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According to Joseph Stiglitz, the Iraq War will cost the U.S. $2 trillion, 10 times more than the original estimate of $200 billion given before the war started. Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, an economist from Harvard, whose joint paper “The Economic Costs of the Iraq War” was released last week, arrive at the larger figure […]
The New York Times carried a Q&A entitled “Conversation with Kerry Emanuel” yesterday. The lead was Emanuel’s apparent shift on the connection between warmer oceans and the intensity of hurricane winds. Still, Emanuel says “not so fast” to those who see Katrina as evidence of global warming. But conservatives should take note that America’s inability […]
Over most of the first half of the twentieth century, America’s public colleges and universities functioned quite autonomously. They were mostly small, enrolling less than ten percent of the nation’s eighteen to twenty-one year olds, and, for the most part, financially self-sufficient. None of the public institutions were competitive with the best international universities.
The barren setting in this picture of the Purdue University campus in 1900 reflects the modest beginnings of the public institutions. Now, Purdue is an internationally renowned institution, especially for scientific research.
Black students seeking higher education during this period were most likely to find it in a segregated institution. Among the best of the segregated institutions was Tuskegee where these young women learned mattress making early in the twentieth century as part of their “higher education.”
Some items of note from the weekend… Tim Harford, aka The Undercover Economist, gave Slate.com readers a peek behind the Starbucks curtain on Friday. Careful OUP Blog readers may recognize Harford’s economizing tip (we gave you a link to it back in November): Ask for a “short” at the counter and you’ll save money. Harford […]
by Steve Rivkin A good brand name is golden. As a Kraft Foods executive says, “Kraft has thousands of trademarks and they are among our most treasured assets. To the outside world, they represent who we are and what we do.” But over the years, lots of false notions and fuzzy thinking have crept into […]
by Andrew Jack Much hot air has been generated in recent days by the New Year’s dispute between Russia and Ukraine over gas prices. The saga has highlighted, to misquote Winston Churchill, commercial interests wrapped up in economics, and justified by politics. On the surface, the squabble looks ugly and one-sided: the great Russian bear […]
by Ben Keene Looking back at the last twelve months, the publisher’s mind reels trying to keep up with changes to borders, placenames, and shifting populations. Inspired by the multitude of year-end round ups, I decided to collect some of the most noteworthy geographical developments in a short—but incomplete—list of my own. Just to emphasize […]
by Marion Elizabeth Rodgers Tracing the footsteps of another person becomes, in many ways, a treasure hunt: an effort to recreate, by selection, the texture of a life. When I set out to write Mencken: The American Iconoclast, I moved back to Baltimore to be in the city that Mencken loved, and walk the streets […]
by Steve Rivkin Naming something may be the most universal aspect of business. Whether it’s a business or a product or a service, you’ve got to call the baby something. Here are the six deadly sins of naming that every company should avoid at all costs. 1. Thou shalt not commit me-tooism. Ameriprise, Ameriquest, Americast, […]