Category: Politics

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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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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The Problem of Property

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There’s been a lot of controversy about the Bundy Ranch situation, and like basically every other high-profile news event, there’s an awful lot of hype associated with it. I’ve been following the story, but I haven’t dug into all the details. However, this article from the Mises Institute is a thought-provoking exploration of property rights in the West. While the 19th century “Wild West” was in some ways an excellent example of anarcho-capitalism, this freedom was eventually overshadowed by the federal government’s intrusion into the West and its claim on much of the land. Just as one could point to the…

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Transform Rockford: Consensus or Compromise?

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After my previous posts about the Transform Rockford movement, I’ve been asked about the organization’s process to create consensus during their visioning sessions. To recap what I previously explained…at the meeting I attended, we were asked to write down the top 10 things we would like to see in Rockford’s future. Then the attendees were split into groups of 5 people to narrow down their own vision statements into 5 statements for each group. I was going to try to explain the details of the process, but it is confusing unless you actually do it. The process goes, generally speaking, like this: your…

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Thoughts on Transform Rockford

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After attending the last Transform Rockford community visioning session last night, I wrote a post describing the event. For the sake of brevity (or my feeble attempt at it) I didn’t really give much commentary on the organization itself. I am never short on opinions, so I know my readers would be disappointed if they didn’t get to hear my views on Transform Rockford.  As an introduction, I’ll admit I went to this meeting with much skepticism. I didn’t want to actually make a judgement without attending at least one event, but I was cynical, to say the least. The event turned out to…

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Transform Rockford: Final Visioning Session

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After a couple months of following the Transform Rockford calendar, I was finally able to attend their meeting tonight, at the RVC Woodward Technology Center. I almost didn’t go (there is a chemistry final looming over me this week…) but figured I better go now or I’d never make it. It was a good choice because as it turns out, this was the last community visioning session that they are holding, so I was glad to participate in that. A little background for those who aren’t familiar with Transform Rockford. I was not aware of the organization until February…I think they launched some time…

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