Month: December 2013

December 18, 2013

Community first! Helping the homeless through community development

In Austin, Texas, the organization Mobile Loaves & Fishes has started a new program for the homeless: Community First! a village of tiny houses and other small domiciles. Lee Morgan of the New York Daily News reported recently, A life of relative luxury awaits homeless people in Texas with the construction of a new gated neighborhood featuring a garden, drive-in theater and air stream motel. Continue Reading...
December 18, 2013

The Example of Mandela

Nelson Mandela united a nation in a common identity that binds South Africans, says Garreth Bloor in the first of this week’s Acton Commentaries, without a prerequisite of uniformity of opinion, ideology or ethnic affiliation. Continue Reading...
December 18, 2013

Reduce Inequality By Redistributing Innovation

Inequality in consumption used to be a matter of acreage. Throughout most of history, economic value was chiefly found in land or personal property. The divide between the rich and the poor was therefore between those who owned property and those who did not. Continue Reading...
December 17, 2013

Donors vs. Owners in ‘Business as Mission’ (and Beyond)

“Do economic incentives help or hinder ‘business as mission’ (BAM) practitioners?” In a forthcoming study, Dr. Steven Rundle of Biola University explores the question through empirical research. Unsatisfied with the evidence thus far, consisting mostly of case studies and anecdotes, Rundle conducted an anonymous survey of 119 “business as mission” practitioners, focusing on a variety of factors, including (1) “the source of their salary (does it come from the revenues of the business or from donors?),” Continue Reading...
December 17, 2013

Was Having Kids Ever a Paying Venture?

As any parent can attest, kids are expensive. They take up space (increasing the cost of housing), eat everything in your kitchen (increasing the grocery bill), never remember to turn off lights (increasing the cost of utilities), and find dozens of other ways to drain your banking account. Continue Reading...
December 17, 2013

Liberty in Two Keys

When we think of our freedoms and how they are basic to our society yet freedoms seem to be out of control in so many ways since the 1960s, we probably need to pull back and consider those freedoms from a new perspective. Continue Reading...