Current Events

Lowell Week in Review: September 14, 2014

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…

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“Happy?” by John Edward

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…

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‘The Mills Weren’t Made of Marble’: Lead Editorial, NYTimes, Labor Day, 1992

Since the mid-1970s, Lowell has been the subject of many regional, national, and global media reports (newspaper, magazine, radio, TV, and web) because of its distinctive national park and award-winning urban revitalization rooted in the preservation and celebration of its industrial, architectural, natural, and cultural heritage. The late Dr. Patrick…

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Fat Dumb and Happy

 John Edward teaches economics at Bentley and UMass Lowell. He’s a frequent contributor of columns on economic issues. Here is his latest: America is the land of opportunity, isn’t it? Free-market capitalism, I thought, is the prevailing economic regime. Economics is the science of incentives. Profit is the ultimate incentive.…

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