The forthcoming bankruptcy court battle between the state and Essar Steel Minnesota over a stalled project in Nashwauk, Minn., teaches many economic lessons. First, it is an example of why bankruptcy is a necessary evil for an efficient economy. Aggrieved…
Charting a U-turn in international trade is complicated
While nations can untangle themselves from international trade agreements they made in the past, it is about as impossible to return a previous “normal” as it would be to unscramble an omelet. That is, a nation can return its own…
European Union is a victim of tragic overreach
Because he had once hurled himself out the door of a C-47 over the Netherlands, my old platoon sergeant in the 82nd Airborne had personally experienced how a complicated, overly optimistic and poorly thought-out multinational effort can turn into a…
Government response to hazards still haphazard
Sometimes, truth comes from the mouths of babes. Other times, the source is geezers. That was true for an overheard conversation among four retirees in a Slayton diner booth next to mine recently. When queried about what he was doing,…