PBR: Nonprofits and New Media

In response to the question, “What form will journalism take in the age of new media?” I came across this Reuters story highlighting a proposal to allow newspapers to file for nonprofit status. Continue Reading...

PBR: Journalism and New Media

Last week I wrote that “The ethical standards connected with journalism as a profession have arisen out of centuries-long practice and reflection,” and that “To abandon these standards in the rush to new media would impoverish public discourse to the detriment of us all.” Continue Reading...

PBR: Friedman on Free Trade

No, not that Friedman. In a wide-ranging lecture for the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Policy earlier this year, George Friedman touched on American policy with regard to trade. He says of the United States, it has the potential to reshape patterns of international trade if it chooses. Continue Reading...

PBR: Retreat, not Surrender

Free trade seems to get all the blame when things go wrong and none of the credit when things go right. It’s the Rodney Dangerfield of global economics: it gets no respect. Continue Reading...

PBR: Globalism in Retreat

From the scuffle over “Buy American” provisions in the most recent federal stimulus package, to concerns about declining exports in countries like China, to high-profile meetings of politicians and economists, it seems like anti-globalization sentiment is on the rise. Continue Reading...

PBR: Dangerous Deficit Spending

In response to the question, “What are the moral lessons of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)?” One of the gravest moral issues related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is the matter of dangerous deficit spending. Continue Reading...

PBR: Something for Nothing

In response to the question, “What are the moral lessons of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)?” The ARRA makes clear that we have not learned one great moral lesson: You can’t have something for nothing. Continue Reading...

PBR: Do We Need a New New Deal?

In response to the question, “What are the moral lessons of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)?” Perhaps the most effective historical trope in pushing through the massive stimulus package on Capitol Hill has been the notion that if only the New Deal of the 1930s hadn’t had to wait more than three years for the election of FDR, the Great Depression might have been avoided. Continue Reading...