Economics & Political Systems

V&V Q&A: On Booms, Busts, and America

Editor’s Note: The “V&V Q&A” is an e-publication from The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. Each issue will present an interview with an intriguing thinker or opinion-maker that we hope will prove illuminating to readers everywhere. In … Continue reading

Obama’s $1 Trillion Gamble

President-elect Obama is considering an economic stimulus package that will include increases in government spending and tax cuts of approximately one trillion dollars. Many fear a prolonged depression resulting from a sharp reduction in consumer spending. After saving very little … Continue reading

Hatred and Politics

Politics in America is a contact sport. Passions flare and the rhetoric can get heated and nasty. Political parties stoke these fires, playing on people’s fears as a key fund-raising tactic. Conservative authors have produced books with insulting titles like … Continue reading

We’re Broke

Global stock markets have been plummeting. Where the bottom is, nobody knows. There will be gut-wrenching zigs and hopeful zags along the way; they will be of larger magnitude and—in our digital age of instant response—will occur with greater rapidity … Continue reading

Stop the Bailout!

When facing a major financial problem, it is not uncommon to face the temptation to do something foolish at best or something evil at worst. Our elected officials and un-elected monetary and financial authorities are on the brink of doing … Continue reading

Blaming the Free Market

It’s finger-pointing time, folks. Whose fault is the ongoing financial crack-up that has hurt, angered, and frightened so many people? There is plenty of blame to go around, and the American people deserve to know the culprits. Simple justice, though, … Continue reading

Economic Nonsense

It saddens me when I see a member of my profession go over to “the dark side,” that is, to politics. Politics replaces voluntary action with compulsion, private contract with coercion. Government intervention imposes distortions, inefficiencies, and extra costs on … Continue reading

Another One Bites the Dust

September 15, 2008. Lehman Brothers, the giant Wall Street firm, declares bankruptcy. Merrill Lynch, the most famous stock brokerage company in the country, avoids the risk of eventually suffering a similar fate by being euthanized (i.e., bought and absorbed) by … Continue reading

A Bailout for Detroit

It was bound to happen. In this “Year of the bailout,” why shouldn’t Detroit get into the act? The financial community has maintained a death-watch over GM and Ford for months as they hemorrhage floods of red ink. Bankruptcy is … Continue reading

Drill Now

High fuel prices have produced a tectonic shift in the United States’ political landscape. Recent polls indicate a strong surge of support for Uncle Sam lifting government restrictions against domestic drilling for oil. Blocking the development of domestic energy resources … Continue reading

Here We Go Again

Every year, Merriam-Webster, the dictionary company, holds a vote for “Word of the Year.” Don’t be surprised if 2008’s word is “bailout.” And if they start a “Phrase of the Year” category, how about “Too big to fail?” We heard … Continue reading