The United States today faces daunting economic, national security, and social problems. In the face of these imperatives, popular faith in the President’s ability to act is low, and faith in Congress even lower. Numerous commentators and surveys report public disgust with the mean-spiritedness and unwillingness to compromise that mark contemporary American politics. To be […]
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Reframing is a psychological term meaning that the reaction to any situation is found in the frame in which it is viewed. Reframing life’s rewards will be a requirement of satisfaction for those who mature in our changed economy. The future isn’t what it was. It’s likely you’ve heard people in their 50s and 60s […]
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FREE just completed a summer conference, co-sponsored with MSU, for federal judges—2011 marks the twentieth year of this program. Several asked how this series began. Here’s an overview and a prediction for Bozeman. Its attractions are an increasing strong magnet for healthy, successful people. The foundation of the judges program began in the 1980s. I […]
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This is the last of three FREE Insight Columns on housing policy. The earlier columns discussed government-mandated “affordable housing,” and, more generally, the effect of state and local land use regulations on housing creation. This column analyzes the appropriate federal role in creating and maintaining a healthy housing market. Federally subsidized public housing began in […]
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This is the second of three FREE Insight Columns on housing policy. The first, “Affordable Housing,” discussed local attempts to require developers to sell some units in new subdivisions at prices that prospective lower- and middle-income purchasers could afford. This column is about the role of states and localities in establishing land use and other […]
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Many quite normal people, not just the paranoid, believe America will spiral downward and drown in a sea of debt. The August 5th downgrade of U.S. bonds stoked their fears. Much of the debt problem is based on entitlements, commitments to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Prescription Drug Act. As Rep. Barney Frank of […]
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The City of Bozeman, which is home to FREE, is now considering revamping its workforce housing ordinance. The current law, enacted in 2007, requires that developers set aside ten percent of units in new housing developments to be sold for less than $200,000 to families with incomes of less than $70,000 per year. According to […]
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The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan once observed: “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” But what did he know? Having one’s own facts is now thoroughly ensconced in American political dialogue. The melding of fact and opinion, in turn, leads to magical thinking in contemporary American politics. More precisely, one […]
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Our interns and research students are smart, fun, active, and presentable. Some have come from the MSU Honors program, others from the Ivies or other top schools such as Duke or University of Virginia. They work hard and enjoy our conferences with federal judges, seminary professors, and other religious leaders. Nearly all go on to […]
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“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 […]
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