Scott S. Powell

Senior Fellow, Center on Wealth and Poverty

Scott Powell has worked in the corporate, academic, and research worlds. He has taught at two universities, served on two corporate boards, and been an entrepreneur—founding two companies. He has been Senior Fellow at the  Discovery Institute since 2012, after a six-year affiliation with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He has written three books and over 350 published articles in the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Newsmax, The Federalist ,USA Today, Barron’s Financial, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, The Houston Chronicle, and some 50 other newspapers and journals in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. He delivered the valedictory address at his graduation from the University of Chicago with honors (B.A. and M.A.) and received his Ph.D. in economics from Boston University.

Scott’s latest book, Rediscovering America, was a No. 1 best selling new release on Amazon in the history genre for eight straight weeks.  Being a timeless book that reveals how and why the United States has been entirely unique and different from every other nation in human history, it also explains how to reverse the decline of America. Dennis Prager calls it “a powerful, inspiring and concise book, reaffirming what you always knew—that America is an exceptional nation.”

Scott’s first book, Covert Cadre, documented the people and organizations engaged in leading the political and cultural changes sweeping through America decades ago that would transform and undermine America; it was hailed by National Review as one of the most important books of the 1988 election year. Scott has been called on to provide expert witness analysis and testimony for the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He has also taught international economics at the graduate school level and has made appearances on some 400 radio and television shows throughout the U.S."

Archives

Regime Change in Venezuela: Key to Global Advance of Democracy and Peace

Rarely can more than two birds be killed with one stone in foreign policy. That is, unless leadership can grasp multi-causality or multi-causal synchronicity and carry out bold and adept policy executions with finesse in different theaters. A unique part of President Donald Trump’s success in leadership is precisely this ability. The surprise stealth operation in Venezuela in the dark of early morning January 3, 2026, resulted in the flawless capture of President Nicolás Maduro — one of the worst international criminals and enemies of the United States. What many underappreciate is that the Venezuela shaped by Maduro is the key to achieving peace in the Western hemisphere and beyond. The capture and arrest of Maduro have resulted in the U.S. taking charge of Venezuela and

Why Christmas is the Greatest Story of All Time

Christmas the is celebration of the birth of the messiah, the ultimate rescuer and savior for mankind who would vanquish evil, oppression, and falsehood once and for all. In that sense, Jesus is the most revolutionary figure of human history. No other religion makes the claim that it was founded by a messiah.

Thanksgiving: Why It Is America’s Foundational Holiday

The Thanksgiving holiday, which commemorates one part of the Pilgrim story, remains the favorite holiday for many Americans. And for good reasons, beyond enjoying a feast. With our country passing through troubled times, it is worth revisiting the Pilgrims' five significant achievements, which created the seminal story of America, and reveals remarkable insights into who we are and the qualities of character we need to overcome our present challenges.

Veterans Day: The Holiday Whose Time Has Come

The U.S. has always stood for freedom and against aggression and tyranny. Surely many Americans who enlisted to serve in wartime knew neither the forsaken places they were going nor what they would encounter, but they all had a distinct conviction that they were fighting not only to set overseas captives free but to protect freedom at home.

Key to Restoring American Greatness: Evil’s Wholesale Defeat

The mainstream media and deep state would lead us all to think the American people are more divided than in prior trying times such as during the Civil War or the divisive civil rights/anti-Vietnam War period of the late 1960s and early 1970s. While it’s true that there may be more incidents of extremism and violence coming from the left today, it is also important to recognize that there were major moral issues at stake in each of those prior times. Moral opposition to slavery was associated with the Civil War, and there was a moral opposition to the Vietnam War and a moral basis for racial equality in the Civil Rights movement. Today’s urban divisiveness and violence is greater than in the 1960s, yet there is not a clear moral basis behind today’s street

Invoke the Insurrection Act? In Parts of U.S. It May Be Time

We should never allow the complexity of America’s contemporary problems to confuse, discourage, or overwhelm us. Correcting our present course and charting our way forward is best achieved by aligning our approach and policies with timeless wisdom and principles understood and codified by our nation’s Founders. It turns out that the U.S. Constitution provides the framework, specifically the Article II, Section 2, and supremacy clause of Article 6, to put down the current city and state rebellions in California, Oregon, Illinois and some 12 other states claiming “sanctuary” status. Another powerful source of wisdom and insight into our contemporary problems is George Washington’s Farewell Address of 1797. Here we find Washington uniquely

Constitution Day: If Its Light Goes Out, Darkness and Oppression Are Sure to Follow

We have all had moments where we realized that if we had only known more or had critical information, we would have avoided making a serious mistake. Today there are a considerable number of elites in high places in America who embrace a vision for reordering America wherein our constitutional republican government would be supplanted by a new system to accommodate a new global order. It may be a shorter step than what most would think, for in the last 115 years America has seen its governance evolve from a constitutional republic into an unaccountable administrative state with little resistance. The critical lesson of history that every freedom-loving person needs to grasp is this: The entire world lived in political darkness before the U.S. Constitution gave birth to an enlightened

Labor Day is Really All About American Exceptionalism

Other than punctuating the end of summer, Labor Day has for many lacked meaning associated with other holidays. Properly understood, it is the holiday that celebrates not only labor, but the job creators and entrepreneurs central to the flourishing of the United States and its people.

Restoring Arlington Cemetery’s Reconciliation Monument is Pivotal for American Greatness

The attack on normalcy, traditions, and history in America intensified in 2020 with Covid-19 lockdowns and the riots catalyzed by the death of George Floyd. When destruction then turned under the Congressional Naming Commission to the icons associated with the Confederacy of the Civil War period, the Reconciliation Monument in Arlington Cemetery came into the crosshairs. It was removed from Arlington on Dec. 16, 2023, despite longstanding traditions and laws against desecrating gravesites.

Will Restoring Justice be Trump’s Greatest Achievement?

Americans will always have different political views, but an overwhelming number of citizens agree that justice and accountability is a government imperative. The root of so many of our present problems are the two-tiered justice system and its consequences of corruption at the highest levels of U.S. government. The White House East Room has displayed the portrait of James Madison, the primary author of the Constitution and the nation’s fourth President. Let’s hope the Trump administration is all in on Madison’s assertion in Federalist, No. 51, that “Justice is the end of government. It is the end of civil society. It has ever been and ever will be pursued until it be obtained, or until liberty be lost in the pursuit.” If Madison’s views are

Securing Justice for Russiagate is How We Save the Country

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is aggressively pursuing options to hold accountable any federal officials for their actions in the Russian collusion hoax, aka Russiagate. This is welcome news to those who have become cynical about our two-tiered justice system, in which Republicans are fair game for prosecution for often made-up crimes and Democrats are insulated and spared for real crimes. There is now an authorization of a federal grand jury to investigate and hold accountable any federal officials and non-governmental accomplices for conspiring against Donald Trump both before the 2016 election and afterwards. All of this closely follows the declassification and public release of records from late 2016 and 2017 that show how top intelligence and law enforcement officials —

Americans Can Never Forget that Liberty Depends on Justice

Most people associate July 4 Independence Day with liberty and the birth of America as a free and independent country, which dissolved the political ties that had bound the American people to Great Britain. But what the American people are anxious about now as we commence the countdown to America’s 250th anniversary, July 4, 2026, is that America’s liberty is now at extreme risk because the country’s foundation of justice has been shredded. A solid foundation of justice is essential to ensure that freedom does not enable the powerful to oppress the vastly larger numbers who are in a weaker position. Equal justice under the law means not only that the courts should adjudicate the law without prejudice as to race, gender, or social status, but that the laws must be

Ending the Deep State’s Inversion Matrix

Most everyone has heard about the transposition of good and evil and truth and falsehood. The best known description of this phenomena is from Isaiah the prophet, who lamented in chapter 5, verse 20, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” One of the ironies of the time in which we live is that this inversion of good and evil, truth and falsehood has become more widespread and extreme at the very time that science, technology, and productivity have reached their greatest heights in human history. How and why has that come about? Something has been happening across the western Judeo-Christian world. It can be felt in the streets, at work, in schools, online and in

Spiritual Revival Is as Essential Today as Was the Great Awakening Prior to 1776

Since his inauguration on January 20, President Trump has delivered more positive achievements for more of the American people than any other president serving an equivalent time in office. Yet, Trump has experienced more opposition, including assassination attempts, than any other president since the Civil War. In fact, 67% of all federal injunctions in the last 100 years have been issued against President Trump. When opposition and hostility to a national leader who is delivering major solutions for the people is so obviously irrational, it is imperative to understand what is at work to cause such division and hatred. With the 250th anniversary of America’s founding only a year away, we can start with identifying the one or two cultural variables that are dramatically

With Sovereign Wealth Fund, Trump Seeks to Strengthen Nation

There is no greater betrayal by the U.S. government than failing to protect the safety and security of the American people. But this, in fact, was the case prior to Trump, because Washington abdicated its responsibility to protect and develop all-important rare earth elements that are critically necessary in the production of high-tech military weapons systems, like F-16, F-22 and F-35 jet fighters, drones, and AI-driven systems. Rather, the U.S. has become dependent on China.

Trump Places Nation’s Security Above Judicial Activism

Who would have thought that the constitutional crisis and breakdown in America would come from people in robes? Most believe that judges should stay in their lane of upholding and resolving the law, not legislating, or interfering with the executive branch of government. While the judiciary has superseded its authority under the Constitution at various times in America’s past, the appearance of Donald Trump on the national political stage brought about judicial activism and lawfare on steroids, starting with the Russia hoax and two impeachment attempts in his first term as president. To put it in context of the last 15 years, judges issued 12 injunctions against Obama during the eight years of his two terms, and Biden was issued injunctions 28 times during his four years. In

How Easter Transformed the World Like Nothing Else Ever Could

Across cultures throughout human history, people have sought to flee oppression and escape persecution. A recurring theme in Western literature and in modern classics such as Superman and Disney originals, which revolve around the struggle between good and evil, is the need and critical role for a rescuer or savior.

Protesters Are Wrong: DOGE, Tariffs, and Law and Order Should be Applauded

There was once a time when a new U.S. presidential administration would be granted a “honeymoon period” to set an agenda and establish new policies. Not so for President Donald Trump. Instead, the knives were being drawn even before his first inauguration in 2017, and guns were being drawn before his second term electoral victory in November 2024. But behind these battle lines, Trump’s enemies are losing the war. Protests against Elon Musk and Donald Trump reveal the false and disingenuous nature of this “Hands Off!” movement. Consider the protest’s two main focal points: DOGE’s ability to effectively identify and eliminate and reduce waste, fraud, and abuse in government. Trump’s prioritization of deporting criminal elements

What’s the Real Target of the Assault on Tesla?

The war on Elon Musk and Tesla is driven by far more than politics. One thing is for sure: Tesla owners never saw this one coming. After all, Tesla fans are generally predisposed to embrace climate change and much of the Green New Deal — positions with large support among people on the left side of the political spectrum. For many, owning a Tesla is a statement of virtue, signaling that you are doing your part to save the world and save the environment. Owners of Teslas are more likely to vote Democrat than Republican. So why would Tesla dealerships and Tesla car owners be targeted for destruction? And who are these radical property destroyers? If the American people have learned anything in the last ten or fifteen years — particularly highlighted by the $2 billion destruction of