John Edward teaches economics at Bentley and UMass Lowell. He’s a frequent contributor of columns on economic issues. Imagine a new video has gone viral. In the video, a CEO announces he is issuing a share-the-wealth challenge to fellow executives. He lifts a bucket over a railing and dumps the…
The BBC is reporting that the Scottish Independence Referendum lost with 55% voting no and 45% voting yes. My interest in this process increased as election day grew near, not because I was committed to one side or the other but because of the rare phenomenon of a country (possibly)…
The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. I’m with Karl Rove, at least on this: Condoleezza Rice should replace Roger Goodell as head of the National Football League. Goodell has been a toady for the owners, who get fat profits from leaving the game just…
The 3rd annual Mill City Grows Harvest Festival will take place this coming Saturday, September 20, from 1 pm to 5 pm at Rotary Club Park, 10 Chase Street in Lowell. The festival will feature all kinds of events, demonstrations and entertainment. It’s a great event organized by an organization…
The following is an excerpt from Mill Power: The Origin and Impact of Lowell National Historical Park, my book just published last week by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This passage is the conclusion of Chapter Five, “The Economics of Heritage,” which spells out the economic benefits that have been derived…
The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons-Barron’s own blog. The domino theory, used by the United States to justify military intervention in Vietnam, has always been fallible. In Southeast Asia, neighboring Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy. Thailand is a parliamentary (if unstable) democracy. The Indonesian archipelago is a republic. But…
18th Middlesex Representative Race Shortly after 9 am yesterday Erik Gitschier, Lowell’s new water department head and until two weeks ago a member of the Greater Lowell Regional School Committee appeared on my front porch to leave a flyer for Fred Bahou, the unenrolled candidate for the 18th Middlesex Representative…
John Edward teaches economics at Bentley and UMass Lowell. He’s a frequent contributor of columns on economic issues. The gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our…
The entry below is being cross posted from Marjorie Arons Barron’s own blog. Check it out too. The Y chromosome was in short supply among top winners in yesterday’s primary. The result is that party candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer, attorney general and, in my home county, district attorney…
Thanks to Eileen Loucraft for sharing the following about the Hood Smokestack on Thorndike Street that was damaged by lightning over the weekend: Since the lightning strike in Lowell last night damaging the Hood smokestack on Thorndike Street at the former C.I. Hood patent medicine plant I thought I’d explain…