I like to help reduce communication barriers that isolate and alienate people. This task is especially compelling when individuals share core values. However, the exchange of ideas across ideological camps is difficult and rare. The debate over benefits and costs of modernization and markets exemplifies this problem Why don’t all nations adopt institutions of the […]
Read More
Some of my favorite summer days are those with Eagle Mount, especially their program for children who have cancer. We all enjoy warm weather and outdoor activities but few appreciate them more than Eagle Mount participants. Fortunately, spring creek-fed ponds on our ranch are ideal for Eagle Mount’s “Camp Brave Heart” for local, national, and […]
Read More
No prominent member of the Bush administration has convincingly made the case for an environmentalism based on property rights, incentives, and sensible, sustainable regulations. This alternative would be far more effective, efficient, and ecologically sensitive than the command-and-control approach favored by many Greens. The resignation of EPA administrator Christie Todd Whitman offers the administration a […]
Read More
Last October the “No More Enrons” coalition issued a report claiming that corporate scandals have cost Americans over $200 billion in lost investment savings, jobs, pensions, and tax revenue. The authors estimated that over a million workers lost jobs at affected companies, while executives cashed out billions in stocks. Intelligent folks of good character don’t […]
Read More
Members of Montana State University’s President’s Advisory Council have been assigned a challenging problem. Here it is: In 1984, state appropriations covered 76 percent of MSU’s revenue while tuition and fees accounted for 18 percent. In 2001, those numbers were nearly equal. Clearly, this creates a hardship for some. How can we maintain student access […]
Read More
Economics is about choices, not money. Money is only a useful measuring tool. But as the Hoover Institution’s Thomas Sowell has so rightly observed, what economists measure best are not those things that matter most. Yet, the economic way of thinking helps me understand two divisive issues, sexually oriented business and the burning of tires […]
Read More
Yesterday Americans celebrated our 33rd Earth Day. I spent the first fighting to protect the Lincoln Backcountry from the U.S. Forest Service. They proposed an economically idiotic development plan for that high-elevation and extremely fragile area. In 1972 we won that battle and I’ve seen great environmental progress since. The air and water are cleaner […]
Read More
Our pride in the U.S. military’s men and women is bound to increase even further. Why? In this war their demonstrated bravery, competence, and daring are barely diminished by bureaucratic and political dishonesty. Lies from the top in any organization demoralize and diminish those below. This is true for churches and colleges as well as […]
Read More
I’m writing soon after the invasion of Iraq began. I’m scheduled to travel before this appears. What can I say that’s neither trite nor obsolete, but surely true? First, few adults live here by accident or assignment. We have consciously, deliberately elected to live in the Northern Rockies. The reasons carry a common theme; attraction […]
Read More
I applaud state senator Emily Stonington’s (D-Bozeman) Senate Bill 240. The bill would have required methane-drilling companies to seriously consider the impact of their activities on the owners of surface rights. Her bill implicitly recognizes the importance of property rights and illustrates their evolutionary nature. Clear and enforceable property rights subject to the rule of […]
Read More