“Detroit developed best when it was bottom-up,” says Harry Veryser, economist and professor at University of Detroit Mercy. “When munities, small parishes, small schools were formed… that’s when Detroit prospered.” In a recent discussion on what makes cities flourish, Chris Horst and I argued that cities need a unique blend of munity action, good governance, and strong business to thrive. Cities like Detroit have monstrous plex problems, and the solutions will e from additional top-down tweaking and tinkering. Rather, any...

Today is day nine of the government shutdown and currently there is little optimism in Washington that an agreement will be reached to end the stalemate. While many are focusing on the unpopularity of ObamaCare, or as the White House claims, Republicans are using the budget to hold funding for the new health care law hostage; however there is an even more important factor that requires our attention: Lawmakers need to get control of our budget. In The Washington Post,...

“Will the most fundamental liberty of all – freedom of conscience – survive in post-Obama America?” asks Terry Jeffrey at . He, along with many others, is worried about the Obama Administration’s refusal to allow faithful Christians to live according to their conscience. He is particularly concerned about the Kennedy family, owners of Autocam, based in Kentwood, Mich. Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled that the Kennedys may not sue the director of the...

Caesar’s Palace didn’t have slot machines in the age of the apostles, so it’s not surprising that there is no explicit, direct, biblical prohibition of casino gambling. How then should Christians in America think about the growing trend of regional casinos? For some Christian groups, the answers is based on their opposition to all forms of gambling. My own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, calls on “all Christians to exercise their influence by refusing to participate in any form of...

On Sept. 18, the Acton Institute held its annual dinner and lecture in downtown Pittsburgh at the Duquesne Club. J. Christopher Donahue, president and chief executive officer of Federated Investors, Inc., emceed the event and Lisa Slayton, president of Serving Leaders and The Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation, gave the invocation for the evening. Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of Acton, gave the keynote lecture for the evening: “Religious Liberty and Economic Liberty: Twin Guarantees for Human Freedom.” Rev. Sirico...

“When you read the Book of Revelation,” says Gregory Alan Thornbury, president of The King’s College, “it’s about not giving in to tyranny when es to economics. I don’t know why we don’t talk about that in church.” In an interview with Jerry Bowyer at Forbes, Thornbury expounds on how the revelation to St. John is a precursor to the idea that F. A. Hayek later would call “The Fatal Conceit.” Jerry:Should a Christian be a Hayekian? Do you see...

Sr. Mary Ann Walsh, Director of Media Relations for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) says it’s time for the politicians in Washington to listen to the bishops. In a blog post, Sr. Walsh points out that the bishops have a few points that our government servants might do well to heed, reminding the reader that the bishops have no political affiliation: They are neither Democratic nor Republican positions. They are simply principled. Consider, for example, an October...

As a child I was fascinated with world news and current events. I was especially drawn to reports about the rabid anti-Americanism in Iran and their almost decade long war with Iraq. It was not the film “Argo” or even living in the Middle East that renewed my interest in Iran, but an excellent book by Mark Bowden titled, “Guests of the Ayatollah: The Iran Hostage Crisis: The First Battle in America’s War with Militant Islam.” Still, I knew little...

This short, satirical video sums up our mess. [product sku=”1307″] ...

In a new book, Roman Catholic Archbishop José H. Gomez proclaims that immigration is always about more than immigration. It’s about families, national identity, poverty, economics and mon good. Elise Hilton reviews the book in this week’s Acton Commentary. The full text of her essay follows. Subscribe to the free, weekly Acton News & Commentary and other publications here. Immigration and the Soul of America byElise Hilton America was born from the Christian mission. This is not an article of...