There are two long-standing debates in economics that fundamentally affect how one views the challenges our society faces. The two sides of the first debate are often associated with Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman on one side and John Maynard Keynes and Karl Polanyi on the other. Wapshott (2011) and Delong (2022) elaborate this debate […]
We seem culturally opposed to long-term solutions. Our healthcare system is dramatically underperforming, as is our education system. Perhaps an infusion of targeted incentives would fix things. It hasn’t and won’t. The consequences of climate change and global warming include fires, storms and flooding that are massively destructive. We provide billions of dollars in disaster […]
Let’s say a university needs revenue of $25,000 per year per student. What tuition should they charge? Let’s assume there are three equal populations of students. One third can afford to pay full tuition. Another third can afford to pay 20% of full tuition. The last third cannot afford to pay anything. What should tuition […]
I recently read Ezra Klein’s Why We’re Polarized (Simon & Schuster, 2021). He provides a profound analysis of identity politics, ranging from white supremacy to the politics of rage. He provides suggested “corrections” that might ease this tension. However, consider another scenario. The 25 states supporting Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 agree to become […]
A significant proportion of our population is scientifically illiterate. They have no understanding of the Big Bang Theory or Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. Actually, one quarter are functionally illiterate and only one third can perform simple arithmetic calculations. Yet, they manage to function in life quite reasonably. They are oblivious to scientific misinformation and disinformation. […]
It seems that everyone in the country, from both the right and left, feels that the US is headed in bad directions. The Supreme Court seems totally committed to States Rights as envisioned in the early 19th century. Each state can make its own decisions on abortion, the environment, sexual equality and voting rights. The […]
Where are we headed as a country? We were once – at least we thought – the shiny exemplar of liberal democracy. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness were our themes. We understood that there would be conflicts in these pursuits, but we would work it out. Reasonable adversaries would discuss and debates paths […]
I have worked with over 100 enterprises, many large technology-based companies, quite a few government agencies, and many smaller entrepreneurial endeavors. The large enterprises pose particular challenges. This is due to the simple fact that they became large because of successful visions, strategies, and plans, and particularly determined execution. My encounters with executives in these […]
Now that Members of Congress no longer have legislative responsibilities, they have become very creative in how they pursue reelection. Some play it straight in the sense that they pretend to be serious about eliminating immigration, deporting anyone in the US whose family has been here less than three generations, and gutting K-12 curricula to […]
Members of Congress have only one objective – getting reelected. Their every utterance is focused on appealing to the voters that can get them through the primaries, if necessary, and winning in the general elections. Many also have aspirations for higher offices. Most have absolutely no interest in policy discussions and debates. They have concluded […]
