How the Word ‘Liberal’ First Became a Political Adjective
How the Word ‘Liberal’ First Became a Political Adjective
The debate about when “liberal” first acquired a political meaning has been resolved. The answer is the 1770s, when the adjective “liberal” became the name of the policy orientation against government restriction, government monopoly, and protectionism, and in favor of individual liberty, premised by a stable, functional system of governmental authority. This policy orientation was...
By Daniel B. Klein, Erik Matson
Honoring Janice and the Late Robert C. McNair
Honoring Janice and the Late Robert C. McNair
For more than a decade, the late Janice and Robert C. McNair generously supported the McNair Center for Entrepreneurism and Free Enterprise at Northwood University. Their transformative investment reflected a lifelong commitment to education, innovation, and the American spirit of free enterprise. Best known as the founder and longtime leader of the Houston Texans NFL...
McNair Center: President Carter Leaves a Complex Legacy
McNair Center: President Carter Leaves a Complex Legacy
James Earl Carter, Jr., the 39th president of the United States, was a complex figure in American politics. Born Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia, he passed away in the same town on Dec. 29, 2024, at the age of 100. The longest-lived president in U.S. history, Carter’s life epitomized public service and humility, grounded...
By Dr. Timothy Nash
Can We Have Health Care without Health Insurance Companies?
Can We Have Health Care without Health Insurance Companies?
In the aftermath of the senseless murder of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, responsible commentators were quick to condemn the act. “Murder is bad, and so are murderers,” wrote the liberal economist Paul Krugman. “Neither should be celebrated.” But then Krugman went on to offer an admittedly “somewhat … caricatured” view of U.S. health care: “It’s...
By John C. Goodman
Stop Blaming Algorithms: Political Scapegoats Won’t Fix Housing Problems
Stop Blaming Algorithms: Political Scapegoats Won’t Fix Housing Problems
According to an issue brief recently released by the Council of Economic Advisers, dynamic pricing algorithms are reducing competition in the housing market. The brief’s authors contend that landlords who use these algorithms tacitly collude to raise prices above competitive levels, leaving renters worse off. This argument and others like it are part of a...
By Bryan P. Cutsinger
Get Ready for 2026: The Philadelphia Declaration and Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary.
Get Ready for 2026: The Philadelphia Declaration and Celebrating America’s 250th Anniversary.
Is that a misprint in the title? Didn’t I mean 2025, you ask? No, I meant 2026. Everybody knows that New Year’s resolutions often come in one year and then out another. But if there’s one above all that I hope you will make this week and keep, it is this: Start getting involved in...
By Lawrence W. Reed
Top 10 True North Articles of 2024: Exploring Free Enterprise and Liberty
Top 10 True North Articles of 2024: Exploring Free Enterprise and Liberty
As America’s Free Enterprise University, Northwood University proudly powers True North, a free-market connector fostering dialogue on freedom, economics, and limited government. This year, readers gravitated toward thought-provoking articles exploring policy impacts, economic insights, and societal shifts. Here are the top 10 most popular reads of 2024: 1. 7 Ridiculous Examples of Government Waste in...
By Kate Hessling
DOGE: A Classical Vision for Government Reform in 2025 and Beyond
DOGE: A Classical Vision for Government Reform in 2025 and Beyond
McNair Director Dr. Timothy G. Nash co-authored this piece for Townhall with Bob Thomas, COO of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Thomas Rastin, a retired business executive from Ohio, and Anthony Storer, a McNair student scholar at Northwood University.
By Dr. Timothy Nash
What to Expect from D.O.G.E.
What to Expect from D.O.G.E.
Making predictions in today’s political climate is a fool’s errand. In fact, earlier this year I made perhaps the worst prediction of my career thus far when I wrote for another publication that I expected that the June 27th presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump would do little to move the needle,...
By Brady Leonard
Denmark Passes the World’s First ‘Fart Tax’—But This is No Laughing Matter
Denmark Passes the World’s First ‘Fart Tax’—But This is No Laughing Matter
Denmark, according to The New York Times, is going ahead with its livestock “Burp Tax.” Though hotly contested, the Danish government has nevertheless finally settled on levying farmers 300 kroners (~$43) per ton for carbon dioxide emissions, ramping to $106 per ton by 2035. As is the case with many of these farm-targeted green interventions,...
By Paul Schwennesen
5 Absurd Examples of Government Waste in 2024
5 Absurd Examples of Government Waste in 2024
Defenders of fiscal sanity have received quite a surprise with Trump’s new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). For the first time in what seems like forever, complaining about government waste has almost become…cool. To all of the newcomers to this issue, we’d like to extend a warm welcome. Whether it was the DOGE hype or...
By Patrick Carroll
Hayek’s Nobel—50 Years Later
Hayek’s Nobel—50 Years Later
Fifty years ago, Friedrich Hayek and Karl Gunnar Myrdal won the Nobel prize “for their pioneering work in the theory of money and economic fluctuations and for their penetrating analysis of the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena.” Hayek’s Nobel is notable for several reasons, and each relates to the importance of intellectual humility....
By Peter Jacobsen
Study: Michigan is Pizza Capital of the U.S. (and World?)
Study: Michigan is Pizza Capital of the U.S. (and World?)
Michigan is the pizza capital of the United States and, quite possibly, the world, according to a new report from the McNair Center for Free Enterprise at Northwood University and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. The study, Michigan: The Unlikely Pizza Capital of the United States (and the World?), analyzes the size and scope of...
By Kate Hessling
The Economic Consequences of Populism
The Economic Consequences of Populism
In May 1938, or the ninth year of the Great Depression, a minister in Columbia County, Pennsylvania cast about for a sermon topic. In the past the minister, C.R. Ness, had spoken to the members of North Berwick Evangelical Church on a variety of themes: Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, the healing power of Jesus....