Who but misanthropes and exploiters of cheap labor would oppose the goal of increasing Montana’s minimum wage by one dollar to $6.15 per hour? Only a committed ascetic who inherited a home can enjoy a wholesome, healthy, independent life here on $12,000 per year. Clearly, the proposed increase falls far below a “living wage.” Fifteen […]
Read More
Each spring, the mainstream media — fueled by a single advocacy group — accuse FREE of promoting corporate interests, pursuing anti-environmental policies, and conducting boondoggle seminars for federal judges and law professors. Solid evidence refutes these claims. It would be less disturbing if these printed accounts appeared on opinion pages, but these biases underlie Associated […]
Read More
While planning last week for my next seminar for federal judges, to be held in July by the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment, I was disheartened to read that several distinguished judges had felt obliged to distance themselves from the Foundation by resigning from its Board of Trustees. This will be my […]
Read More
Shortly after Rick Stroup and I established the Center for Political Economy and Natural Resources at Montana State University, we received a major grant to host national conferences on resource economics. A foundation president advised me to consult with an LA media expert. I dutifully called him. He asked if we were going to hold […]
Read More
Think tanks challenge conventional wisdom and generate alternatives. Gallatin Writers and FREE seek innovative solutions to difficult environmental and economic problems. In this spirit we sponsor the Wallace Stegner Essay Contest. Here are the results for 2004. Wallace Stegner claimed that he was born to write one story — the story of the “boomer” and […]
Read More
I recently returned from a seminar sponsored by the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE), and cosponsored by Montana State University. Since these programs have been much maligned by the media, Congress, and interest groups, I’d like to encourage a more balanced discussion by offering my experiences and impressions. FREE hosts a […]
Read More
In 1985 we founded Gallatin Writers to explore pressing Western issues. Gallatin is sponsoring a writing contest for college students. The three prizes are modest, $1500, $1000, and $500; the challenge huge. The Stegner contest solicits essays to help our decision makers and opinion leaders understand and wrestle with the implications of demographic, cultural, and […]
Read More
Each summer the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment (FREE) organizes and hosts a series of seminars. This year MSU has joined us as cosponsor. These programs attract some of the nation’s most respected and influential opinion leaders and decision makers. Lecturers include professors from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, and Berkeley. MSU speakers have […]
Read More
The Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment and Montana State University are the beneficiaries of a curious but important trend. Many highly successful, extraordinarily well-educated people are attracted to Montana, the most remote of the contiguous 48 states. Concurrently, to our mutual benefit, MSU is gaining national recognition and respect. When I came […]
Read More
Montana State University will be prominently featured in the history of 20th century environmental thought. Shortly after the first Earth Day of 1970, this university was to environmental policy as Stanford is to semiconductors, the font of constructive and successful innovation. Unfortunately, despite their positive contributions, the ideas emanating from MSU researchers were not patentable […]
Read More