Category Archives: Economics

Foolish Spending

I’ve heard a lot about foolish spending lately. Most recently it’s million dollar bonuses at AIG. Before that it was a lavish executive retreat. A few months back it was an office bathroom renovation. Foolish spending is nothing new. A … Continue reading

Posted in Current events, Economics | 1 Comment

My daughter is annoyed

I took my youngest child on a spring break trip to Washington. While there, the AIG bonus news was breaking (and breaking, and breaking) on every news outlet. She told me she was annoyed – more by the constant coverage … Continue reading

Posted in AIG, Current events, Economics, Politics | Leave a comment

Tired

I’m tired. I believe that what we call the economy is (at least largely) a human institution. The markets and regional components of the economy are driven by human actions. Human actions are sometimes driven by the thoughts and feelings … Continue reading

Posted in Barack Obama, Current events, Economics, Prayer | 3 Comments

Is it good to tell the truth?

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Posted in Current events, Economics, Leadership, Local church, Ministry | Leave a comment

A story of Economic hell

John Thain is in trouble for remodeling his office. Well, that’s not quite right. He’s in trouble for having other people remodel his office. Apparently the job was more than just a new end table, rug or paint job. Whatever … Continue reading

Posted in Current events, Economics, Salvation | 1 Comment

Losing it all

It’s hard for me to imagine one man’s operation losing fifty billion dollars. The sums are beyond my comprehension. It reminds me of an illustration I used in a message several years ago. I said that if I kept working … Continue reading

Posted in Economics | Leave a comment

Is Discipline the Answer?

Discipline is a good Methodist word. Sure, it’s mostly been reduced the name of a book, but we still value the idea. Our Methodist relationship with discipline mirrors what I see in our broader society. We think discipline is good, … Continue reading

Posted in Charles Taylor, Current events, Discipline, Economics, Spengler, Stoicism, Uncategorized, United Methodism | 2 Comments

Getting What We Wanted?

Some of us have been preaching against consumerism for ages – some vehemently and constantly, some merely occasionally. Looking at the current US economy it appears that maybe someone was listening. What’s wrong with consumerism? When we’re captivated by consumerism, … Continue reading

Posted in Consumerism, Culture, Economics | 3 Comments

The Market

Isn’t the market doing great? Yesterday morning when I left town, the price of gas was 3.23. By the time I got home (about 6 pm) it was down to 3.16. When I went out this morning (about 9am), it … Continue reading

Posted in Economics, Market, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Crunchy or Soggy?

Glenn Reynolds makes this observation about the call for greater regulation in financial markets: There is an argument, instead, for crunchy systems where problems are immediately obvious, instead of “soggy” ones where they are not. Regulation, etc., tends to make … Continue reading

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