Month: February 2016

February 11, 2016

Explainer: The Historic Meeting Between the Pope and the Russian Orthodox Patriarch

What’s going on? Tomorrow, for the first time in history, a Roman Catholic pontiff and the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church will meet face to face. According to the joint press release of the Holy See and of the Patriarchate of Moscow: The Holy See and the Patriarchate of Moscow are pleased to announce that, by the grace of God, His Holiness Pope Francis and His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia will meet on February 12. Continue Reading...
February 11, 2016

Shareholder Activists Step-Up Leftist Resolutions for 2016

Previously this week, The Wall Street Journal presented a list of “7 Things Investors Should Be Watching for a 2016 Unfolds.” While there’s much in Michael A. Pollock’s article to recommend it to readers who might’ve missed it, there’s also one significant omission – Number Eight, if you will: A Rise in Proxy Resolutions by Religious Shareholder Activists. Continue Reading...
February 11, 2016

Private Schools for the Poor

One of the popular targets of foreign aid is education, and understandably so. Yet as with most solutions sprouting from Western planners and do-gooders, the reality on the ground is a bit different than we typically imagine.  Continue Reading...
February 10, 2016

Determinism, Dependency, and the Irreducible Person

“Sociological determinism informs our public policy,” says Ismael Hernandez in this week’s Acton Commentary. “Those with a stake in the maintenance and expansion of government bureaucracies feed upon pathology and find a willing constituency among those who perceive the world in terms of victims and perpetrators.” Continue Reading...
February 09, 2016

Explainer: President Obama’s FY2017 Budget

What is the President’s budget? Technically, it’s only a budget request—a proposal telling Congress how much money the President believes should be spent on the various Cabinet-level federal functions, like agriculture, defense, education, etc. Continue Reading...
February 09, 2016

Ben Sasse on Why Over-Regulation Hurts the Poor

Conservatives are known for arguing about the ill effects of over-regulation, reminding us how it stifles innovation, cramps entrepreneurship, and harms small businesses. Where we’re less effective is connecting this reality to the more fundamental abuses it wields on human dignity in general and the poor and vulnerable in particular. Continue Reading...
February 08, 2016

Joseph Schumpeter and the Moral Economy

Today is the 133 birthday of the late Austrian-born economist, Joseph A. Schumpeter. A Finance Minister of Austria and later Harvard professor, Schumpeter coined the term “creative destruction” in explaining how capitalism delivers progress: The opening up of new markets, foreign or domestic, and the organizational development from the craft shop to such concerns as U.S. Continue Reading...