On April 19, 2023 the Show-Me Institute hosted Jason L. Riley, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and columnist for the Wall Street Journal, at the Saint Louis University Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business to discuss his book Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell.

Jason L. Riley is an opinion columnist at The Wall Street Journal, where his column, Upward Mobility, has run since 2016. He is also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and provides television commentary for various news outlets. Mr. Riley, a 2018 Bradley Prize recipient, is the author of four books: “Let Them In: The Case for Open Borders” (2008); “Please Stop Helping Us: How Liberals Make It Harder for Blacks to Succeed” (2014); “False Black Power?” (2017); and “Maverick: A Biography of Thomas Sowell” (2021). Mr. Riley joined the paper in 1994 as a copy reader on the national news desk in New York. He moved to the editorial page in 1995, was named a senior editorial page writer in 2000, and became a member of the Editorial Board in 2005. He joined the Manhattan Institute in 2015. Born in Buffalo, New York, Mr. Riley earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

About the Book:

Maverick: A biography of Thomas Sowell, one of America’s most influential conservative thinkers. Thomas Sowell is one of the great social theorists of our age. In a career spanning more than a half century, he has written over thirty books, covering topics from economic history and social inequality to political theory, race, and culture. His bold and unsentimental assaults on liberal orthodoxy have endeared him to many readers but have also enraged fellow intellectuals, the civil-rights establishment, and much of the mainstream media. The result has been a lack of acknowledgment of his scholarship among critics who prioritize political correctness. In the first-ever biography of Sowell, Jason L. Riley gives this iconic thinker his due and responds to the detractors. Maverick showcases Sowell’s most significant writings and traces the life events that shaped his ideas and resulted in a Black orphan from the Jim Crow South becoming one of our foremost public intellectuals.

Event sponsored by: Show-Me Institute, the Sinquefield Center for Applied Economic Research, the Sinquefield charitable trust, and Show-Me Opportunity

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In this talk, renowned health care expert John C. Goodman explained, with humor and lively examples, how the problems with health care in the U.S. stem not from too little regulation, but from too much. Dr. Goodman also described a path to improving health care by allowing markets to work.

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Essential to the message Brooks conveyed is the idea that proponents of free markets should focus less on cold data such as tax rates and more on individual stories of human flourishing brought about by reduced barriers to trade and robust property rights.

This event was held at and co-sponsored by the Saint Louis University John Cook School of Business.

Our next SLU Speaker Series event.

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Puzder argued before an engaged crowd that the current regulatory burden and financial uncertainty brought about by recent federal healthcare legislation are precisely the things standing between entrepreneurs across the country and the creation of jobs. Puzder put it quite clearly: Reduce regulations, and watch unemployment fall.

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You’ll want to hear what he has to say. Reservations are required, so be sure to RSVP for the St. Louis event here.

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• Garry Kasparov speaks at the John Cook School of Business, co-sponsored by the Show-Me Institute.
• Chairman Crosby Kemper examines the free-market movement in light of recent developments.
• A look at the recent state-wide victory to potentially eliminate earnings taxes in Kansas City and Saint Louis.
• An article covering our recent open house in our Central West End office with keynote speaker Art Laffer.
• Rebecca Bruchhauser details some New Year’s Resolutions for legislators who wish to grow the Missouri economy.
• An overview of the recent flurry of Show-Me Institute publications.
• Details on ways in which the Show-Me Institute’s message is being heard throughout Missouri.

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To explain the disparity between advertised and actual savings, the reporter turned to none other than Brian Riedl, lead budget analyst for the Heritage Foundation and upcoming Show-Me Institute speaker. Riedl explained:

“It’s kind of like a parent saying, ‘If you go buy something, I’ll pay the credit card for you.’ And then the kid never goes out and buys it.”

As much as $18 billion of the $38 billion budget cut comes from rescinding previously approved funding allocations for completed projects that came in under budget. In other words, it’s money that was and will never be spent.

For more insight into Washington’s fiscal mess and the games that Congress is playing with the American people, consider attending the seventh installment of the economic policy speaker series cosponsored by the Show-Me Institute, Saint Louis University’s John Cook School of Business, and the Sinquefield Charitable Foundation. On Tuesday, May 3, at 6:30 p.m., Brian Riedl will present a talk, “What Washington Won’t Tell You About the Next Economic Crisis.” The event is free and open to the public, and you can register online.

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Miron’s area of expertise is the economics of libertarianism, with particular emphasis on the economics of illegal drugs. He has served on the faculty at the University of Michigan and as a visiting professor at the Sloan School of Management, M.I.T. and the Department of Economics, Harvard University. From 1992-1998, he was chairman of the Department of Economics at Boston University. He is the author of Drug War Crimes: The Consequences of Prohibition and The Economics of Seasonal Cycles, in addition to numerous op-eds and journal articles. He has been the recipient of an Olin Fellowship from the National Bureau of Economic Research, an Earhart Foundation Fellowship, and a Sloan Foundation Faculty Research Fellowship. Miron received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Swarthmore College in 1979 and a Ph.D. in economics from M.I.T. in 1984.

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The post The Promise and Performance of Charter Schools: Drivers of Educational Improvement in the U.S.? appeared first on Show-Me Institute.

Click here to register online.

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The embedded video below is a playlist consisting of five separate parts. After each individual part has finished playing, the playlist should automatically load the subsequent part until the sequence has finished.

You may also choose to view any individual part on its own:
Part 1 (9:22) | Part 2 (9:20) | Part 3 (9:13) | Part 4 (9:57) | Part 5 (10:01)

During Hoxby's trip to Saint Louis, she also spent a few minutes speaking with the Show-Me Institute about some of the key points contained in her lecture. In this interview, Hoxby explains the benefits of charter schools, outlines the challenges that charter schools currently face, points out the reasons for success in many charters, and more.

The embedded video below is a playlist consisting of two separate parts. After the first part has finished playing, the playlist should automatically load the second part.

You may also choose to view either individual part on its own:
Part 1 (9:08) | Part 2 (7:59)

This same interview can also be viewed in seven separate sections, each addressing a different educational question:

What are the benefits of charter schools?
What are the challenges that charter schools face?
How do traditional public schools and charter schools compare?
What are the reasons that some charter schools succeed?
What constitutes adequate funding for public schools?
What are the current barriers to school choice in the United States?
How does collective bargaining affect quality teacher retention?

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Dr. Hoxby is the Scott and Donya Bommer Professor of Economics at Stanford University, a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, the director of the Economics of Education Program at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and senior fellow of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. It is extremely exciting that a scholar of her prestige will be presenting here in St. Louis, so I encourage all of you to RSVP today!

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Steven D. Levitt is a rock star among economists, a title that would have been an oxymoron a few years ago. The book he co-authored, Freakonomics, has taken economics out from the dark, dusty classroom and into the pop-culture spotlight. To call his work “nontraditional” or “unconventional” would be an understatement. Quite abruptly, Freakonomics has become one of the foundations of an economic education. Repeatedly, I have had professors assign different sections of the book as in-class readings. I cannot recommend this book highly enough to anyone, whether or not they have a background or interest in economics. Then again, I’m posting on a free-market economic think tank blog, so I’m sure those reading this are familiar with Freakonomics.

Since beginning my study of economics at SLU a few years ago, people have suggested I read Freakonomics, but I didn’t take the time to do so till this past summer. Frankly, I wish I had gotten around to reading it sooner. The book analyzes topics I would never have dreamed to associate with economics, such as sumo wrestling results and inner-city gang financing. Levitt successfully shows that there is a transparent economic layer to nearly anything you can imagine. Levitt’s speech on the 23rd promises to be both entertaining and thought-provoking. I could try to predict the topics he will cover, but I believe such an efforts would be in vein. Nothing at this point would surprise me. I would be in a state of euphoria if I heard any official news about the Internet rumors concerning a possible sequel, Superfreakonomics.

If you have not yet read Freakonomics, I highly advise it. Don’t forget to check out the details of the speech, and to register. Be advised that seats are going fast.

The talk will be held Tuesday, September 23rd, an the Anheuser-Busch Auditorium in the lower level of the John Cook School of Business at St. Louis University. I hope to see you there.

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Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? What makes a perfect parent? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? These are questions that Steven D. Levitt asks in his controversial, critically acclaimed book FREAKONOMICS: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. Levitt will expand on his book’s inquisitive premise during an address on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Saint Louis University.

Levitt’s speech is part of the economic policy series presented by the Show-Me Institute in conjunction with Saint Louis University and its John Cook School of Business. He will be the third lecturer in the series, which began earlier this year.

If you, or anybody you know, is interested in attending, be sure to register sooner rather than later. Seating is limited, and we expect that demand will likely exceed supply.

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