Year: 2006

November 27, 2006

Rule of Law and Economic Development in Mexico

This article, by California Western School of Law Professor James Cooper concerns me quite a bit. A legal specialist in Rule of Law, Cooper has been trying to establish legal reforms in Mexico that would make its judicial system more transparent. Continue Reading...
November 27, 2006

Fast Company’s Social Capitalists

Fast Company has announced the results of its 2007 search for socially responsible companies, conducted along with Monitor Group. View the winners and their grades in slideshow form here. The winners range from the generally praiseworthy, such as ACCION International, to the rather more questionable, like Ceres, whose claim to fame on the list is that “after joining Ceres, Dell agreed to support legislation to require electronics recycling,” to the downright stultifying, such as TransFair USA, the certifying body for the Fair Trade movement, which “has certified 74.2 million pounds of Fair Trade coffee.” Continue Reading...
November 27, 2006

Good News for the Moralists

Here’s some good news for those who prefer to combat cultural evil through the edification and cultivation of moral sensibilities: In “Repugnance as a Constraint on Markets,” Alvin E. Roth finds that “distaste for certain kinds of transactions is a real constraint, every bit as real as the constraints imposed by technology or by the requirements of incentives and efficiency.” Continue Reading...
November 26, 2006

The Parenting Class

Along the same lines as my earlier post, The Weekly Standard argues that putting the needs of parents first, can form a more stable foundation for an alliance between fiscal and social conservatives. Continue Reading...
November 26, 2006

The State Which Would Provide Everything

is the title of an insightful article by Fr. James Schall over at the Ignatius site. An analysis of the political contribution of Deus Caritas Est, Benedict XVI’s first encyclical, he comments: The Second half of the encyclical is a brilliant treatise on the nature and limits of the State and what lies beyond it. Continue Reading...
November 25, 2006

Immigration Policy and the Future of Free Market

I have been quite concerned for some time about the shrill debate over illegal immigration and its potential fallout for free trade. I have argued, at Acton events and elsewhere, that no long-term solution to the flow of illegal immigration from Mexico is possible, without significant economic growth in Mexico. Continue Reading...
November 23, 2006

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we thine unworthy servants do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all men. We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. Continue Reading...
November 21, 2006

Wait – You Mean Taxpayers DON’T Have to Pay for Stadiums?

Refreshing news from Major League Baseball: In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say, I have loved the Oakland Athletics for a long time now. I love how they are the anti-Yankees, consistently fielding winning teams despite having one of the lower payrolls in the game, and losing superstar after superstar to richer teams. Continue Reading...