The intro to this week’s FREE Insight is written by James Jay Carafano. Carafano is The Heritage Foundation’s Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies. He writes a weekly column on national security affairs for the Washington Examiner and is editor of a book series, The Changing Face of War, which examines how emerging political, social, economic and […]
Read MoreThe prospect of going south for a week in mid February seems a treat for those of us living in Montana. Hence, I was pleased to accept invitations to speak at NCCU and Duke Universities. It had been -30ºF with much snow, nothing unusual, before we left. We have seen much colder. We looked […]
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This is a story of thankfulness. This is a story that makes me proud to be an American. The West Yellowstone Economic Development Council celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the 1988 Fires on September 2nd 2013, the day 25 years ago when farmers from southern Idaho trucked their irrigation pipes to “West” and helped set […]
Read MoreIn their new book, America 3.0: Rebooting American Prosperity in the 21st Century—Why America’s Greatest Days Are Yet to Come,1 James C. Bennett and Michael J. Lotus predict America’s future by looking deep into the past. They argue that the unique nuclear-family orientation inherited from the Anglo-Saxon tradition creates a culture that ultimately will reject the model […]
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Introduction by John Baden, Chairman, FREE There are many dimensions along which Americans view their politics and society. Here is one with which I resonate. It is by Mary Roloff, one of the colleagues I most respect in some 50 years of university, foundation, and think-tank work. In this FREE Insight Mary writes of […]
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Anyone who pays even passing attention to American politics is familiar with the map (Figure 1) of the United States showing states in which a majority of voters favored President Obama (colored blue) and those where Romney garnered the most votes (in red). This map conveys three dominant messages: first, that states can be meaningfully […]
Read MoreIntroduction by Dr. John Baden, Chairman, FREE Most contentious issues of public policy are nuanced and highly complex while carrying heavy emotional baggage. These ingredients foster error and acrimony. Intelligent people of good will, even those sharing similar values, can strongly disagree on policy prescriptions. This situation produces strong temptations to discredit and denigrate policy opponents. These characteristics are […]
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Introduction by John Baden: Ramona and I often are out of town on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, Election Day. Since we are likely to be gone, we are registered to receive “absentee ballots.” How easy they are; mark, sign, stuff into envelopes, put on a stamp, and we’ve done a small portion of […]
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Here’s a fundamental rule of political economy: Wealth buys safety, not merely comfort and convenience. This is a true, empirical, universal, testable, statistical generalization, a helpful one when formulating public policy. While we can find exceptions — rich folks do climb Everest and fly their own planes — such exceptions probe the rule. Generally, the […]
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The latest round of international talks on global warming recently took place in India. Developing countries refused to agree to restrictions on their greenhouse gas emissions. They were more interested in adapting to climate change than cutting emissions. I think this is good news. In July, the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment […]
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