Football and Violence in America

Is it a coincidence football has become the America’s most popular sport at the same time there is a increase in gun violence in the United States? In a now famous monologue comparing football and baseball, the late George Carlin closes with the following: In football the object is for the quarterback, also known as … Read more

Hoarders versus Spenders

  During the 2012 presidential election, there was much talk by Republicans about “makers” and “takers.” The essence of the their argument was that the wealthy were job creators while those on any kind of public assistance were not contributing to the economy. If the success of the US economy is dependent on consumption, perhaps … Read more

Who are these so-called REAL PEOPLE?

  If you’ve been watching news programs lately, maybe you noticed there is an increasing need for reporters to talk to “real people.” For example, to get opinions about a topic of the day, the reporter will tell us, “We asked real people what they think?” Who else would they talk to? Artificial people? Animals? … Read more

Who Said This?

During the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement, many opponents argued that the participants were un-American. They did not  believe in capitalism. And reveled in the drop in stock values associated with the 2008 recession. On the morning of November 30, 2011, I saw a headline on CNBC.COM titled “Hedge Funds Drop Stocks.” In … Read more

Origins of Deprogramming 101

When I retired as the Cintas Professor of Entrepreneurship at Miami University in December 2011, one reason for the decision was a desire to explore questions and issues without the pressures of academic deadlines and requirements. In my final lecture, I provided the following examples. What is the correlation between Congressional inaction and the increase … Read more