I recently met with an intelligent and highly successful young man deeply involved with our community. Most of those with whom he deals are part of young families, many having arrived here in the past few years, just as Bozeman was booming. He began our conversation with this statement, “I’m no economist, but I think […]
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I am the president of American Bank and a banking veteran with more than 35 years of experience. American Bank is a nationally recognized high performing bank. We do what we do very well, emphasizing prudent real estate lending. While our largest market is Montana, we are very active in Hawaii, Idaho and North Carolina. […]
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Economists have no monopoly on tools explaining the pathologies that afflict organizations. However, their approach offers some illuminating insights. Here’s one—within an organization decisions are made on the basis of information and incentives faced by the decision maker. Consider business practices that alienate customers and clients. Surely no business with a general clientele, such as […]
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I’ve become interested in Bozeman’s concern with “bad grass.” Several letters to the Chronicle have condemned large bluegrass lawns, the kind that looks so good when luxuriating in ample moisture. They urge public condemnation, regulation, and a move toward xeriscape lawns that have low water requirements. Some recommend mandating small lawn areas with drought-tolerant grasses […]
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Transaction costs. Externalities. Pareto superiority. Sound daunting? Imagine a young woman, just months out of university and having spent the last four years wandering, wide-eyed, through the worlds of Dostoevsky, Steinbeck, Voltaire, and Gide. Suddenly she finds herself in beautiful Bozeman, Montana, plunging headfirst (with no helmet) into the classics of political economy, amongst a […]
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The minimum wage is a wonderful example of how good intentions can go awry with perverse results. I have recently been party to several discussions illustrating how and why this is true. One illustration comes from a judge who told me a sad story involving one of his clerks. Most law school graduates leave with […]
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I’m often asked about our consumption of natural resources, e.g., oil, iron, and copper. Since these resources are finite and population continues to grow, aren’t we in danger of running out? My short answer is no, we’ll never run out of anything that trades in the marketplace. But, we should be concerned about running out […]
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Many concerned and informed people feel guilty over their carbon footprint. Buying carbon offsets lets them assuage this guilt, but this is a misguided perspective. Instead, I suggest we promote climate stewardship with policies that steadily encourage energy conservation and low CO2 production, e.g., carbon taxes. Individuals atone for their “excessive” carbon consumption, i.e., twenty […]
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Montana’s Public Service Commission has unanimously rejected an Australian firm’s offer to buy NorthWestern Energy. In a recent column, I explored the historical context for Montana’s wariness to deals involving outsiders. Several readers whom I respect confused my explanation with opposition. I don’t know why the PSC denied the deal, but they are too sophisticated […]
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Like most of you I take safety, comfort, and a clean environment as givens. A recent trip to Nicaragua reminded me they are not. (Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. Only Haiti is poorer). My trip offered several take home messages. Here’s one. I have a wristband that reads, “I buy […]
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