As the U.S. policy makers continue to demand head toward negative interest rates (thank you Mr. Trump, NOT!), I thought it would be helpful for a short review. So, here are some common questions and my answers. What are negative interest rates? A negative interest rate is simply the result of someone paying higher for […]

It used to be possible to say something of the effect, “be wary of Republicans when they don’t do what they say they believe in, be wary of Democrats when they do do what they believe in.” Democrats may have had good intentions, but their policy prescriptions were generally in the wrong direction (certainly economically). […]

I was born after the moon landing. I always regretted that I did not live during those moments when all of America huddled around television screens–somehow both apart and together at the same time–to experience monumental history. In 2001, I got to share in a collective moment of a different kind. I was teaching at […]

I don’t often just send out links, but I found the following back and forth between David French and Matt Shapiro fascinating. They both made great points and I honestly don’t know which path is right, or are they both right in their own way? As a Dean of a Business School, sending out young […]

Last night, ten Democratic presidential candidates took the stage in New York City to discuss the politics of climate change. Each candidate had roughly forty minutes with only a moderator and a camera. Those moments felt like an eternity in today’s media culture. In terms of format, it was a success. Politically, it may turn […]

This is a claim I make to our principles students in the first part of our economics class, as I reflect on the economic way of thinking, a discussion topic fairly standard in more textbooks. Essentially, the economic way of thinking forces one to fully consider all costs and all benefits of any choice. In […]

Matt’s Marvelous Mailbag seeks to provide marginally adequate answers to much better questions about politics, economics, social life, theology, or any potpourri you see fit to have answered. Send questions to mailbag.bereans@gmail.com.   Well, I had planned on sharing another musical recommendation this week, but Dr. Smith has preempted me by a mile and half, barging […]

If at the end of my life I look back and lament work I did not finish, walls I did not paint, and hedges I did not trim, the number one explanation will surely be that I listened to too much music. I can live with that. I have no idea if this will become […]

Matt’s Marvelous Mailbag seeks to provide marginally adequate answers to much better questions about politics, economics, social life, theology, or any potpourri you see fit to have answered. Send questions to mailbag.bereans@gmail.com.   Yah, let’s do a music recommendation this week. Verklarte Nächt by Schoenberg. Fair warning, it may not be your cup ‘o tea, but […]

Hubris is defined by wikipedia as “a personality quality of extreme or foolish pride or dangerous overconfidence, often in combination with arrogance.” Most of the people I know have a bit of a problem with pride and arrogance, especially including the guy I see in the mirror. But most people try to keep that under […]