If you haven’t noticed rising prices here in America for the past twelve months, you’re either Rumpelstiltskin or dead. And if you didn’t expect rising prices, either you’ve not been paying attention to American monetary, fiscal, welfare, and pandemic policies or you’ve not understood basic economics. So, May’s year-on-year “inflation” rate was 8.6%, following April’s 8.3%, continuing a rapid rise that started in October. (Why the scare quotes around inflation? Because properly … [Read more...]
Recovering the Moral Foundations of Economics
Editor's note: This piece was originally published by the Acton Institute over a decade ago. Many years later, this piece still provides a poignant reflection on economics, socialism, environmentalism, and Christian ethics. During the summer of 1980, I met weekly for breakfast, prayer, and study with a minister friend of mine. A warm-hearted, intelligent man, Bob Hager kept challenging me to broaden my interest from the biblical studies, theology, and apologetics that were my great loves … [Read more...]
The Fossil Fuel Dichotomy: Biden and the East’s Contrasting Energy Approach
While leaders in the West are obsessed with a fossil fuel-less utopia, the developing economies of the world are going full-throttle on fossil fuel. Could we be heading into an East-West dichotomy where different directions for the energy sector are pursued, making the East more energy secure and imperiling energy security in the West? It seems the likely case. Eastern Giants Go Big on Fossils India and China alone account for nearly 3 billion people and represent the largest … [Read more...]
Why Has Cornwall Alliance Paid So Much Attention to the Coronavirus Pandemic?
The Cornwall Alliance’s mission is “to magnify the glory of God in creation, the wisdom of His truth in environmental stewardship, the kindness of His mercy in lifting the needy out of poverty, and the wonders of His grace in the gospel of Jesus Christ” by educating “the public and policymakers about Biblical earth stewardship, economic development for the poor, and the gospel of Jesus Christ, with Christian worldview, theology, and ethics that come with it.” Because excessive fears of … [Read more...]
The Intrinsic Value of Nature and the Proper Stewardship of the Climate
Ross McKitrick[1] Department of Economics University of Guelph For presentation to “Exploring the theological, economic, cultural and political assumptions for faith groups (and others) dealing with climate change.” Conference at Huron College, University of Western Ontario, May 29, 2012. Abstract: Historically there have been three broad ways of viewing the natural world. Primitive cultures viewed it as a personal entity with a mind of its own. Biblical cultures view it as the work of a … [Read more...]
The Curbelo Carbon Tax as Wealth Redistribution
No matter how you look at it, the Florida Republican’s new proposal is bad policy. Environmental policy as a tool of wealth redistribution is nothing new. The latest example is a proposal for a greenhouse-gas (GHG) tax just introduced by Representative Carlos Curbelo (R., Fla.). Curbelo’s tax would start at $24 per metric ton of GHG emissions, growing 2 percent per year above inflation and an additional $2 per ton every two years if emission-reduction goals are not met. Those goals rise … [Read more...]
No More Secret Science, Needs No More Secret Economics
Controversial Administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt, said in a press release on April 24th that: “The era of secret science at [the] EPA is coming to an end.” This is in the context of him signing a proposed rule to strengthen the science used in regulations issued by EPA. This is also in the context of Executive Order 13777 (issued in March 2017) which provides for regulatory reform of “those regulations that [do not] meet the standard of reproducibility.” The … [Read more...]
Prayer for the Weak and the Poor
Dear Father in Heaven, We pray for the poor of the world. Lord, you’ve asked us to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. Help us Lord to be obedient to your calling and live as your ambassadors. Help our political leaders to understand the need for the right policies to tackle poverty. Save us from the wrong policy decisions that risks precious resources in wrong avenues. Renew our hearts to care for the poor. Help the poor see the greater Hope and Joy that is in you, and help them see … [Read more...]
Chennai, India’s Cold Winter vs. Global Warming Hype
Why do developing countries like India fear calling out the climate myth? Because doing so would risk international trade relations by challenging the European economic powerhouses that are vehemently opposed to any country that leaves the Paris accord. In fact, the European Union’s new Brussels policy stipulates that the EU will not sign trade pacts with any country that does not ratify the Paris agreement. While many climate alarmists call for India to cut down its dependence on coal, fearing … [Read more...]
Wealthy Countries Resilient in the Face of Extreme Weather
Since 1900 the number of deaths from natural disasters, including floods, hurricanes/cyclones, earthquakes, and tornados, has fallen dramatically, even as the number of reported occurrences of such events increased due to improved telecommunications and technologies to track and report such events, broader news coverage, and the globalization of international aid. Even as global population has grown from fewer than 2 billion people in 1900 to more than 7.4 billion people today, the number of … [Read more...]
