I hate to beat a dead horse, but the issue of trade keeps coming up in the news, whether from Donald Trump and the Trumpists or from Paul Ryan or from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, all claiming to have the right position on trade and the place of the United States in the global […]
Archives
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Innovation and Bureaucracy: A Match Made in….
27 Jun 2016
“Bureaucrats Stifle Innovation” Maybe that sounds like something I might say. And you would be right. But I didn’t say that. It was the title of an article in Reason on June 1, 2016 by John Stossel. Yes, Stossel is polemical. But I think he is also on to something. The subtitle is “Taught Not […]
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In a National Review article of June 21, 2016, Michael Barone explored the question of whether the United States economy has shown any growth, and if not, why not. The article, entitled “Why We have—and Probably Will Keep Having—Sluggish Job Growth,” relies on a recently published book by the economist Arnold Kling, Specialization and Trade: […]
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Goodbye EU
24 Jun 2016
Since the vote to leave the European Union is done, and Great Britain is out, I suppose I will give my opinion about it. This undoubtedly will not be shared by all. First, let me say—again—that I strongly favor free trade among nations. Having said that, the EU is very much more than an economic […]
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Just Trying to Compete with the Movies
24 Jun 2016
As many of you know my Bereans colleague Mark Smith likes movies and likes to write movie reviews. I am not so cool so I like books. And on occasions I like to highlight some I like really well. This time I have three. And I apologize that you can’t go see the movie versions […]
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Critical Thinking About Critical Thinking
22 Jun 2016
“Are Students Really Learning to Be Critical Thinkers?” is the title of an article in BetterEd by Annie Holmquist (http://www.better-ed.org/blog/are-students-really-learning-be-critical-thinkers). This question has been on my mind for some time as I have listened to and read educational leaders, teachers, professors and literature extol the virtues of “critical thinking.” But what have they almost always […]
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Climate Change Advocates Don’t Like Free Speech
21 Jun 2016
We have been hearing quite a bit lately about the state attorneys generals’ attempts to require information from corporations, non-profit think tanks, university research centers and even individuals regarding so-called “climate denial.” The AGs have alleged that these entities have withheld information that acknowledges the reality and danger of climate change and thus have committed […]
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Bring Back the History of Economic Thought
20 Jun 2016
I came across an interesting article in the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy out of North Carolina. The title is “UNC Chapel Hill’s Economics Program Lacks Historical Perspective,” and it can be read here at http://www.popecenter.org/commentaries/article.html?id=3386 (sorry, I haven’t mastered the art of just a “here” to click on—primitive computer skills). The upshot was […]
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The Log in Their Eyes
02 Jun 2016
Charlotte Allen had a very thought-provoking article in the latest First Things, entitled “Punching Down” (see it here http://www.firstthings.com/article/2016/06/punching-down). The article begins with the saga of the all but forgotten Kim Davis, the hapless county clerk in Rowan County, Kentucky who refused to sign homosexual marriage licenses and also forbad her assistant from doing so. […]
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Happy 100th Birthday Bernard Lewis
31 May 2016
Today is Bernard Lewis’ 100th birthday, quite a milestone for anyone. Lewis is a long-time (and I mean that literally) of Middle Eastern Islam and history and has gained a new hearing since 9/11 with his prescient work. He is currently Emeritus Professor at Princeton. His works are legion but many easily accessible to the […]
Bert Wheeler
Jeff Haymond
Marc Clauson
Mark Caleb Smith
Tom Mach