Cash for Young Entrepreneurs

The Hitachi Foundation is accepting applications for its 2013 Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneur Award, which identifies up to five young people striving to build “sustainable businesses” in the United States. Each awardee will receive $40,000 over two years, along with the tools and training designed to put a startup on the path to success. Continue Reading...

Young Adults Lag In Wealth Building

According to a new study by the Urban Institute, “when it comes to saving, owning a home, paring down debt, and growing a retirement nest egg, those under age 40 have stagnated as their parents’ generation accumulated.” Continue Reading...

The Legacy of Racism and Surrogate Decision-Making

In 1989, Erol Ricketts, a researcher with the Rockefeller Foundation, found that between 1890 and 1950, blacks had higher marriage rates than whites, according to the U.S. Census. The report, titled “The Origin of Black Female-Headed Families,” published in the Spring/Summer issue of Focus(32-37), provides an overview that highlights an important question. Continue Reading...

Rev. Sirico: Option for the Poor Not Neccessarily an Option for the State

On the popular Italian news portal Ilsussidiario.net, Rev. Robert A. Sirico is interviewed about the social and political views of Pope Francis. To a question about Francis’ rejection of liberation theology, even as many of his fellow Jesuits embraced it, the Acton Institute president and co-founder replied that “it was a very brave thing that Pope Francis did at that time in Argentina, and all the more difficult because he had to confront his brother Jesuits who were attempting to politicize the Gospel and service to the poor.” Continue Reading...

Will Pope Francis Go Left on Economics?

Will Pope Francis promote a leftist view of economics? Hot Air’s Ed Morrissey asked that question of Kishore Jayalaban, Director of Acton’s Rome office. Jayalaban says the impression that Francis will push economic arguments to the left is a misunderstanding of both Catholic economic thought and the economic situation in Argentina—where capitalism is much more rife with cronyism and corporatism than in the US. Continue Reading...