Musings on the past to explain the present and inform the future
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Pandemic Chronicles: Vaccination and the Tipping Point to Herd Immunity
Society is at a tipping point with two critical issues: climate change and the COVID-19 global pandemic. A tipping point is a phenomenon where enough people have collectively changed their social behavior to push society towards either a positive or negative direction. The climate change crisis is similar to the… More
America’s Long Struggle to Create a Central Bank
On this day, December 23, 1913, President Wilson entered the Oval Office. In a jubilant mood he went around the room to shake hands with key advisers and associates while giving a congratulatory nod to the influential Congressman from Virginia, Carter Glass. Wilson proceeded to use the four golden pens… More
What is the President’s Brain Trust?
Do you ever wonder what the keys are to successful presidential leadership? Are you curious why past presidents like George Washington, Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt were able to steer the country through calamities and turbulent periods? Historians might say these leaders had charisma, or an ability to manage a… More
Reluctant War President and the Pandemic
In 2020-2021 we are living in peacetime with no major global conflict, but the United States is at war against a global pandemic and an economic crisis unseen since the post-war period. One year into the COVID-19 public health crisis, America reached a grim milestone: 400,000 dead and 24 million… More
A Christmas Carol – the Virtues and Vices of the Market Economy
This week in 1843 Charles Dickens published his book A Christmas Carol that would become a gift of joy and timeless tradition for society. But Dickens also imparted an incredibly powerful story of economic ideas that sheds light on severe economic problems while inspiring charity. Dickens invokes Adam Smith, the Scottish… More
The Troika Strikes Back
With a raging virus holding back the economic recovery and a return to normalcy, much attention has focused on President Biden’s pick for his core economic team. Janet Yellen, former chair of the Federal Reserve, is slated to be the U.S. Treasury Secretary. The Treasury Secretary is a prominent cabinet… More
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