Category: Economics

A Brief Update

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The last couple months have been pretty busy as I finished up my Gadfly of Serenity paper for the MPCA/ACA conference that took place in early October. The conference was really interesting and the presentation of my paper went well! The version here on my site is the full essay, I had to do some heavy editing to get it condensed for the 20 minutes of time allotted for me during the panel.  And in the absence of a proper blog post, I’ll just give a quick update as to what I’m doing now. I am currently developing an economics curriculum for…

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Report on Meeting with Transform Rockford

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When Mike Schablaske, the executive director at Transform Rockford, saw my recent posts through Twitter, he put me in touch with the group which had written the Shared Value statements. The team, Jay Sandine, David Sidney and Blake Musser, were very accommodating and willing to discuss my concerns. Although Jay was unable to make it, I met with David and Blake last week to talk about the questions I had raised. Before I get into the details, I just want to make a disclaimer. Although David and Blake are involved with Transform Rockford, not all the opinions they expressed represent…

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Highlights from Mises University 2014

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For new readers, Mises U is a week-long summer economics program hosted by the Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama. The conference covers theoretical and applied economics, with lectures covering topics such as epistemology, entrepreneurship, comparative economic systems, political economy, and the history of economic ideas. To see the schedule and recorded lectures, visit this page. This was my third year at Mises U. I attended in 2010 and 2011, then went to the AERC (formerly ASC) for the past two years, and decided it was time for Mises U again. I remember seeing posts about Mises U 2013 last summer…

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Mises University 2014

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For those of you not aware of this…I am in Auburn, Alabama this week attending the Mises Institute’s Mises U. So far it has been just incredible, I am enjoying every moment of it. To follow the official posts, please visit the Mises blog. As time allows I am posting to my Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, so you can check it out there as well. I am excited to share more details next week, but the schedule is pretty intense and I can’t make any guarantees about additional posts this week. Just listen to the lectures and and follow along…

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Concerns about the Vision Statements

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In my last post I discussed the issues I have with the Shared Values of Transform Rockford. The leadership of Transform Rockford was very responsive to these concerns and when I get back from Mises University, we will be meeting so that they can better answer these questions. I’ll definitely be writing another post to update you on that situation. However, that post was really just a lead-in to my response about the Vision Rally itself. I have three primary aspects of concern with the vision statement and related statements announced at the Vision Rally. I think it is easy…

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Shared Values: Upholding Virtue or Undermining Freedom?

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I intended this to be a post specifically about the Vision Rally, but I realized that I have not yet written much about the Shared Values and decided that topic deserved its own post. Transform Rockford has developed a list of nine statements that sum up the values which the movement holds to and promotes.  Here is the list: Update: I had incorrectly stated there were seven. There are actually nine of these value statements. I copied this text from the Transform Rockford site and apparently missed the first two, inclusion and caring.  – Inclusion: Cultivate and support an environment that fully…

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Reviving the Rust Belt: What’s the Answer?

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Last Thursday I attended an event hosted by Transform Rockford which was part of their Community Learning series. At this event there were two economists from the Chicago Fed who spoke about a recent study they conducted on cities in the “rust belt” or, the postindustrial Northeast and Midwest regions. The goal of this study, the Industrial Cities Initiative (ICI), is to “identify policies and programs that promote (or inhibit) economic growth and vitality in industrial cities.” While Rockford was not included in this study, the results are of relevance to this city which, like cities across the Midwest, has grappled…

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A Girl and Her Chai Tea Latte

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In the hopes of increasing my productivity, I decided to spend the afternoon at a local café. By the time I got there, it was the middle of lunch rush. I stood in line hoping that there’d be a open table in a quiet corner—preferably with an outlet nearby. Since I’d had plenty of coffee already, I ordered a chai tea latte. After ordering and getting a number for my table, I went in search of a table. I found a good table, sat down, put in my earbuds, and began my afternoon reading. A few minutes passed and I…

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Book Blogging: The Case Against the Fed

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In the last few weeks I’ve been thinking about what to do with my site. It has undergone a lot of transformations over the years. My site is a reflection of me, and like I’ve changed and evolved from my young high school self, this site has developed too. To reflect my reading projects and enjoyment of writing as a way to process what I learn, I am going to start doing something new, what I’m calling, “book blogging.” Up till now I’ve tried to write about books only after I read them completely through. But now I am going…

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