Happy birthday, Uncle Milty! Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman turns 90 at the end of the month. Since he¹s done so much for me, I¹m proposing a special birthday present for him: canonization as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church. Here¹s a great opportunity. The Catholic Church is in a huge crisis for its […]
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Eight of the ten fastest-growing US states are in the West. Much new residential development is occurring in fire-prone areas close to federal public lands. This is known as the “wildland-urban interface.” These new residential areas are popular due to their proximity to the environmental quality and natural amenities offered by national forests, parks, and […]
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Here’s a book describing 20,000+ hippies, New Agers, and camp followers descending on an isolated rural community. Imagine a conservative federal district judge conducting a “jury view” of the site to settle conflicts between state public health rules and First Amendment constitutional rights to peacefully assemble in a national forest. “Judge Dave and the Rainbow […]
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Social movements, like ecosystems, evolve. Although many challenges remain, there is little doubt that Americans have changed the way they think about the environment. In some cases, the results are dramatic. For example, in the 1960s the U.S. Navy occasionally used whales for target practice. A quarter century later, the Navy spent over a million […]
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Quality of life is an increasingly important factor when firms and families locate. The character of the natural and built environment of a community is important. We have a wonderful natural environment and are above average on the latter. Ed McMahon of the Conservation Fund recently spoke to a packed (SRO) auditorium at the Museum […]
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MSU’s President’s Advisory Council met last week. Here’s some good news. We can be prudently optimistic about Montana’s universities. We’ll never be Berkeley, Cal Tech, or Chicago, but we can find highly productive niches that make sense for our region. The suggestion I offered at the meeting follows, but first I’ll provide some context. I […]
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The Ethanol Producers and Consumers met this week in Whitefish. If you had attended you would have seen the political equivalent to the law of gravity at work. Here it is: Well-off, well-organized groups use government to transfer wealth and opportunities from the poorly organized and less well off to themselves. Both Republicans and Democrats […]
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When I was in college, average income in Montana ranked in the top 10 of American states. Now we’re in the bottom 10, along with Mississippi and Arkansas. The reasons are clear. Our once prosperous basic industries–ag, forestry, and mining–are, and have been, in hard times. This is most unlikely to change. That’s the reality. […]
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PBS recently aired a fascinating documentary, “The Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy.” Part of the series focused on the sorry economic performance of countries in the developing world. Instead of blaming the usual suspects, e.g., colonialism and insufficient foreign aid, the series explored more fundamental and subtle barriers to progress. Economic progress […]
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All my friends in Bozeman get the Patagonia catalogue and I love their products. For when it comes to design, quality, and satisfaction guaranteed, Patagonia sets the standard. Patagonia displays a strong environmental commitment. Since 1985, it has donated 10 percent of annual profits (or 1 percent of sales, whichever is greater) to hundreds of […]
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