Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'economics'

May 23, 2014

‘Brave New Welfare State:’ 50 Years Of The War On Poverty

As noted here on the Acton PowerBlog earlier this week, 2014 marks the 50th anniversary of Lyndon B. Johnson’s declaration of war on poverty. Economist Nicholas Eberstadt, in an interview with the American Enterprise Institute, discusses what he calls the “brave new welfare state” we now have due to over-grown public assistance and unintended consequences of government programs. Continue Reading...
May 22, 2014

Audio: Sirico on The Pope and Economics; Gregg on Minimum Wage

A couple of interviews to bring you up to speed on from that last couple of days: First of all, here’s Acton Director of Research Samuel Gregg on the GRN Alive morning show on the Guadalupe Radio Network this morning to discuss current efforts to raise the federal minimum wage, giving his analysis on the likely impact of such a move on the economy and the job market. Continue Reading...
May 15, 2014

Why Does No One Believe Extreme Poverty Has Declined?

Would you say that over the past three decades (since about the mid-1980s) the percentage of people in the world who live in extreme poverty — defined as living on less than $1.25 per day — has: A) Increased B) Decreased C) remained the same The right answer is B: extreme poverty has decreased by more than half. Continue Reading...
May 09, 2014

Samuel Gregg: Indivisibility Of Religious Liberty, Economic Freedom

Sam Gregg, Acton’s director of research, makes the case that limiting religious liberty also infringes upon economic growth in The American Spectator. Gregg uses history to illustrate the point. Unjust restrictions on religious liberty often come in the form of limiting the ability of members of particular faiths to participate fully in public life. Continue Reading...
May 06, 2014

Now Available: ‘On Exchange and Usury’ by Thomas Cajetan

Christian’s Library Press has released a new translation of two treatises on exchange and usury by Thomas Cajetan (1469-1534), a Dominican theologian, philosopher, and cardinal. Although best known for his commentaries on the Summa of Thomas Aquinas, Cajetan also wrote dozens of other works, including short treatises on socioeconomic problems. Continue Reading...