Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'economics'

July 11, 2014

America’s Largest Workforce Calls for Change

Millions of Americans who work for tips have now been dragged into the political battle over the federal minimum wage and whether it should be raised to $10.10 per hour. Since 1991, the federal minimum wage has been adjusted 5 times, increasing three dollars to its current $7.25. Continue Reading...
July 11, 2014

How an Excess of Social Capital Can Hurt the Poor

What are the barriers that prevent the poor from moving into the middle class? One surprising answer, says Megan McArdle, is an excess of social capital. In the video below, McArdle explains why understanding how social and financial capital function in low-income communities can help us be more effective in helping then poor. Continue Reading...
July 09, 2014

Student Debt and the Value of an Education

“Despite the mounting cost and swelling debt,” notes Laura Prejean in this week’s Acton Commentary, “America’s demand for education, particularly higher education, has not decreased, defying typical market expectations.” This is what economists call inelastic demand, when people continue to buy a good or service regardless of an increase in prices. Continue Reading...
July 08, 2014

David Brat’s Religious Virtues

In a piece today for the NYT Magazine, economics reporter Binyamin Appelbaum examines David Brat’s fusion of faith and free-market economics. Appelbaum finds that mixture problematic, to say the least, but it’s hard to sort out whether it is the religious faith or the free-market sympathies that Appelbaum finds more troubling. Continue Reading...
July 07, 2014

The Economic Legacy of World War I

The Great War began 100 years ago last week. From an economic perspective (from Pulitzer Prize economist Liaquat Ahamed) the European nations paid for WWI not with taxes, but with massive debts financed largely by America. Continue Reading...