Author Archives: The Disgruntled Economist

The Green New Deal. Love it. Hate it. Either way, it is certainly not the first of its kind. “Forestry on the Great Plains, 1902-1942,” written by Professor R. Douglas Hurt, details the development of something you probably never learned about in history class: trees in Kansas. You might know there aren’t many of them,Continue reading “Review: Forestry on the Great Plains”

The Army of the Potomac was the main fighting force of the Union army in the Civil War. It was the army that forced General Robert E. Lee to surrender at Appomattox in 1865. While that army is dead and gone, its efforts relegated to history textbooks and war memorials, a new blue-colored army nowContinue reading “The Army of the Potomac”

Sugar, anyone? Coffee, tea, cake, or candy? Sugar is an innocuous, legal cocaine for the American consumer. Well, sort of. In all, the average American eats over 57 pounds of added sugar each year, and it’s pretty addictive. But where does it all come from? Not all of that amount is cane or beet sugar,Continue reading “One lump or two?”

I’ve never been to prison as a criminal, but I had the opportunity to participate in a jail tour last summer as part of my job as a legal assistant. It wasn’t particularly appealing. The ceilings in the guard towers were low, the inmates were rowdy, and the building was a collection of concrete, cameras,Continue reading “Reforming Private Prisons”