Change or Spin Our Wheels

It has been difficult to gather my thoughts this past few months.  The virus and the bombardment of negative propaganda from both political parties have drained my energy.  The state and federal political races have become even more toxic than in the past, and more expensive as well (I wonder what the unemployed and marginalized […]

The Role of Business in the Post-Pandemic World

In this world of misinformation that we live in, it is easy to believe those that claim that life will return to “normal” once the pandemic is controlled.  I argue the contrary; the post-pandemic world we will collectively construct will represent a new reality for all humans in this planet.  This new era will inevitably […]

A Marshall Plan for the Global Economy?

By the time American citizens hunkered down as a result of the pandemic, back in late March 2020, our economy was booming and unemployment rates were historically low, oscillating around three percent.  We were not the only economy in this trajectory, the global economy was, for the most part, heading in a similar direction.  After […]

Goodbye Economic Blocs and Welcome Nationalism

One of the structural adjustments that resulted from the globalization of the market was the establishment of regional economic trade blocs designed to expand the consumer market, strengthen business capabilities and reduce the production costs of international businesses.  New complex supply chains emerged among trade bloc members, as well as new nation-to-nation partnerships that, overtime, […]

The New Realities of Globalization Under COVID-19

The last day when I met with my students, prior to shifting my classes to an online format as a result of COVID-19, I reminded them about our first week’s conversation; that the experiment of globalization of the past thirty plus years had intertwined societies, economies, government and natural environments across the globe, and that […]

Maine and its Marijuana Market

This blog was originally posted on Points: The Blog of the Alcohol & Drugs History Society. Back in November of 2016 the people of Maine voted in favor of a referendum that legalized medical and recreational marijuana.  The medical marijuana market took off quickly, but recreational marijuana regulatory structures slowed down the process for those interested […]

Welcome China: How Things have Changed Since McCarthyism

Seventy years ago the nation was engulfed in the paranoia of McCarthyism; the “Second Red Scare” reminded Americans that there was no room for communism in the United States.  It is ironic that, today, the American economy is incrementally dependent on China, a country with a communist government and a market-driven economy.  This outcome, incrementally […]

Global-Local Dilemma of the NBA

The recent public relations dilemma faced by the National Basketball Association (NBA) after Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey’s pro-democracy tweet, earlier in October, revealed the internal conflict currently experienced by the NBA as it transitions from a local to a global product.  Basketball games, the epicenter of the show, at the end represents the […]

The Local-Global Dynamics of Salmon

While media focuses on the Tariff War between the United States and China, locally, Nordic Aquafarms, faces non-tariff protectionism that hinders the economic development of Belfast, and for that matter the State of Maine.  We are not talking about non-tariff protectionist strategies such as import quotas, licensing requirements or robust government procurement regulations, but environmental […]