The One Percent: Not Kristallnacht but Lebensraum
The talking points of conspicuous consumers can be just as obnoxious as their purchasing habits.
The Daly News
Conflict of Interest at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service? A Deal Some Couldn’t Refuse
/4 Comments/in Climate Change, Corruption, Endangered Species, Energy, Environment, Governance, Money and Investments, Sustainability, Technology, The Daly News /by Brian Czech
By Richard McCorkle, Guest Author
As a fish and wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I’ve been concerned about global warming and climate change for more than a quarter century. In the late 1990s, when I finally had the means to do so, I began privately investing in socially and environmentally screened mutual funds. I felt it was the right thing to do; I was putting my money where my mouth was.
Where Does Inflation Hide?
/5 Comments/in Banking, Inflation, Monetary Policy, Money and Investments, The Daly News /by Brian CzechBy Herman Daly
The talking heads in the media explain the recent fall in the stock market as follows: A fall in unemployment leads to a tight labor market and the prospect of wage increases; wage increase leads to threat of inflation; which leads the Fed to likely raise interest rates; which would lead to less borrowing, and to less investment in stocks, and consequently to an expected fall in stock prices.
Farewell to FWS – Goodbye to Gag Orders
/6 Comments/in Brian Czech, Corruption, Economic Growth, Governance, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
An open letter to FWS, sent directly to FWS employees on February 7, 2018.
Friends, colleagues, and past FWS co-workers,
I once considered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be the world leader in conservation, and was proud to sign on! But that was a long time ago: 1999 to be precise. Today, something is awry at FWS headquarters, and that’s what drove me to retire on October 31.
Democrats, Donald Trump, and the Dark Underbelly of Economic Growth
/2 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Environment, Politics, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
Democrats are stunned by Donald Trump’s lack of culpability for racist rhetoric, Twitter tantrums, and international insults. They shouldn’t be. They’re the party of “It’s the Economy Stupid.” They should know that if a president inspires a bull market, creates a few jobs, and grows the GDP, he can “stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody” without losing voters.
Elected Dems can’t hold Trump accountable because they can’t break their own addiction to growth.
Nature Needs Half – And Twice the Steady Statesmanship
/3 Comments/in Biodiversity, Brian Czech, Environment, Politics, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
WE NEED NATURE.
NATURE NEEDS HALF.
ERGO, WE NEED NATURE TO GET HALF.
Half of what? The planet. That’s the essence of E.O. Wilson’s latest – and greatest – project.
Why does nature need half the planet? To maintain a highly functional system of plants, animals, and their habitats. And we need such a functional ecosystem to support our own species.
Trump’s National Security Strategy: Making America Greedy Again
/5 Comments/in Brian Czech, Governance, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
Warning: President Trump’s national security strategy is going to backfire like a shotgun plugged with mud. In one fell swoop, Trump called for:
1) Locking out foreigners;
2) Growing GDP as the key to national security, and;
3) Better terms of trade.
Now many voters, going down the list, will promptly put a checkmark by one or two of the items, and some (especially Trump’s base) will check all three.
Thankful to be Back in the Steady-State Saddle
/4 Comments/in Brian Czech, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, Sustainability, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
One thing about American holidays – there’s no mincing of words. Thanksgiving Day is as self-explanatory as it gets. And from where I write, it happens to be easy, giving thanks this time around. For starters, it’s a crisp fall day in Virginia!
But I’ve a bonus to be thankful for. Twenty days and three hours ago, I turned in my retirement papers at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service headquarters and immediately went to work as CASSE’s executive director.
No Mere Resolution: The Vermont Legislature and the Steady State Economy
/2 Comments/in Brian Czech, Consumption, Economic Growth, Economic Policy, Steady State Economy, The Daly News /by Brian Czechby Brian Czech
Here’s a day to remember: May 6, 2016. That’s the day when, late in the afternoon, the Legislature of the State of Vermont passed H.C.R. 412, “House Concurrent Resolution Honoring the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy for Its Important Work.” In a nation where acts of steady statesmanship – political support for a steady state economy – have only just begun, the Vermont Legislature has offered a perfect and prescient precedent.
Guess What Trudeau Said About Growth?
/0 Comments/in Economic Growth, The Daly News /by Brian CzechBy James Magnus-Johnston
In an appeal to Mr. Trudeau’s philosophical musings, I’ve written a letter to him listing five ways Canada can foster a better, more sustainable economy.
“There are a lot of people out there, environmental thinkers like Herman Daly and others, who talk about the fact that maybe endless growth within a finite system is not either possible or even desirable.