After Honeywell disclosed the other day that dismissed chief executive Michael Bonsignore would be getting a severance package of nearly $10 million, a friend called me to ask how economists could justify big severance packages for executives who have failed.…
Population changes give birth to widespread economic changes
What sort of world will our children and grandchildren live in? Will it be crowded, nasty and polluted or will they enjoy better conditions that we do? Economists are notoriously bad at forecasting, but some recent news items give interesting…
Limiting ag imports is foolish
Many U.S. farmers face financial difficulty. Look at corn, wheat and soybean prices—they’re below levels of 25 years ago. Some believe that agricultural imports are to blame and are saying so to the congressional committees that are holding hearings before…
Events bring changes that are certain to involve trade-offs
Sometimes, activities that are satisfying can also be dangerous. Take old steam engines, which I love. Judging by the growing popularity of tourist railways, steam parks and steam museums, many other people love them, too. Unfortunately, they are not always…