John Couretas

is a writer and editor based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Posts by John Couretas

September 23, 2009

Clergy and Economists: Allies Not Adversaries

We welcome a new contributor to the Acton Commentary crew: Dr. Dwight R. Lee, the William J. O’Neil Endowed Chair in Global Markets and Freedom at Southern Methodist University. In this week’s commentary, Lee discusses how the social objectives of clergy and economists are remarkably similar, even though their “windows on the world” suggest different approaches to achieving the shared aim of building a better, more humane society. Continue Reading...
July 03, 2009

Health Care Roundtable

The Heartland Institute and Consumers for Health Care Choices are sponsoring Health Care Roundtables across the country. Earlier this week, Acton development associate Charles Roelofs attended a roundtable and offers this report: The event was co-sponsored by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and Americans for Prosperity – Michigan. Continue Reading...
June 29, 2009

Time to go, Gov. Sanford

A reader makes a request: My purpose for writing is simply to request the Acton Institute make a public statement on its website to repudiate Mr. Sanford’s actions, in large measure because he was prominently featured in Volume 18, Number 3 of Religion & Liberty journal. Continue Reading...
June 02, 2009

GM Bankruptcy A ‘Hammer Blow’ To Michigan

The Detroit News says the General Motors bankruptcy filing “is a hammer blow for a state that was already on its knees.” In an editorial, the paper calls for an “emergency response” from government and an entirely new orientation to attracting businesses and jobs to the state: Longer term, Michigan’s entire focus must be on creating a business climate that makes the state attractive for job creators in a wide range of industries. Continue Reading...
May 21, 2009

Hate the Sin, Tax the Sinner?

Update (5/21): The New York Daily News reports that “state lawmakers are trying to give the fat tax new life.” Senate Democrats want to impose a penny excise tax on non-diet sodas to help fund a plan to provide property tax relief to homeowners. Continue Reading...
May 13, 2009

New report: Verdict on the Crash

Much of the blame for the current financial crisis has been aimed at Wall Street and the bankers who, the story goes, created toxic debt instruments and then lined their own pockets with the proceeds. Continue Reading...
May 12, 2009

Gregg on the Moral Environment of Entrepreneurship

In today’s Detroit News, Acton Research Director Samuel Gregg talks about the sort of “moral, legal and political environment” that must exist if entrepreneurs are to flourish. He applies these precepts to the very serious economic problems in Michigan, where Acton is located: … in the midst of this enthusiasm about entrepreneurship, we risk forgetting that entrepreneurship’s capacity to create wealth is heavily determined by the environments in which we live. Continue Reading...