Acton Occasional Series

May 06, 2019

5 facts about Margaret Thatcher

This past Saturday marked the fortieth anniversary of Margaret Thatcher taking office as the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Thatcher served as PM for nearly a decade, during which time she became, along with Ronald Reagan, one of the West’s greatest champions of free enterprise, anti-communism, and individual liberty. Continue Reading...

May 03, 2019

Unemployment as economic-spiritual indicator — April 2019 report

Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and for communities. Continue Reading...

April 30, 2019

The Federal Reserve as lender of last resort

Note: This is post #121 in a weekly video series on basic economics. If you heard a rumor that your bank was insolvent, asks economist Alex Tabarrok, what would you do? Continue Reading...

April 23, 2019

How the Fed worked after the Great Recession

Note: This is post #120 in a weekly video series on basic economics. Last week we looked at how the U.S. Federal Reserve controlled the supply of money prior to the Great Recession. Continue Reading...

April 22, 2019

What you may not know about members of Congress

[Note: This is the first in an occasional series, Remedial Civics, which provides information on what you should have learned in school—but probably didn’t—about how the U.S. government works (or doesn’t).] Continue Reading...

April 22, 2019

Remedial civics for the rest of us

[Note: This is the introduction to an occasional series that provides information on what you should have learned in school—but probably didn’t—about how the U.S. government works (or why it doesn’t).] Continue Reading...

April 19, 2019

When was the original Good Friday?

Today is Good Friday*, the religious holiday that commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. Christians have celebrated the event for over two millennia. But what was the date of the original Good Friday?Almost Continue Reading...

April 17, 2019