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We hope you enjoy these news stories about TFAS activities, alumni and events this week. Sign up to receive TFAS updates, and visit us on social media for additional up-to-the-moment TFAS news!
30 Years Ago, The Tyrannical Soviet Union Disintegrated, Ending The Cold War
December 26 marked the 30th anniversary of the collapse of the Soviet Union. TFAS President Roger Ream ’76 commemorated the event with an op-ed recalling the progress former Soviet bloc countries have made since then and highlighting the precarity of the present. Despite a brief foray into democratic practices immediately after the fall, Russia today “has turned its back on free elections, the rule of law, and a free market….”
Furthermore, though many countries formerly under the authoritarian rule of the Soviet Union turned to the West and implemented democratic norms, some have reverted to old ways. Ream calls out Belarus and Hungary in particular for their experiments with authoritarianism and socialism, calling attention to the fact that the fight for freedom never ceases.
“This much is clear,” Ream says. “While the Cold War may have ended, the fight for freedom – in Europe, in the former Soviet Union, even here in the United States – is never over. It is a battle for hearts and minds that must be waged year after year, generation after generation.”
Read the full article in The Federalist.
Government Spending and the Continued Importance of Economic Education
Ted Tucker, executive director of TFAS high school division, The Foundation for Teaching Economics (FTE), opined for the Washington Examiner on the disastrous effects of the federal government’s continued refusal to acknowledge economic realities. The federal debt continues to rise, unabated by Congress’ repeated decisions to raise the debt ceiling. This has implications in both the macro- and microeconomic realms.
This can all be exceedingly difficult to understand, and many Americans lack the economic literacy to determine what these things mean for their everyday lives. TFAS and FTE noticed these alarming trends and decided to develop a new curriculum, “Making Sense of the Federal Budget, Debt & Deficits,” to help.
“This curriculum unit brings a rational, measured analysis to help educators better teach these terms and the implications of each for our country and our economy,” Tucker explained. “It uses the economic way of thinking to provide students with a better understanding of the incentives, costs, and benefits of the respective spending choices facing U.S. policymakers.”
Teaching the economic way of thinking is TFAS’s specialty, and this new program incorporates it into each lesson. Due to the challenges brought on by the pandemic, FTE uncovered several unanticipated benefits of virtual learning. Tucker wrote an op-ed on the subject earlier this year, published by eSchool News. As their eighth most read article of the year, the educational outlet recently republished the story.
Read the full article on the new FTE course online at the Washington Examiner.
Capitalism and Business Leaders Propel our Society Towards a Prosperous Future
Roger Ream picked up the pen again to opine on the value of the business sector. He says it’s time to focus on the positive when it comes to business. Although capitalism has gotten a bad rap from young people, Ream says it’s time to remember: business is a good thing.
In a new op-ed in The Washington Times, Ream reminds readers to think about what free markets and capitalism have done to improve society and the human condition. From Google to Amazon to Coca Cola, Ream highlights examples of how businesses help us trade goods and services, cure illnesses and share information.
These truths are ignored in a recent trend among young people to be “anti-work” and exist in a world where handouts are more desirable than hard work.
“Young people being idealistic and wanting to make their country and the world a better place is nothing new,” Ream writes. “But when it comes to jobs in businesses, today’s cultural narrative almost exclusively focuses on the negative: work-life balance, burnout, mental health concerns, risks at the workplace, and record numbers of people quitting their jobs.
Ream continues by offering more examples of what good capitalism can do.
Read the full article in The Washington Times.
Post of the Week
TFAS Outreach Fellow Jorge Galicia visits with students on campus at University of Illinois Chicago on his tour to spread the truth of how socialism destroyed his home country.
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QUICK LINKS
TFAS Vice President of Academic Affairs and George and Sally Mayer Fellow for Economic Education Dr. Anne Bradley opined for Eurasia Review on the economic costs and consequences of inflation.
TFAS Public Policy Board of Visitors member Erik Hotmire joined the merged Finsbury Glover Hering and Sard Verbinnen as their managing director.
Claire Alfree ’21 was featured in the Huntingdon Daily News for her achievement as the 2021 JoAnne Day Student of the Year in the liberal arts category by the Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Employers (PennACE).
Anthony Papageorgiou, Law ’21, recently began an internship at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania at the U.S. Department of Justice.
Tricia Beck-Peter ’15 has been promoted to alumni and outreach manager at American Institute for Economic Research (AIER).
Bryce Mitchell ’14 reviews the book “Empire and Righteous Nation: 600 Years of China-Korea Relations” in The Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs.
Kenny Xu, Novak ’21, shares his concerns about wokeness in the Salvation Army in an article for The Wall Street Journal.
Anthony Elghossain ’07 writes for Newlines Institute about the continuing crisis in Lebanon and provides suggestions for U.S. leaders on how to help provoke real change.
Faith Bottum, Rago ’21, details the history of the Christmas tree in a piece for The Wall Street Journal.
Jason Willick, Novak ’17, and Elliot Kaufman, Rago ’18, are featured in a Stanford Magazine article on accomplished alumni in the journalism realm.
Deganit Paikowsky ’04 writes about Russia testing its anti-satellite weapons to get ahead of the possible regulation of space weapons in Foreign Policy.
Benjamin Dierker, PPF ’18, has his own column on infrastructure policy in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Elise Amez-Droz, PPF ’19, coauthors a piece on protecting healthcare from government intrusion for National Interest.
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