The adage that whoever pays the piper calls the tune is one of the oldest laws of economics. Monday’s Supreme Court ruling on military recruiters at universities and law schools is just the latest example of this principle. In an…
R&D can’t live on free-market funding alone
University of Minnesota economics professor Vernon Ruttan gets right to the point in his latest book, “Is War Necessary for Economic Growth? Military Procurement and Technology Development” (Oxford University Press, 2005). Ruttan, now retired from the applied economics department, devoted…
Fed rookie’s financial resume is short
Kevin Warsh, President Bush’s recent appointee to the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, has thin qualifications for the job — to put it mildly. What message the president is trying to send in nominating someone with so little relevant experience…
Federal power on trial in pollution case
Our decentralized federal-state-local government system has been enormously important in the political and economic success of our country. Letting decisions be made at the lowest appropriate level usually means more effective and responsive government and better use of resources. In…