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Michael W. Kruse
Kansas City, MO
Socioeconomist and economic development nerd.
Interests: history, digital photography, writing, technology, soccer, baseball, emerging culture, road trips, economic issues, urban hiking
Recent Activity
The Middle Class is Disappearing ... Into the Upper Class
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U.S. Census Bureau recently released time-series data on household income. All data in the following chart is pegged to 2010 dollars, meaning it is adjusted for inflation - a dollar in 1970 buys the same as a dollar in 2020.... Continue reading
Posted Jun 8, 2022 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: The Demise of Democracy and the Rise of Authoritarianism
In this month's installment, Allan Bevere and I reflect on the rise of authoritarianism in recent years. "Democracy is receding in the world and authoritarianism is on the rise. Why is this? What is authoritarianism and what are the circumstances... Continue reading
Posted May 9, 2022 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: Climate Change, Yea or Nay?
Allan and I discuss the issue of human-caused climate change, the realities and the economic complexities in dealing with it, and how Scripture informs us on creation care. Continue reading
Posted Apr 9, 2022 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: Free Speech and Cancel Culture
In this month's installment of Calmly Considered, Allan Bevere and I discuss free speech, cancel culture, and the complexities of political engagement in a pluralistic society. Continue reading
Posted Feb 17, 2022 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: Scarcity or Abundance-- Which Is Our World?
Last month, Dr. Allan Bevere and I got together to discuss the nuances of "scarcity and abundance" from theological perspectives. Too often people from the two fields talk past each other with unfair characterizations on this topic. Our conversation hopefully... Continue reading
Posted Feb 4, 2022 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: Global Living Conditions-- Better or Worse?
Are global living conditions getting better or worse? There are three simultaneous truths: Living conditions are awful for a great many. Living conditions are better than they ever have been, by far. Living conditions can be improved and the trajectory... Continue reading
Posted Dec 22, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: Immigration-- The Biblical Witness and Current Challenges
Immigration is a complex topic. Unfortunately, our public discourse produces much more heat than light on the topic. Allan Bevere and I recently had a conversation that only skims the topic, but maybe it will provide some food for thought... Continue reading
Posted Dec 3, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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The Future of Black-Owned Enterprises
The rate of Black entrepreneurship has always been lower than for other communities due to systemic and overt racism over past generations. This CNBC piece does a good job explaining the ongoing obstacles faced by Black-owned enterprises. Continue reading
Posted Nov 18, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: How The Church Fails Businesspeople
Last week, I participated with Allan Bevere in a discussion centered on John Knapp's book "How The Church Fails Businesspeople (And What Can Be Done About It)." Discussion focuses on integrating our faith and working lives, with reflection on why... Continue reading
Posted Nov 2, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: Race in America-- History, Story, and Changing Faces
This is the latest installment in Calmly Considered, hosted by Allan Bevere. This month we are talking about racism in America. We barely skimmed the surface of the topic as would be expected in a one-hour discussion. Hopefully, our conversation... Continue reading
Posted Sep 16, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: Socialism vs. Capitalism-- Getting Beyond the Memes
"In this month's episode of "Calmly Considered" Michael Kruse and I discuss the complex realities of socialism and capitalism that are so often distorted by simplistic social media memes, caricatures, and politicians seeking re-election." Thanks to Allan Bevere for hosting... Continue reading
Posted Aug 12, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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The World Is Becoming A Better Place To Live For Most People
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The great majority of people throughout most of human history have precariously been able to subsist. (See Level 1 below.) A great divergence began just over two centuries ago. Global life expectancy at birth has more than doubled and abject... Continue reading
Posted Jul 23, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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New Voting Laws and Critical Race Theory
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New voting laws around the country are not a response to voter fraud. How do we know? Because there is no credible evidence of consequential voter fraud anywhere in the country. The new voting laws are in response to voter... Continue reading
Posted Jul 19, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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Calmly Considered: Economics, the New Testament, and the 21st Century (in podcast & videocast)
This is the first installment of a once-monthly series called Calmly Considered, in which Allan Bevere and I will be discussing topics related to faith and economics. In this episode, we discuss Peter Oakes' Empire, Economics, and the New Testament.... Continue reading
Posted Jul 13, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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Globalization. Its Passing Has Been Greatly Exaggerated
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From researchers Steven A. Altman and Phillip Bastian: Despite recent trade turbulence, the ratio of gross exports to world GDP is still remarkably close to its all-time high. Even after falling from a peak of 32% in 2008 to 29%... Continue reading
Posted Mar 11, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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How to Increase Intergenerational Mobility
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Intergenerational mobility is low in the US. Economist Timothy Taylor discusses findings from a recent study that investigates how we might make improvements: Intergenerational Mobility and Neighborhood Effects. The unique study incorporates 20.5 million Americans and enables them to analyze... Continue reading
Posted Mar 9, 2021 at Kruse Kronicle
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Confederate Monuments Are A Rewrite of History, Not A Remembrance
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Confederate monuments were the product of a campaign to rewrite history, not to preserve it. There were few Confederate monuments in the thirty years after the Civil War ended in 1865. Placement of monuments came in two waves, the first... Continue reading
Posted Jun 20, 2020 at Kruse Kronicle
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The Numbers And Economics Of COVID-19
Last Thursday, Dr. Allan Bevere interviewed me about my thoughts on the coronavirus pandemic and the economic costs. Thanks for an enjoyable time, Allan. Be sure to follow his blog Allan R. Bevere, Faith Seeking Understanding. Continue reading
Posted May 11, 2020 at Kruse Kronicle
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COVID-19 Is Not Just The Flu
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In mid-April, Bill Bennett said COIVD-19 is no big deal. Projections showed 60,000 deaths, about the same as the flu. Our stringent "stay-at-home" measures were unnecessary. It is faulty reasoning on several counts. As I noted of Facebook, “We didn’t... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2020 at Kruse Kronicle
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Billionaires do NOT pay an overall tax rate lower than the bottom 50%.
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Two months ago, the New York Times uncritically ran an article claiming billionaires pay lower tax rates than the bottom half of American earners. (I see this and related pieces circulated by my progressive friends.) The unsubstantiated and yet to... Continue reading
Posted Dec 10, 2019 at Kruse Kronicle
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The Keynesian Revolution and Our Empty Economy: We're All Dead - Book Review
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The Keynesian Revolution and Our Empty Economy: We're All Dead (Quotes are from the e-book version.) Is economics value-free? Can it be? Economics emerged alongside other social sciences in the nineteenth century, aspiring to apply the scientific method to the... Continue reading
Posted Nov 6, 2019 at Kruse Kronicle
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Maternal Mortality Rates Are 27 Times Higher Globally Than In Europe. Why That Is A Good Thing
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The chart below is based on maternal mortality rates, the number of women per 100,000 who die from pregnancy-related causes in a year. The first bar shows how many women die each year while the second bar shows how many... Continue reading
Posted Oct 16, 2019 at Kruse Kronicle
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Why Population Control Is Not The Answer to Climate Change
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Population control is sometimes championed as a way to fight climate change. Bernie Sanders recently raised this idea. The world population is growing. There are 7.7 billion people today. There will be nearly 11 billion in 2100, according to United... Continue reading
Posted Oct 1, 2019 at Kruse Kronicle
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Global Childhood Deaths In Steep Decline
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Worldwide, there were 12.6 million deaths for children under five years old in 1990. As of 2017, there were 5.4 million. Keep in mind that the world population grew by 50% during this time. Had death rates continued at the... Continue reading
Posted Aug 9, 2019 at Kruse Kronicle
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Our ancestors did not live in balance with nature. They died in balance with it.
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One of most important observations (among many) from the late Hans Roslings’ Factfulness: When a population is not growing over a long period of time, and the population curve is flat, this must mean that each generation of new parents... Continue reading
Posted Aug 1, 2019 at Kruse Kronicle
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