What can the incarnation teach us about Christian cultural witness and economic action? When God became a man, He showed us the power of embodied truth. But that divine act wasn’t just meant to rescue us from a fallen world; it was meant to model what transformation actually looks like in the here and now. As Rev. Robert Sirico recently noted in his reflections on Christmas, the incarnation reminds us “how seriously God takes the material world which he made,...

When es to tax policy, opponents of corporate tax cuts often say that cuts will only help those at the top: that the wealthiest employees will receive large bonuses while middle managers and those at the bottom will remain at the same wage levels, thus increasing the wage gap. Taxation is often seen as an opportunity for government to distribute the wealth, but when given the opportunity and financial capacity, corporations can do the same, and have the opportunity to...

Every year’s end means that people of faith will be deluged with two things: wishes for a Happy New Year and appeals for charities of every conceivable variety. Americans gave $390 billion to charity in 2016, nearly one-third of it in the month of December. For charities and their beneficiaries, the holiday spirit – and Americans’ desire to lower their year-end tax bill – are a godsend. But ancient pagans had a different view of private, Christian almsgiving, which still...

Humans have long daydreamed about a day or a place where work is no more, whether found in a retirement home on a golf course or in a utopian society filled only with leisure and idleness. But is a world without work all that desirable, even amid material abundance? In an essay in Touchstone Magazine, Hunter Baker explores the question at length, noting the growing disconnect between “consumer man” and “working man” in the modern economy. Indeed, as Baker notes,...

Series Note: Jobs are one of the most important aspects of a morally functioning economy. They help us serve the needs of our neighbors and lead to human flourishing both for the individual and munities. Conversely, not having a job can adversely affect spiritual and psychological well-being of individuals and families. Because unemployment is a spiritual problem, Christians in America need to understand and be aware of the monthly data on employment. Each month highlight the latest numbers we need...

As is ing mon New Year’s theme, the minimum wage increased on Monday in more than a dozen states across the U.S. According to the Economic Policy Institute, 18 states increased the lowest legal wage allowed: • Alaska: $9.84, $.04 increase • Arizona: $10.50, $.50 increase • California: $11.00, $.50 increase • Colorado: $10.20, $.90 increase • Florida: $8.25, $.15 increase • Hawaii: $10.10, $.85 increase • Maine: $10.00, $1.00 increase • Michigan: $9.25, $.35 increase • Minnesota: $9.65, $.15...

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard boasts that the protests that have blanketed the nation for the last week have died down – and, with them, at least 22 Iranians demanding better economic conditions and civil liberties. Economic change was at the heart of public discontent, something Iran may be seeking to export to the West by spreading socialist ideology. The Islamic Republic of Iran and Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela both support – and may be funding – the spread of socialism in the...

Abraham Kuyper, who served as prime minister of the Netherlands from 1901 to 1905, was also a journalist and theologian. Kuyper wrote expansively on public theology in an effort to engage culture through the lens of a Christian worldview, covering topics such mon grace, the kingship of Christ, and the roles of the church and family. In collaboration with the Abraham Kuyper Translation Society, the Acton Institute and Lexham Presshave teamed together to publish the Abraham Kuyper Collected Works in...

Note: This is post #62 in a weekly video series on basic microeconomics. Club goods are goods that are nonrival and excludable, says economist Alex Tabarrok. For instance, HBO is a club good, as you need to pay a monthly fee to access HBO (excludable) but more viewers does not add to costs (nonrival). As Tabarrok explains in this video by Marginal Revolution University, entrepreneurs are always looking for ways to turn public goods into club goods. (If you find...

As e near to the end of another year, we want to thank readers of PowerBlog for menting, and sharing our posts over the past twelve months. If you’re a new reader we encourage you to catch up by checking out our top ten most popular posts for 2017. 1.Explainer: What you should know about the GOP tax plan Joe Carter Earlier today, Congressional Republicans introduced the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the House version of their long-promised tax reform...