In God We Trust?

September 06, 2012 • by John Couretas

In God We Trust?

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September 06, 2012

Hippocrates and the Budget Deficit

Should we use spending cuts or tax increases to reduce the government’s budget deficit? New research suggests it depends on how much we like recessions: This paper studies whether fiscal corrections cause large output losses. Continue Reading...
September 06, 2012

Recessions and Recoveries

Stanford economists Russ Roberts and John Taylor offer a helpful discussion potential GDP, recessions, and recoveries. Their comparison of previous recession/recovery cycles to the most recent one helps to illuminate just how unusual (read: terrible) our current recovery has been. Continue Reading...
September 05, 2012

Big Government’s Belongings?

Last night, there was a moment at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte that may have alarmed some. The line from a video produced by the host city of Charlotte, declared, “government is the only thing we all belong to.” Continue Reading...
September 05, 2012

Dalrymple: British aid to India only fuels corruption

You have to hand it to Theodore Dalrymple: he doesn’t mince words. In an August 2012 piece in The Telegraph, Dalrymple let it be known that British plans to continue international aid to India are a, well…bad idea: …our continued aid to India is nevertheless a manifestation of the national administrative, mental and ethical torpor, as well as incompetence and corruption, that is leading us inexorably to economic and social disaster. Continue Reading...
September 05, 2012

A Chair Fit for a King

Gideon Strauss, my friend and sometime debate-partner, is the executive director of the Max De Pree Center for Leadership at Fuller Theological Seminary, and this week marks the launch of the center’s Fieldnotes magazine, which aims to “provide examples and stories and practical wisdom from men and women who are intensely involved in the day-to-day work of managing businesses, non-profits, churches, and other organizations.” Continue Reading...
September 05, 2012

Human Work as the Center of Catholic Social Teaching

Margarita A. Mooney considers how personalism has influenced the development of Catholic social doctrine: When people think of Catholic social teaching the first thing that comes to their mind may be the call to charity or solidarity with the poor, as exemplified by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Continue Reading...
September 05, 2012

Food Stamps Use At All-Time High

Sign of the times of the day: Food-stamp use reached a record 46.7 million people in June, the government said, as Democrats prepare to nominate President Barack Obama for a second term with the economy as a chief issue in the campaign. Continue Reading...
September 04, 2012

Are slums ever good?

It doesn’t seem that anyone would WANT to live in a slum. But that is not necessarily true, according to Charles Kenny of Foreign Policy. In fact, for many of the world’s poor, a slum can offer opportunities and services not available in rural areas.  Across the world today, thanks to vaccines and underground sewage systems, average life expectancies in big cities are considerably higher than those in the countryside; in sub-Saharan Africa, cities with a population over 1 million have had infant mortality rates one-third lower than those in rural areas. Continue Reading...
September 04, 2012

The Problem of Political Messianism

Messianic claims and expectations about politicians are problematic whether they come from the left or from the right, says Ray Nothstine. In his speech at the John Locke Foundation, Nothstine discusses the problems associated with political messianism in American politics. Continue Reading...