Rev. Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute takes Washington Post columnist Anthony Stevens-Arroyo to task for a piece he wrote about Catholic Social Teaching. Stevens-Arroyo argues that “since the world economy has been so badly distorted by those seeking advantage of one class over the other, Catholic social justice demands a redistribution of wealth.” Rev. … Read more
As you’ve probably noticed from the Home page, we’re conducting an InsideCatholic fundraising drive this week. I hope you’ll participate. While we offer our articles, columns, and blog posts free of charge — unlike a print magazine — that doesn’t mean that they’re free to us. Running an online publication is an expensive business — … Read more
After years of going nowhere, economic theory in the Catholic world just got a big upgrade from none other than the head of the Vatican’s bank. Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, a one-time private banker and professor of financial ethics at the Catholic University in Milan, has headed the Institute for Religious Works since 2009. Writing in … Read more
The U.S. Treasury announced on its website that, at year end, the national debt topped $14 trillion for the first time. This was an increase from $13 trillion on June 1, 2010, and $12 trillion at year end 2009. When the recession officially began in December 2007, U.S. debt to Gross Domestic Product was about … Read more
At long last, private-sector jobs are growing again. They rose 159,000 in October, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Even more encouraging are the revisions to earlier surveys, indicating that the improvement in new jobs was not a one-time event. Job gains for August and September were revised up to 250,000 from 157,000. … Read more
Is marriage obsolete? According to a new TIME/ Pew Research Center poll, 40% of Americans believe it is. What we found is that marriage, whatever its social, spiritual or symbolic appeal, is in purely practical terms just not as necessary as it used to be. Neither men nor women need to be married to have … Read more
If you thought Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hated testifying in front of Congress before, it’s about to get a lot worse. Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) — author most recently of the best-selling End the Fed — is about to become chairman of the House Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy. That means he’ll have oversight … Read more
A group called “Before It’s News” recently provided a heavily hyperlinked article with the unwieldy title, “Is America in Decline? 24 Statistics About the United States Economy That Are Almost Too Embarrassing to Admit.” Here’s a sample from the middle: #6 One prominent economist now says that the Chinese economy will be three times larger than the … Read more
Eighteen months later and billions of dollars spent have not resulted in the new jobs that the stimulus program was intended to create. Private-sector employment has actually declined an estimated two million additional persons since the inauguration of the program. The elusive goal of creating private-sector jobs is the subject of much commentary among economists, … Read more
Distributism teaches that ownership of the means of production should be widespread (there’s got to be a way to say that without so many prepositional phrases!). In other words, it opposes our current form of capitalism (the means of production in the hands of very few; a near-oligarchy) and also opposes socialism (the means of … Read more
A particular kind of market-driven capitalism is at the root of America’s success as a world economy and it was shaped and promoted by Puritans in Boston, according to church historian, Mark Valeri. Valeri’s new book, Heavenly Merchandize is an attempt to answer the question of how a people “who loathed market principles birthed a … Read more
The July/August issue of The Atlantic has a provocative lead article entitled “The End of Men,” by Hanna Rosin. Bound to raise some hackles, it’s a well-written, fascinating, worrisome piece that looks at women’s growing dominance in the West and considers whether the modern, post-industrial world is actually more suited to the female: Man has … Read more
The United States is in the midst of a realignment as the private sector gives way to the government as the nation’s primary employer. We’re not there yet, but the direction is clear. Of the 431,000 new jobs the Labor Department just announced, a full 390,000 of them are with the government (primarily, short term … Read more
The weather isn’t the only thing that’s heating up down here on the border. As temperatures this week inch closer to the triple-digits, the repercussions of SB 1070 – Arizona’s tough new immigration law – continue to remain center stage. (If you haven’t read the law itself, the link above takes you there. Many people … Read more
For months now, news outlets have been filled to overflowing with stories of the currently-and-impendingly jobless — not surprising, given the dramatic effect unemployment has on those unfortunate enough to experience it. Still, this has got to be the strangest side-effect I’ve seen yet: In this troubled economy, you may be thinking about beefing up your … Read more
Perhaps the most telling sign that our country is headed for trouble is the phenomenon of the shrinking middle class. Once the hallmark of America’s promise, America’s middle class was dealt a serious setback last year against the backdrop of the imminent death of the domestic automobile industry. In the past, America’s salvation … Read more
According to Salon‘s Jennifer Bleyer, a significant number of young hipsters are using food stamps across the country — and using them to buy things like organic vegetables, line-caught fish, and raw milk cheese. Although the majority of the 38 million Americans on food stamps are the “working poor, the elderly, and single parents on … Read more
Much has been made of Detroit’s recent efforts to cope with its badly damaged economy and plummeting population. A number of high-profile photographers have documented the encroaching loneliness with devastating effect, a number of radical rezoning strategies have been suggested, and Michael Moore is always willing to give his opinion on the matter. Now, the city’s mayor is … Read more
My friend, Deacon Keith Fournier, argues at Catholic Online that what is needed in politics is not a conservative revolution, but a Christian one. His argument is a response to the forthcoming “Conservative Manifesto” scheduled to be unveiled at the CPAC Convention beginning on Thursday. Fournier’s insistence on leaving the terms “liberal” and “conservative” behind … Read more
If you think today’s recession is bad, be glad you’re not living in Britannia at the close of the Western Roman Empire. For two or three hundred years, beginning at the start of the fifth century, the economy of Britain reverted to levels not experienced since well before the Roman invasion of AD 43. The … Read more