Our Shaky Economic Foundation

Simpler Times   By Frank Schiavone Things used to be a lot simpler. We lived in smaller homes with just one TV. There was no shame in driving a used car. We were more earnest savers. A savings account got you about a 5% return on your “investment”. Banks would not dream of charging you a fee for the privilege of parking your money there. Banks and S&Ls would leverage the...

What Are We Willing to Pay

What Are We Willing to Pay?   By Frank Schiavone In his compelling new book, The Limits of Power, Andrew Bacevich delivers a stinging rebuke writing that there “is a yawning disparity between what Americans expect, and what they’re willing or able to pay.” But the indictment goes further still. The price for the things we all take for granted is worthwhile so long as...

Unresponsive Government

Our Unresponsive Government   By Frank Schiavone Call me a masochist. I routinely watch my city’s council meetings on cable television. Most of the time, they are uneventful. Sometimes, however, important projects are heard that have the community up in arms. When these projects are on the agenda things get interesting. City staff give their report distilling reams of information into a few...

Tyranny

Tyranny Takes Many Forms   By Frank Schiavone On a cold December night in 1773, some seriously annoyed British subjects held a tea party aboard three ships in the service of the East India Company. Now this wasn’t your typical, genteel English tea party. In fact, it was more like a rowdy masquerade party hell-bent on raising a ruckus. Samuel Adam’s Sons of Liberty, in their amateurish...

Property Rights Myth

The Property Rights Myth   By Frank Schiavone As most of us have experienced firsthand, property rights are not absolute or unqualified. Cities restrict the use of property all the time. Developers tend not to like land use and environmental limitations. To overcome regulation, a common tactic is to threaten “takings” litigation invoking a passage in the Fifth Amendment – “nor shall...