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Cooperation’s role in economics

I was recently reminded of a profound truth about the free market and the prices that sit at its center. Unfortunately, this truth is often overlooked by both critics of the market economy and by economists like myself. This simple truth is that the price system works thanks to and only because of a set of institutions that promote cooperation among us. As an economist, I’m accustomed to making the case that free markets, although imperfect, are a better alternative than government intervention. It goes something like this: The free market’s price system, along with competition ...

COVID-19 and Pennsylvania’s tradition of deer hunting

Many of you, like me, look forward to this time of year because we are in the middle of “Hunting Season.” As I write this article, the early inline muzzleloader season for deer is going on, along with archery, and the “rut” has started. And as strange as it may seem to some, in many of our homes it is a time to be with family and friends and to start thinking about the upcoming holidays and deer hunting. Hunting in our area is so much more than harvesting game. Although the thrill of the trophy buck never quite fades and you never forget the “one that got away,” there is so ...

A post-COVID recovery

A friend of mine once described COVID as the gift that keeps on giving. In other words, it can have endless side effects, repercussions, and various annoyances that remind us of when we were initially infected. She was right, and probably more than she ever wanted to be. Some call it “Long COVID,” others call it “COVID Long Haulers.” It affects up to 30% of people who have had COVID. For a long time, people didn’t understand what was happening to them. Why are they still unable to smell or taste for months after getting over the virus? Why is there a non-stop tingling in ...

No carbon taxation without representation? Pennsylvania decides

Pennsylvania voters who played an instrumental role in bringing an overreaching executive to heel during the COVID-19 pandemic will have the opportunity to perform a similar service in the November elections. Presumably, the same voting block that approved constitutional amendments last year limiting their governor’s emergency powers in response to business and school closures would also be inclined to restore checks and balances in other policymaking venues. Since taking executive action to “combat climate change” in October 2019, Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat set to leave office ...

Natural gas solution to many problems

Abundant, reliable, environmentally friendly, economically boosting energy that also enhances our national security and stabilizes the global marketplace. Sounds like a dream, right? But in fact, it’s a reality that is closer than many realize. You don’t have to look farther than the ground under your feet to find the answer in the form of Pennsylvania’s rich natural gas. The Commonwealth’s prolific natural gas reserves have cemented the state’s role as a global energy leader, as Pennsylvania ranks second in the nation in overall production. Here in Bradford County, we ...

Showcasing Pennsylvania’s best

For decades, the annual Pennsylvania Chamber Dinner has been the premier platform for all parties to come together with the Commonwealth’s most influential movers and shakers. This year was no different. On Oct. 3, Pennsylvania’s top business, governmental, and civic leaders gathered at the Hershey Lodge for a mix of politics and policy. The evening’s program highlighted our state’s central role in this year’s national political landscape, celebrated the success that can be accomplished when we work together to move the Commonwealth forward, and hosted conversations with ...