In February 2015, Leroy Butler gave a speech at Samford University on “Diversity in Missions.” It raises unique challenges at a University that was only integrated in the late 1960s and that is still overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly affluent. I wasn’t surprised but I was frustrated to see that from my vantage point, it seemed […]
Recent Reads
“Recent” as in “I read these in early March.” Tyler Cowen, The Complacent Class. This is a depressing volume from a self-described optimist. It’s a useful exploration of trends in productivity given that it’s easy to focus on the sector that is most dynamic (information technology). Elsewhere, Cowen has discussed other sectors—government, schooling—where productivity is […]
Taking a Three-Year-Old to Tunica: A Reflection
We moved from Memphis, Tennessee to Birmingham, Alabama in 2012, and I had to go back to Memphis to take care of a few things earlier the week. I decided I would take my then almost-four-year-old son, Jacob, so we could spend some time indulging his greatest passion: riding elevators. After a few minutes with […]
Taking a Three-Year-Old to Tunica: A Reflection
We moved from Memphis, Tennessee to Birmingham, Alabama in 2012, and I had to go back to Memphis to take care of a few things earlier the week. I decided I would take my then almost-four-year-old son, Jacob, so we could spend some time indulging his greatest passion: riding elevators. After a few minutes with […]
The Role of High Gas Prices
Price “gouging” is not a moral issue. It’s an economic issue with *beneficial* humanitarian consequences. Counterintuitive as it may seem, high gas prices from natural disasters send two very powerful signals into the market: they tell gas producers to produce more, and they tell gas consumers to consume less. After disasters, the news wires fill […]
A Drug War Peace Dividend?
Should we bring back “Just Say No” and ramp up the drug war, especially as more states decriminalize recreational marijuana use? As I have written before, drug prohibition is (literally) “a textbook example of a policy with negative unintended consequences” most visible in the extensive criminal underground and widespread violence associated with prohibition. What can […]
A Drug War Peace Dividend?
Should we bring back “Just Say No” and ramp up the drug war, especially as more states decriminalize recreational marijuana use? As I have written before, drug prohibition is (literally) “a textbook example of a policy with negative unintended consequences” most visible in the extensive criminal underground and widespread violence associated with prohibition. What can […]
A Drug War Peace Dividend?
Should we bring back “Just Say No” and ramp up the drug war, especially as more states decriminalize recreational marijuana use? As I have written before, drug prohibition is (literally) “a textbook example of a policy with negative unintended consequences” most visible in the extensive criminal underground and widespread violence associated with prohibition. What […]
A Drug War Peace Dividend?
Should we bring back “Just Say No” and ramp up the drug war, especially as more states decriminalize recreational marijuana use? As I have written before, drug prohibition is (literally) “a textbook example of a policy with negative unintended consequences” most visible in the extensive criminal underground and widespread violence associated with prohibition. What […]
A Drug War Peace Dividend?
Should we bring back “Just Say No” and ramp up the drug war, especially as more states decriminalize recreational marijuana use? As I have written before, drug prohibition is (literally) “a textbook example of a policy with negative unintended consequences” most visible in the extensive criminal underground and widespread violence associated with prohibition. What […]