Exit interviews are normally comprised of questions posed to employees who leave an organization. It’s hard and expensive to replace good workers, and the causes of departure may need to be remedied. I believe exit interviews could be useful in another context; they could be given to contributors who terminate or reduce support for an […]
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Over the past year we’ve made several modest improvement on our ranch. Hence, I’ve had the pleasure of observing and sometimes working with men who move and manipulate the concrete furniture of the world. They use machinery and tools to mold solid and liquid material into useful and pleasing products of long life. Their activities […]
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With Bozeman’s boom fading or gone, focus turns to the likely impact of the stimulus upon employment. Naturally, some recall FDR’s Works Progress Administration (WPA) of 1935. This was one of many New Deal programs known by their letters and widely appreciated for their results. We still benefit from Forest Service trails and structures constructed […]
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The version of the economic stimulus bill lumbering through Congress contains a pernicious provision barring foreign steel and iron from infrastructure projects and requiring that all such projects use only American-made equipment and goods. Steel and iron manufacturers and labor unions no doubt promote these “Buy American” provisions. But can they explain how banning inexpensive, […]
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People employ state power when moral persuasion fails. Politically legitimized coercion and constraint can generate hugely beneficial reform. The Voting Rights Act of 1964 is one example; environmental laws provide other examples. In contrast, America’s Eighteenth Amendment, prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol for consumers’ pleasure, was a huge failure. Industrial alcohol remained legal […]
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“The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.” -F.A. Hayek, The Fatal Conceit On a family trip to Nicaragua we saw workers digging a multi-mile ditch in preparation for laying communication lines. The workers were using picks and shovels; we saw […]
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As Montana legislators begin another session, they’ll no doubt consider energy policy. Rather than trying to pick an energy winner, e.g., wind power, they should focus on a far simpler task: crafting policies that promote energy conservation. This will be easy—but only if consumers know the true cost of their energy use. Today’s energy regulations […]
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We will soon celebrate the selection, election, inauguration, and for some the coronation, of America’s 44th president, Barack Obama. These events mark quite amazing progress in achieving ideals articulated in our Declaration of Independence, in several of Lincoln’s addresses, and by Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. America has suffered a political analogue to the doctrine […]
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I have a hockey-playing buddy who is converting an old Honda Civic into an electric car. His goals are modest; he’d like it to be able to make the round trip from Bozeman to Bridger Bowl. I wish him well with this fun and constructive project, but I expect it will be some time before […]
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The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to make a personally important announcement. It’s time for FREE to find a new president, and our board has begun the search. Fortunately, my good friend and colleague Pete Geddes will continue his excellent work as Executive Vice President. I’ll remain at FREE as Founding […]
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