The Rationality of Procreation

Birthrates across the globe are going down even as life expectancy increases. The former trend is marked particularly in developed nations. There are lots of reasons for people to have kids or not have kids. Continue Reading...

The Economic Effects of the Baltimore Riots May Last Decades

Of all the disheartening scenes of unrest coming out of Baltimore this week, few have been as dispiriting as the image of a church project that was set ablaze. For the past eight years the Southern Baptist Church in East Baltimore has been working on a project that would provide a community center and low-income housing in the form of 60 senior-citizen apartments. Continue Reading...

What a Teen with Down Syndrome Can Teach Us About the Joy of Work

In an enthusiastic reaction to his first job offer, Ben Sunderman, a 19-year-old with Down syndrome, has spread lots of smiles across the internet. In doing so, he reminds us of the power of work to bring joy to human lives, and of the gift-giving capacity God has given to each of us, including those we often dismiss as “disabled.” Continue Reading...

Capitalism: It’s what all the cool kids do

I grew up in a very small town. Our fashion purchases were limited to the dry goods store (yes, it still went by that name) which carried things like Buster Brown shoes and sensible sweaters, or the grain elevator, where you could buy durable overalls for farm work. Continue Reading...

Minimum Wage, Adulthood And Choices

“I’m tired all the time.” That’s the lament of one of the working mothers in the video below (from The Guardian), as she describes her life working minimum wage jobs. She and the other women featured are all fighting for an increase in pay to $15 per hour (like Seattle’s recent mandate.) Continue Reading...