This speech by David Morris was originally presented at a conference entitled “Growing Equity: Assets and Opportunities for Communities Left Behind,” hosted by the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, D.C., on December 4, 1997.… Read More
Here Comes the Sun by David Morris November 18, 1997 – published in St. Paul Pioneer Press When President Clinton announced his Million Solar Roofs Initiative on June 26th, the farsighted people at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District(SMUD) probably wondered what had taken him so long. Back in 1993, SMUD announced its own solar roof initiative. … Read More
Too Bitter a Pill To Swallow by Pam Neary Institute for Local Self-Reliance November 13, 1997 Too many of our elected officials are old enough to have loved Mary Poppins as a child. The have apparently taken to heart her musical refrain, “just a spoonfull of sugar makes the medicine go down.” Having determined that fan-ownership … Read More
Community Ownership Only Play Left in Playbook by David Morris November 4, 1997 – published in St. Paul Pioneer Press So, here we are sports fans. Fourteen months after Governor Carlson announced the formation of a powerful coalition to lobby for a publicly financed sports stadium for the Minnesota Twins, five months after the legislature resoundingly … Read More
When Money Usurps Economy, Something Is Seriously Wrong by David Morris October 21, 1997 – published in St. Paul Pioneer Press Some 10,000 years ago, the human species invented money as a medium-of-exchange. Barter had outlived its capacity to deal with increasing trade. Money lubricated commerce. And when commerce crossed borders, an exchange of currencies took … Read More
Via Free Trade, Megabusiness Overthrowing Citizenry by David Morris October 7, 1997 – published in St. Paul Pioneer Press The President, most Republican leaders and much of the corporate world are trying to persuade us that if we believe trade is good, we must support their efforts to enact ever-more-expansive free trade agreements. They’re wrong. Trade … Read More
Attack Ads by David Morris September 25, 1997 – published in St. Paul Pioneer Press Advertising is useful, when it informs. Classified ads in newspapers serve this function well. Those seeking a job, a used car, furniture, pets and hundreds of other goods and services can turn to that section while the rest of us pass … Read More
The Ethyl Corporation: Back to the Future by David Morris September 9 , 1997 – published in St. Paul Pioneer Press On April 14, 1997 the Ethyl Corporation sued the Canadian government for $250 million. “We filed the claim because we think the goodwill of Ethyl’s name has been damaged”, says Ethyl executive Don Hollrah. Mr. … Read More
Can Hemp Break Through America’s Drug Insanity? by David Morris August 22, 1997 – published in St. Paul Pioneer Press This July in Hoover, Alabama, police arrested eight month pregnant Angela Gilford for selling hemp t-shirts and macrame. Angela and her husband face mandatory three year prison terms. Twenty-six countries around the world now grow hemp … Read More
