When Free to Choose

When Free to Choose is the signature publication of Northwood University. It is dedicated to promoting the global, diverse and multi-cultural nature of enterprise. Bringing lessons of the American free enterprise society directly to your inbox or mailbox, When Free to Choose features informative essays about timely issues and events, and thought-provoking point-counterpoint essays written by industry experts, faculty, scholars and researchers.

Families manage their budgets. Why can’t the federal government do the same?

Editor’s note: This piece was co-authored by Andrew Reder, a student from Northwood University. It originally was published on TownHall. As we have been discussing for months, the United States ended its “job recovery” from the COVID-19 recession in December 2022, when it finally surpassed the December 2019 level (158.8 million Americans employed) reaching 159.24...

By Dr. Timothy Nash

Right to Repair is a no-brainer for business

It’s hard to find someone these days who hasn’t heard about Right to Repair. Right to repair is the concept that consumers should have the right to repair the products they own and also have access to repair information and replacement parts from manufacturers. Right to repair spans major industries, including phones, computers, agriculture equipment,...

By Bill Hanvey

Online course shares Northwood Idea with all

American institutions were designed to secure for all citizens their natural rights to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This gave rise to the world’s most dynamic economy and a well-deserved reputation as the “land of opportunity.” At about the time Northwood was founded, President Dwight D. Eisenhower observed, “only our individual faith in...

By Dr. Dale Matcheck

A Student Voice: A fiscal system that punishes success and rewards failure

The two most important lessons one can learn in economics are: “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” and “Incentives matter.” In a world of scarcity, every choice we make has an opportunity cost. As rational beings, every one of us is trying to achieve the best outcomes under the current constraints. Frederic Bastiat...

By Kristin Tokarev

‘TELL AMERICA WHAT SHOULD BE DONE TO FIGHT INFLATION’

The following is a recent discussion between U.S. Congresswoman Lisa C. McClain, Northwood University Economics department chair Dr. Dale C. Matcheck and Dr. Timothy G. Nash, director of the McNair Center for the Advancement of Free Enterprise and Entrepreneurship at Northwood University. The conversation centered around recent comments by U.S. Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) chairman,...

By U.S. Congresswoman Lisa McClain, Dr. Dale Matcheck, Dr. Timothy Nash

Timeless Values: The Poor as First Victims of the Welfare State

The Northwood Idea is vibrant and adaptive in a world of change, and its fundamental principles are timeless. Under any circumstances, personal freedom and individual responsibility are essential for a free society. So it is illustrative to examine some of the most compelling expressions of The Northwood Idea that great thinkers have contributed through the...

By Dr. Walter Williams

Winning Freedom Requires Radical Laissez-Faire Capitalist Solutions

What passes for ‘deregulation’ or market-based reform has limited connection with any call for a truly laissez-faire capitalist United States.

By Dr. Richard M. Ebeling

A Student Voice: Homeschooling is a right that shouldn’t be denied through over-regulation

Parents know better than anyone what is best for their children.

By Andrew Reder

Poem : I Belong

NOTE: A version of this poem was published in the November 2021 edition of When Free To Choose. The definition of belonging is an affinity for a place or situation. As I look around my campus day after day, I meet new people, I see new faces and I embrace different personalities. What...

By Daniel Wynn

The Changing Role of Government and Entrepreneurship in America

NOTE: A version of this essay was published in the November 2021 edition of When Free To Choose. On April 23, 1910, at the Sorbonne in Paris, America’s 26th President, Theodore Roosevelt, delivered his celebrated speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic.” A famous passage of Roosevelt’s address is known as “The Man in the Arena.”...

By Dr. Timothy Nash

Individualism and Freedom: Vital Pillars of True Communities

NOTE: A version of this essay was published in the October 2021 edition of When Free To Choose. Individualism is the view that each person has moral significance and certain rights that are either of divine origin or inherent in human nature. Each individual exists, perceives, experiences, thinks, and acts in and through his own...

By Dr. Edward W. Younkins

American Institute for Economic Research : The Soviet Union Is Gone, but the Young Yearn for Socialism

NOTE: This is an excerpted version of an essay published on the Institute’s website on Aug. 16, 2021. This August marked the 30th anniversary of the beginning of the end to the Soviet Union. During August 19-21, 1991, hardline members of the Soviet Communist Party and the KGB attempted a coup d’état in Moscow to...

By Dr. Richard M. Ebeling

A Student Voice: We Have Everything We Need to Succeed

NOTE: A version of this essay was published in the September 2021 edition of When Free To Choose. Returning to campus for the fall 2021 semester felt different but amazing. As a current DeVos Graduate School student, this is my fifth year at Northwood University, and every year the Timberwolf community continues to impress me....

By Taylor Timoszyk

Perhaps: A story of the operations side of the supply chain

NOTE: A version of this essay was published in the September 2021 edition of When Free To Choose. As we know, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected supply chains on many fronts. Recapping them now would be rehashing information we have all read about or experienced in some way. In addition, the Association of Supply Chain...

By Todd Brundrett