Could election law reforms improve the quality of governance? Critics say voters have limited incentives to learn about candidates and the policies they advocate. So how likely are voters to elect smarter government? This...
Researching marine natural resource policies for an Economic Thinking workshop in Huntsville, I surfed into Alabama’s entrepreneurial artificial reef program. Alabama’s limited coastline is listed as just 53 miles, except on the Encyclopedia of...
Rather than holding elections, did America’s Founders consider drawing lots for positions of political authority? Probably not, but the Founders did study history and the strengths and weaknesses of political systems in early republics....
Guest post by Kyle Jackson, from his presentation at an Economic Thinking workshop. Public Choice is the study of political behavior through the lens of economic theory. When studying economic questions, we assume individuals are...
Many hours on the highways for me means many hours listening to and enjoying NPR (plus some hours with talk radio). NPR offers thoughtful and nicely-crafted segments from around the U.S., though the focus...
Popular Science has a recent post about a 60,000 ton ancient rock structure discovered in the Sea of Galilee. The structure of stacked basalt rocks is some 70 meters by 10 meters: The site...
Ilya Somin, writing in Forbes, notes that “low-information” voters don’t know much about the new federal healthcare reform law. Surveys show voters are ignorant about a lot of other federal policies too. Yet voters...
Just as we learn the Earth has stopped warming for awhile, climate concerns have been turned to the Pacific Ocean. The Seattle Times published a full-color supplement last sunday titled “Sea Change,” funded by the Pulitzer...
In 2012, the drought-stricken Western United States will ship more than 50 billion gallons of water to China. This water will leave the country embedded in alfalfa–most of it grown in California–and is destined...
“Dozens of different groups—from residents to corporate interests to environmental advocates—have long held divergent views on how water should be allocated and managed in the three states [Georgia, Alabama, & Florida],” Apalachicola Riverkeeper’s website says....
