Three years ago Ramona and I were returning from Santiago, Chile, on a new Delta flight. It was less than a quarter full. I asked a flight attendant if we would go faster since the plane seemed empty. He responded that we were maxed out on weight. “Why?” I asked. “We’re nearly empty.” No, he […]

Does economic growth come at the expense of environmental quality? Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean thinks not. He’s right. Here’s why. Economic progress is a prerequisite for improving environmental quality. The real enemy of the environment is poverty, not affluence. Consider U.S. air quality. The EPA reports that between 1976 and 1997 ozone levels — […]

Dear Brian, I thoroughly enjoyed talking with you at your Bridger Canyon fundraiser. I am favorably impressed with your intelligence, knowledge, and personality. I share your concern about the complex issues surrounding the pharmaceutical industry. Congress recently approved a prescription drug benefit for Medicare costing $40 billion per year and I expect more. You’ve supported […]

Some of my best memories come from summer road trips with my wife, Ramona. I naturally focus on economic anthropology, i.e., how folks organize, coordinate, and exchange. Differences are huge. They testify to the vitality, viability, and variety we’ve come to expect from an open society. Here are a few examples. We twice visited the […]