From the Financial Times Published: May 10 2011 The accident at Fukushima was a test for the global environmental movement. Concern about global warming over the past decade led many greens to reconsider their long-standing opposition to nuclear power. But old habits die hard. Caught between their anti-nuclear sentiments and their increasingly apocalyptic fears of […]

“Social capital” consists of social relationships that have beneficial effects. Such norms as trust, affection, and feelings of empathy make our society more secure for individuals. Social capital increases the supply of goods and services available to us. It also increases our store of pecuniary wealth, which we often narrowly define as “capital.” Material goods […]

Despite April snows, I find spring a fine time to be here. I know it’s spring for the Sand Hill cranes have returned to our place. One pair has long claimed an island on one of our ponds. The hen began nesting on Easter—after driving off trespassing geese. The male has less luck when fighting […]

Steve Hayward’s column below makes one wonder how noted environmental professionals, and even scientists, can be so, how can I say it gently, remarkably ignorant and intellectually arrogant as this: “Economics is a form of brain damage.” Economics isn’t an ideology or a mental affliction. Rather, it’s the systematic study of allocating scarce resources among […]

Theodore Dalrymple, MD worked for the British Health Service for many years prior to becoming a contributing editor to the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal. In the review section of last weekend’s Wall Street Journal he wrote an article based on his British experience, “New Efficiencies in Health Care? Not Likely.” He began with this: “All […]

This April is Earth Day’s 41st anniversary. In 1970, Yale law professor Charles Reich, published a remarkably popular, fundamentally naive book, The Greening of America. He argued that a new, non-materialistic, environmentally sensitive culture was emerging in a “Consciousness III.” Reich discounted the value of conventional religion. Instead, Greening celebrated the counterculture and fostered an […]

Twice a week, John Goodman, president and founder of NCPA in Dallas, writes a blog. Most are on health care, but a few are wider issues. John uses a finely polished economic lens to help us see through complex and often disguised or misrepresented governmental programs. Here is a slightly abridged version of his recent […]

I can’t think of any single act of government that creates more inequality than the lottery—at least per dollar raised and spent. Think about it. Thousands of (mostly below-average income) people buy tickets and, after the drawing, one of them becomes immensely wealthy. As far as I can tell, the single largest winner in the […]

Bozeman has excellent schools. Bozeman High often ranks among the top 6 percent of America’s government run schools with over a dozen AP classes. It has terrific music and athletic programs. A national organization, Great Schools, gives BHS a perfect 10. More impressive, a few years ago a small group of students wanted a course […]

Vogue, America’s leading fashion magazine, is one of those glossy periodicals providing in David Brooks’ words “nutrition for the imagination.” He asks, “Why do we eagerly seek out images of lives we are unlikely to lead?” Perhaps of greater interest, why did a magazine that a year ago launched an auction to advance, “…human rights […]