It is surely no accident that the term “bureaucracy” carries a crust of derision in every known language. And yet, with the possible exception of the TSA, most individuals within each bureaucracy normally attempt to do well and want to be liked. Against all odds, some succeed. For example, I’ve found the state auto license […]
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Domestic and international efforts to reduce CO2 emissions are dead in the water. Many will think this is bad news. I don’t. Here’s why. Policies such as the Kyoto Protocol and U.S. cap-and-trade legislation focus solely on reducing CO2 emissions. But these are symbolic acts, mere posturing, while doing little or nothing to achieve their […]
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Each year we host a few dozen horses on our winter range. They are given hay when snow makes grazing difficult but they normally feed on rangeland and uncut hay fields. The horses have running spring water just south of our house and most mornings they troop down to drink. This is always a beautiful […]
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Social entrepreneurship is becoming ever more important for achieving social goals. As the government sector hits budgetary reality checks imposed by unsustainable political promises and payoffs, its scope of activities will necessarily contract. When public choices require tradeoffs among important functions, maintaining police, public health, and pollution control are compelling examples, other worthwhile social activities […]
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On February 18 the Montana Policy Institute and the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC) co-sponsored an environmental policy conference in Bozeman. The title, “Your Land is My Land: Property Rights in Montana,” suggests this was not a typical Green gathering. And it surely wasn’t. The introduction to the program agenda provided the orientation, noting […]
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If you think you’ve seen this column before you are correct. In the interest of promoting “local diversity,” the Bozeman Daily Chronicle no longer runs FREE’s columns each Wednesday but rather once every third week. However, each week we place a FREE Insight on our website. We posted a slightly longer version of this column […]
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I recommend an insightful column in last Sunday’s Washington Post, “Why are liberals so condescending?” (February 7, 2010) This op-ed is by University of Virginia political scientist Gerard Alexander. It is based on a forthcoming Bradley Lecture at The American Enterprise Institute. The essay is likely to interest individuals who’ve observed that nearly every Prius […]
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It’s fascinating to observe the path of many contentious environmental problems. They attract national attention, the future is seen as foreboding, and then, years later, they have been solved, ameliorated, or forgotten. Acid rain and fluorocarbons exemplify this path. Regulations may solve the projected problems, and we sometimes find that the alleged problem is less […]
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A friend has asked me to support federal legislation ostensibly designed to reduce carbon emissions, speed our transition to an alternative energy future, and create green jobs. He believes this can only happen through government intervention. While his intentions are good, his reliance on government is misplaced. Here’s why. Europe’s promotion of green energy has […]
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I happened to be reading Arnold Kling and Nick Schultz’s excellent new book, From Poverty to Prosperity, when the earthquake struck Haiti. This quake was a 7.0 magnitude event, the same as the Bay Area quake of 1989. The geological disturbances may have been equal but the result surely was not. The California quake killed […]
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