The Other Kind of Safety Net We Keep Forgetting
When we talk about safety nets in America, the conversation almost always swings back to money. Retirement accounts, emergency savings, insurance policies, college funds; we build them,…
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Susu: A Time-Honored Tradition of Community Lending
In the modern economic landscape, one where credit scores and bank loans are the go-to ways to get financial help, there’s a system that has been around…
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The Man Who Didn’t Starve
The man knew how to fix a roof. Not beautifully, but well enough it didn’t leak. He could wire a house without burning it down. He could…
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The Question of a Life Unshackled
I have often wondered why a man, when given the choice, so often chooses to be a beast of burden. It is not that he delights in…
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The Tower of Babel and the Rebellion of the Clever
We read in the book of Genesis a brief, almost cryptic story about a tower reaching toward heaven. Traditionally, it has been taken as a fable about…
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The Fire Between the Sparks
Creativity is more than making something, it is sharing the act of becoming. Creativity is not a thing. Nor is it the making of a thing. It…
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Let’s Get Back to Our Roots
In the years since World War II, a slow but deliberate shift has taken place. Once, Americans prided themselves on self-sufficiency. They built their own homes, repaired…
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The Case for a Moral Economy
There was a time, not so long ago, when the economy wore a human face. When you bought your vegetables from a man whose name you knew,…
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“Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez – a review
Few personal finance books transcend the genre to become something larger than a ledger of savings strategies and investment tips. Your Money or Your Life is one…
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The Weight of Need: On Helplessness and the Crushing of the Soul
To be chronically needy is not simply to lack; it is to be placed in a position of spiritual collapse. It is not merely hunger, nor solely…