Professor Striner's Maverick Fix for Nation's Economic Malaise is Cover of PBK Quarterly

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Washington College history professor Richard Striner’s proposal for fixing the U.S. economy is the cover story of the Winter 2012 issue of American Scholar, the quarterly magazine published by the Phi Beta Kappa Society. His historically rooted pitch: Congress could create money, as it did during the Civil War, funding public projects that shock the economy back to life.

Striner, a Lincoln scholar whose 2010 book Lincoln's Way explored the use of broad presidential powers under six Administrations, says his research for that book piqued his interest in monetary policy, especially how the United States financed its wars and used major public works projects to boost employment. The son of an economist, he delved into U.S. monetary history from the Civil War forward. His proposal may be heresy to some, he notes, but a number of well-respected economists were saying much the same thing back in the 1930s and ’40s.

Striner’s proposal is different from any previous “Greenback” proposal because he envisions a dynamic partnership between Congress and the Federal Reserve—a partnership that would use all of the existing powers of “the Fed” to prevent or counteract inflation.

“I’m hoping this proposal will stimulate a major reconceptualization of what money is,” Striner says. “Most Americans have no idea of how our money supply is created or how money enters circulation, because the subject is hardly ever explained in vivid language that the general public can understand. This article, among its other aims, seeks to rectify that situation.”

To read the article online, visit http://theamericanscholar.org/how-to-pay-for-what-we-need/.

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November 30, 2011

America 2002: Pete Du Pont Shares Views On The Economic And Political State Of The Nation April 9th

Chestertown, MD, March 25, 2002 — The William James Forum at Washington College is pleased to present "AMERICA 2002," a lecture by former Delaware governor and columnist, the Honorable Pete du Pont, on the current economic and political state of the nation. The talk will be held Tuesday, April 9, 2002, at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Du Pont is currently policy chairman of the National Center for Policy Analysis, a public policy analysis organization that promotes free enterprise and conservative governmental policies, and contributes a regular column — "Outside the Box" — to www.opinionjournal.com, the editorial page website of The Wall Street Journal. He has served as a state legislator, U.S. Congressman, governor, and in 1988 was a Republican candidate for President of the United States. He is a director in the Wilmington, DE, law firm of Richards, Layton & Finger.

Du Pont began his political career in 1968 with his election to the House of Representatives of the Delaware General Assembly. Next, he spent six years in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1970-1976. He was a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and in 1975 was picked by Time magazine as one of America's "200 Faces for the Future." In l976, du Pont entered the race for Delaware governor against the Democratic incumbent and won what was then considered a landslide victory. He was re-elected in 1980 to a second term, winning a record 71 percent of the vote and becoming the first Delaware governor reelected in 20 years. During his tenure as Delaware's Governor, du Pont was known for his financial integrity and fiscal conservatism, signing into law two income tax reduction measures and a constitutional amendment that restrained future tax increases and limited government spending. In selecting him as one of the "Delawareans of the Century," the Wilmington News Journal said, "He set the stage for prosperity. As Delaware's governor, du Pont revived [the] business climate."

In 1996, du Pont co-founded IntellectualCapital.com, a weekly on-line public policy journal featuring the leading ideas of renowned public policy thinkers. He served as editor of this e-zine and bylined his own column until its sale in 2000. In October 1999, Newsstation.com named du Pont as one of the "50 best, most important, and most influential journalists on the Internet." Du Pont served as Chairman of the Hudson Institute from 1985-1987 and the National Review Institute from 1994-1997.

Rivlin To Address Dilemmas Of Successful Capitalism March 25th

Chestertown, MD, March 19, 2002 — The Goldstein Program in Public Affairs and the William James Forum as part of the Women In Science Lecture Series present "DILEMMAS OF SUCCESSFUL CAPITALISM," a lecture by Dr. Alice Rivlin, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies Brookings Institution, on Monday, March 25 at 4:00 p.m. in Washington College's Norman James Theatre. The public is invited to attend.

Dr. Rivlin has a long and distinguished career in economics in both the public and private sectors. Dr. Rivlin has served as Director and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget during the Clinton Administration, founding Director of the Congressional Budget Office, serving from 1975 to 1983, Chair of the District of Columbia Financial Management Assistance Authority, and Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Dr. Rivlin also served as Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Coordination at HEW.

A recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Foundation Prize Fellowship, Dr. Rivlin has taught at Harvard and George Mason University. She earned a Ph.D. in economics from Radcliffe College in 1958. A member of the boards of directors for several corporations, she is a past President of the American Economic Society. Dr. Rivlin has written numerous books, the most recent of which is "Reviving the American Dream." She is a frequent contributor to newspapers, magazines and journals, and currently serves as Director of Economic Studies for the Washington, D.C.-based Brookings Institution.

Dr. Rivlin's visit is sponsored by Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, named in honor of the late Louis L. Goldstein, the College's former Chairman of the Board of Visitors and Governors, a 1935 alumnus, and Maryland's longest-serving elected official. The Goldstein Program sponsors lecture series, symposia, visiting fellows, travel and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders experienced in developing public policy.