Unfortunately, it is a true, empirical, universal, statistical generalization that organizations are run mainly for the benefit of those who head them. Those who lead them make decisions based on two things, information and incentives. This is true for EPA, Volkswagen, the U. S. Park Service, and Montana State University. Conflicts arise between the ideals […]
Read MoreThe oft-heard claim that charters perform no better than conventional schools is out of date and inaccurate. Many have been puzzled by New York Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s skepticism toward charter schools, his calls for ending space-sharing and charging them rent, and his $210 million cut of a construction fund important to the schools. Education reformers […]
Read MoreI highly recommend The John William Pope Center for Higher Education Policy to those interested in the mix of culture, economics, and education (www.popecenter.org/). This site offers serious commentary, reviews, and analysis of opportunities and pathologies in higher education. The Pope Center also offers recognition and rewards for educational innovators. The director, Jane Shaw, formerly from Bozeman, […]
Read MoreUwe Reinhardt argued against the volunteer army at The New York Times economics blog the other day and I think his post is remarkable for reasons that have nothing to do with the military draft. But first things first. Uwe acknowledges that the weight of economic reasoning about conscription is traditionally thought to be […]
Read MoreGallatin Writers is FREE’s sister organization, created twenty years ago. We wanted to help people allergic to economic thinking understand the ethical and ecological value of economic reasoning to achieving their goals. Here is a key: Respecting liberty and the contributions of prosperity is essential to a good society. Poverty is the worst polluter. Having come to economics […]
Read MorePolitical Correctness: My Top Ten Universities are immersed in a sea of bias. Here are some indications. By Jane S. Shaw When commentator John Stossel was at ABC News, he said that talking to his colleagues about their bias was like talking to fish about water—“What water? It’s just what we live in.” Academia, too, lives […]
Read MoreA version of this article appeared February 21, 2013, on page A13 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Perverse Incentives of the Lawyers Guild. While law school enrollment drops, ABA rules bust the budgets. Law schools are in trouble. Applications are down almost 50% to an estimated 54,000 this […]
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This article reprinted from The American magazine, a publication of the American Enterprise Insitute. Web address: www.american.com The Swedish political Right has increasingly managed to recapture the support of a large segment of the chattering classes. There may be lessons for the United States. Ask most Europeans or coastal Americans: “Who are smarter, liberals or […]
Read MoreThis FREE Insight is a warm recommendation of a book by WWII veteran Warren R. Higgins, The Wednesday Pen. His daughter, Ris Higgins, is a Bozeman friend. She lovingly edited this volume and it was just published by Brown books of Dallas, Texas. This is a most unusual book. It’s a collection of letters, one […]
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James Buchanan Editorial of The New York Sun | January 9, 2013 http://www.nysun.com/editorials/james-buchanan/88144 Wikipedia Commons PUBLIC CHOICE: James Buchanan, who died today at the age of 93, gave us the tools to understand the expansion of government that is taking place in our time. The death of James Buchanan takes from us the man who, […]
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