Title IX of a law passed in 1972 bans discrimination on the basis of sex in schools receiving federal funds. It has received wide attention when applied to college sports for it mandates equality of treatment and numbers in arenas long dominated by males. Positive reforms, however, often have negative implications, some serious. When the […]
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It was a treat to see Jane Goodall during her recent visit to Bozeman. Dr. Goodall’s path-breaking research with chimpanzees was done on the Gombe Stream Reserve, now a small national park in western Tanzania. Dr. Goodall told her Bozeman audience that the park (and its chimpanzees) face serious threats as local residents clear the […]
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently delisted the grey wolf from the ESA. This generated outcries from many directions and it’s no wonder; few western issues are as emotionally charged as wolf reintroduction, recovery, or regression (to the 1800s). One’s choice of words speaks to his position on this controversial issue. All can cheer […]
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The World Bank reports that over the past three years global food prices have nearly doubled. I see three primary reasons, and greed isn’t one of them. First, as populations grow and people become wealthier, they change their diet. They demand not only staples, but also now regularly eat once out-of-reach luxuries like meat, dairy, […]
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Trust is a precious and often underappreciated quality in political, personal, and business relations. Trust fosters productive exchange and minimizes the burdens of cooperation. When trust is high, monitoring costs are low, surely a good thing, for when handshakes suffice, formal contracts are redundant. Trust fosters long-term success. Consider Owenhouse, perhaps America’s best hardware store, […]
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I occasionally meet truly remarkable individuals. Sometimes, I have the good fortune to work with them. Rarely is it over decades. When such folks pass on, America is a lesser place. Such a loss occurred when Myron Vinger died April 12. He was a top hand, a real mensch, a good friend, and a patriotic […]
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Here’s why we should be worried about running out of fresh water—in most places around the world it’s free—priced at zero. Any resource priced at zero will be wasted. Environmental and social problems follow. Here’s one example. The Ogallala Aquifer underlies 225,000 square miles in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Nebraska. Use of […]
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Unless deliberately randomized, as in drawings for moose permits or draft lottery numbers in the 1970s, decisions are based on information and incentives. It follows that to change behavior, people’s information and the incentives to act on that information must change. Little else, surely not professed concern, will suffice. Well-intentioned people who ignore or discount […]
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The faculty of Montana State University, by far the most visible and significant employer in our area, is considering a vote to unionize. I’ve been asked two probing questions. First, why would professors, generally “liberals” and among the most fortunate individuals in Montana, organize to extract more money from citizens of one of the poorest […]
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This column flows from Elliot Spitzer’s crash landing. The important lesson is not inappropriate sex, but rather Spitzer’s abuse and exploitation of political power for career advancement. It took a sex scandal to awaken citizens to the harm and misery he illegally and unethically produced. Surprise lies only in his sexual stupidity. Spitzer’s abuse of […]
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