for action. So I would say that there is a theological worldview distortion early on, which is, this world’s not my home, I’m just a passing through and my job is just to remain as socially distant from sin as I can. As opposed to I think the Jesus model is more like no, we take, we take the ring into the heart of Mordor. We take we take the message, wherever it’s not being heard, and do it boldly. And then let God providentially work out what happens.

And I know that barrier. By the way, I don’t mean to put something I don’t have any financial interest in this or anything, but I had some input into a new website, StopCorporateTyranny.org. That makes it really easy. So if you’re interested in talking to tech companies about canceled culture, you can go on there. And I’ll take you all of about 15 seconds to say, here’s who I am. And he and I agree that you need to stop canceling conservatives and you push a button and it’s going to send the email from you to the CEO to the Board of Directors automatically. So I—people aren’t used to this. A lot of it’s a comfort barrier. And so we’re trying to make the barrier to becoming involved in the corporate governance process easier as well.

REICHARD: Jerry Boyer is chief economist at Vident Financial.  Jerry, a pleasure. Thanks so much.

BOWYER: My pleasure as well.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: A teenager in New Hampshire saved a boy more than 800 miles away thanks to a social media app.

Caden Cotnoir was watching a TikTok live-stream of 12-year-old Trent Jarrett riding a four-wheeler in West Virginia, when something went wrong.

AUDIO: [ATV accident]

Mmm. Trent’s ATV rolled over and he was pinned underneath.

Caden told WMUR,

CADEN: It was pretty sad to hear. He was scared that he was not going to make it out.

That’s when Trent started yelling out numbers, the only numbers he could remember: his grandparent’s telephone number.

Caden was listening and made the call.

And after being trapped for about 20 minutes, Trent escaped with only cuts and bruises.

Caden’s family called it “an Easter miracle.”

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, April 8th.

Thanks so much for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: And I’m Megan Basham.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Memorizing Scripture!

Just thinking about it brings back memories of Sunday School classes and old-time Bible bees. Scripture memorization is often the least pursued of the spiritual disciplines, because, well, it’s hard to do for some of us.

But WORLD Senior Correspondent, Myrna Brown found some Georgia families who make it look easy. Here’s the story.

AMBERLY: Put your hands down.

MYRNA BROWN, REPORTER: Hands in pockets, stand still, and speak clearly. Final instructions from a mama on a mission.

AMBERLY: Alright, go!  Galatians four, one through thirty one. Now I say to the heir as long as he is a child…

It’s 4 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon. Sitting at the kitchen table, on a high-back wooden chair, homeschool mom Amberly Waddle uses her finger to follow along in her Bible. She’s listening to her 13-year-old son, Thomas, recite the first 15 verses of Galatians Chapter 4.

THOMAS: Will you not despair…

AMBERLY: [whispers] in my trial…

THOMAS: in my trial….

With a few pauses and prompts, Thomas gets through it. Then, Amberly points to 7-year-old. Gideon. 

Wearing bright blue glasses and standing several inches shorter than his big brother, Gideon softly picks up at verse 16. But by the time he gets to verse 27…

GIDEON: Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor!

AMBERLY: Very good. Good job. Alright Esther your turn.

ESTHER: Galatians 5: 1 -26.  Stand fast….

Four minutes later, 12-year-old Esther and 10- year-old Judah finish up their part. All 26 verses of Galatians chapter 5: recalled and recited.

 JUDAH: I do it by memorizing three verses every day. 

ESTHER: For my memorization, I memorize a verse by going over it several times and then I go to the second one and when I’m done memorizing the second one, I go back to the first one and say them through without looking. And I just keep doing that and it really gets in my head.

That’s the ultimate goal for their parents Adam and Amberly Waddle: transformation by the renewal of their children’s minds.

AMBERLY: The Bible says I will hide your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you. I mean that is one of the things and tools that God uses to keep us from sinning against Him. It’s His Word.

ADAM: Honestly, we started when they were around 2. We believe in it, right. But we also come from a church that believes in it.

AMBERLY: Alright, everybody get your shoes on. You said get a cookie. Alright, get a cookie and then get your shoes on.

ADAM: Don’t let the cat in.

AUDIO: [car cranks]

It’s a little past 5 p.m. The Waddles are heading back to church. As Adam drives, Amberly uses every bit of their 20 minute commute for one last review of Galatians.

AUDIO: [talking, noises]

At the end of a long driveway in rural middle Georgia, Redeemer Baptist Church is surrounded by trees. The small building is brand new. It’s the first time members have gathered for this Sunday evening event.

AUDIO: [people laughing, talking]

There’s an excitement and hum of anticipation in the air as families take their seats on the deep blue padded chairs.

HOST: Well good evening. I’m Steve Esmond and I have been asked to welcome y’all and to say a few opening comments and then we’ll get to the Scriptorium.

Scriptorium is a Latin word that means “place for writing.” In the centuries between Christ and the modern era, scribes preserved handwritten copies of the Bible by copying the Scriptures in a room called a Scriptorium. In 2006, people from churches around the country began following that same tradition, but with a verbal twist. Barbara Fike brought the idea to Redeemer.

FIKE: Some were overwhelmed but we had a number of people just willing to get in there and try it.

In 20-17 Redeemer Baptist hosted its first Scriptorium. Tonight, about a dozen or so families and individuals will recite more than 500 verses from the New Testament books of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

HOST: So before we get started, let’s pray and ask God to bless our time.

Marie and Wesley Johnston walk hand in hand to the small wooden stage slash pulpit. Marie is a wife and mom of three little boys. Wesley, a kindergartner, is her oldest.

WESLEY: Grace to you, in peace, from God our Father in the Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins….

After rehearsing throughout the afternoon, it’s the Waddles’ turn.

AMBERLY: And after 14 years I went to Jerusalem and Barnabas….

Amberly Waddle begins reciting all 21 verses of Galatians 2.When she takes her seat, her four children are next—hands in pockets, eyes on mom.

THOMAS: Galatians 4 [clears his throat] 1 – 31…..

For the next hour and a half, it’s a steady flow of men, women, and children: including a father of two who works as a trainer for an insurance company, several college students, even entire families on stage reciting Scripture together.

    AUDIO: [voices reciting Scripture]

Kevin Epperson drove an hour from a neighboring county to witness and participate in the Scriptorium.

KEVIN EPPERSON: By contrast to what the world is offering us and what we could be doing with our time and putting in our head, what a great opportunity it is to fill your mind with one chapter of the Bible.

Redeemer will hold its next Scriptorium later this summer. And this time it’s an Old Testament sampler.

BARBARA FIKE: I would say just give it a try.  What happens even in one life, is worth everything, worth your discomfort and fear. It’s God’s Word and it’s eternal, and only God knows what the results will be of time spent memorizing his Word and sharing it with others. 

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Myrna Brown in Juliette, Georgia.

If you’d like to see those families on stage reciting scripture, Myrna produced a companion piece for WORLD Watch, our video news program for students. We’ll post a link to that story in today’s transcript.

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: Coming up next, a preview of Listening In. This week, host Warren Smith talks to Rich Stearns, president emeritus of World Vision and an author.

Stearns spent 21 years at the helm of the Christian aid organization and now teaches about leadership. Leaders are often measured by their results, but Stearns believes there’s a more significant way to evaluate their effectiveness. Here’s Warren.

RICH STEARNS: So one of the metaphors I like to use is that of a GPS or Google Maps. And when you enter a destination in your Google Maps program, or in your car, it gives you very precise driving directions—instructions on how to get there. But if you enter the wrong destination, you’ll get very accurate driving directions to the wrong place.

So let’s imagine that, you know, we have a spiritual GPS and we enter our destination as “success.” Well, if I want to be successful, you know, I might have to compromise some things. I might have to use people in certain ways. I might have to be more manipulative. I might have to get more into office politics. I may have to make some trades about time with my family versus time at work—time with friends versus time at work. And, and I can make some tragic choices.

The Scripture says that those who have a love of money pierce themselves with many griefs. And so success can become an idol and an obsession in our lives. It can become the main thing we’re living for, to be more successful, more and more successful.

Now, on the other hand, if I enter into my spiritual GPS: “faithfulness,” I want to be a faithful follower of Christ. And that’s my focus. And that’s my goal. I go to work now. And I think, “Hey, I’m Christ’s ambassador in this place. I’m here to minister to the people. I’m surrounded with my co workers. I’m here to demonstrate the character of Christ, the love of Christ to the people around me. And I’m here to model the integrity and character of Jesus to those that I work with so.” So now it’s not about whether I’m going to get ahead or get a promotion. It’s like “how can I? How can I be a good ambassador for Christ?” And now, I believe if you do that, you’re likely to be more successful—not because success was your goal—but because those biblical principles all often lead to success, but they don’t always lead to success. You could be a middle manager the rest of your life and that’s okay. But often these characteristics and these values lead to success.

BASHAM: That’s Rich Stearns talking to Warren Smith. To hear their complete conversation, look for Listening In tomorrow wherever you get your podcasts.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Thursday, April 8th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: And I’m Megan Basham.

Next up, Cal Thomas on empty promises and the new era of Big Government.

CAL THOMAS, COMMENTATOR: Back in the day when Saturday Night Live was funny, Chevy Chase would open the “Weekend Update” segment by saying, “I’m Chevy Chase and you’re not.”

That line came to mind as I read over President Biden’s massive tax and spend proposals. They are unlike anything since FDR. That’s who Biden seems to believe he’s modeling himself after. He thinks he’s a capitalist, but he’s not.

How quickly we’ve regressed! Ronald Reagan said “government is not the solution…government is the problem.” Bill Clinton declared that “the era of big government is over.” But Joe Biden seems to believe that the era of big government is just beginning.

Let’s define two terms. First, capitalism: “an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.”

Now, Socialism: “a theory or system of social organization that advocates the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, capital, land, etc., by the community as a whole, usually through a centralized government.”

That perfectly defines the Biden tax and spending blowout.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is ratcheting up the notion that only government can solve problems by proposing a global minimum tax. The Biden team hopes that will prevent companies relocating to other countries if Democrats succeed in raising the corporate tax rate at home.

That’s got it backwards, but typifies the thinking of those whose faith is in ever growing, more expensive and intrusive government.

The obvious question then becomes, if big government can solve our problems, why hasn’t it solved them by now?

Former President Trump reduced corporate tax rates. That persuaded some businesses that had relocated overseas to move back to the United States. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, that returned more than $300 billion dollars to the U.S. economy.

How is returning to the bad old days of higher taxes going to convince those companies to stay home? No reporter has asked that question and no one in the Biden administration has voluntarily offered an explanation.

Speaking of Chevy Chase, the comedian once said: “Socialism works [and] Cuba might prove that. I think it’s conclusive that there have been areas where socialism has helped to keep people at least stabilized at a certain level.”

But that level is mutually shared mediocrity and in some cases, mutually shared poverty. Capitalism raises boats for those who play by its rules, accompanied by shared moral values. Socialism, especially when paired with communism, sinks too many boats as well as hopes.

I’m Cal Thomas.

MEGAN BASHAM, HOST: Tomorrow: Professor Katie McCoy joins us for Culture Friday.

And, I’ll review The latest big Marvel series.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Megan Basham.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

Jesus said to Thomas: “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Go now in grace and peace.

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