Author Archives: Tim Kochis

On a recent visit to Prague, long overdue among many travels within Europe, I learned that Smetana’s “The Moldau” is the unofficial musical anthem of the Czech Republic.  There is a lot of Prague’s history and civic personality caught up in that observation.  First, … Continue reading →

Early spring in Istanbul brought many surprises, the most visually stunning being the blaze of masses of bright tulips…everywhere, in parks, on roadsides, at every freeway interchange, at every tourist destination.  There are several themes at work here…from the modernization and … Continue reading →

I’m going to stop counting visits to India since I’m now certain I’ll be back again, maybe several times, for business, culture, development work,  and of course just to experience more of this hugely fascinating country.  I haven’t yet seen … Continue reading →

The title was taken from a recent commentator on visiting Sri Lanka while the war between the dominant Sinhalese and the breakaway Tamil Tigers was still underway.  The war, the horror part, came to an end in 2009, as a … Continue reading →

The recent failures of the government’s “Obamacare” website, combined with the avalanche of existing policy cancellations prompts me to comment on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) once again.  Readers of these posts know that I comment on many other things, most of … Continue reading →

In law school in Ann Arbor in the early ’70′s, I traveled frequently from the then center of my universe, Chicago, into an outer orbit of the city of Detroit. I learned that Ann Arbor was not just the home of the University … Continue reading →

Sadly, any real attempts at tax “reform” seem to have faded from the current political agenda.  Both sides of the debate (lower rates, but broader base, on the one side, and higher rates for top incomes and fewer “loopholes”, on … Continue reading →

In yesterday’s (July 28, 2013) New York Times Sunday Review (page 5), an article by Richard Rosecrance of Harvard posits that China must come to grips with a “unified West”,  Europe and America, because of that aggregate’s absolute economic size.  Not only would such an economic … Continue reading →

This past weekend, two influential economic commentators, Niall Ferguson and Robert Shiller, pronounced importantly different views of what is needed for a continuing successful future for our society.  Perhaps characteristic of the venues,  Ferguson wrote in the weekend (June 8-9) Wall … Continue reading →

Today we witnessed one of our country’s most magnificent events, a Presidential Inauguration, celebrating our ability to be governed by officials who are elected only for specified terms.   It also ennobles all of us by causing us to recognize that, … Continue reading →