RIP
the beloved and great economist
- nevergaveitathought
- 12-02-2020, 11:09 AM
- dilbert firestorm
- 12-02-2020, 11:30 AM
I'm sorry to hear that. his articles were well written and insightful.
he was highly respected in his field of work.
may he rest in peace.
he was highly respected in his field of work.
may he rest in peace.
- bambino
- 12-02-2020, 02:20 PM
He was a cab driver in his early years and became a great economist and teacher.
- nevergaveitathought
- 12-02-2020, 03:07 PM
He was a cab driver in his early years and became a great economist and teacher. Originally Posted by bambinohe was a clear thinker and plain spoken with a load of common sense and brooked no nonsense
a lot of basic economics is just that, common sense and logic
that's why leftists make poor economists
I loved the economics courses I took in college
- bambino
- 12-02-2020, 03:32 PM
he was a clear thinker and plain spoken with a load of common sense and brooked no nonsenseHe was a professor at Grove City College 60 miles north of Pittsburgh. A very devout school and hard to get into.
a lot of basic economics is just that, common sense and logic
that's why leftists make poor economists
I loved the economics courses I took in college Originally Posted by nevergaveitathought
- eccieuser9500
- 12-02-2020, 04:40 PM
Walter Williams: Focus on police obscures black tragedy
https://www.pilotonline.com/opinion/...pq4-story.html
To put police shootings in a bit of perspective, in Chicago alone in 2020 there have been 1,260 shootings and 256 homicides with blacks being the primary victims. That comes to one shooting victim every three hours and one homicide victim every 15 hours. Three people in Chicago have been killed by police. If one is truly concerned about black deaths, shootings by police should figure way down on one's list — which is not to excuse bad behavior by some police officers.
- dilbert firestorm
- 12-02-2020, 11:38 PM
give this thread 5 stars!!!!
- eccieuser9500
- 12-02-2020, 11:51 PM
- dilbert firestorm
- 12-05-2020, 10:17 PM
https://media.townhall.com/townhall/...rewilliams.jpg
Walter E. Williams 1936-2020
Thomas Sowell|Posted: Dec 02, 2020 5:15 PM
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
Walter Williams loved teaching. Unlike too many other teachers today, he made it a point never to impose his opinions on his students. Those who read his syndicated newspaper columns know that he expressed his opinions boldly and unequivocally there. But not in the classroom.
Walter once said he hoped that, on the day he died, he would have taught a class that day. And that is just the way it was, when he died on Wednesday, December 2, 2020.
He was my best friend for half a century. There was no one I trusted more or whose integrity I respected more. Since he was younger than me, I chose him to be my literary executor, to take control of my books after I was gone.
But his death is a reminder that no one really has anything to say about such things.
As an economist, Walter Williams never got the credit he deserved. His book "Race and Economics" is a must-read introduction to the subject. Amazon has it ranked 5th in sales among civil rights books, 9 years after it was published.
Another book of his, on the effects of economics under the white supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa, was titled "South Africa's War Against Capitalism." He went to South Africa to study the situation directly. Many of the things he brought out have implications for racial discrimination in other places around the world.
I have had many occasions to cite Walter Williams' research in my own books. Most of what others say about higher prices in low income neighborhoods today has not yet caught up to what Walter said in his doctoral dissertation decades ago.
Despite his opposition to the welfare state, as something doing more harm than good, Walter was privately very generous with both his money and his time in helping others.
He figured he had a right to do whatever he wanted to with his own money, but that politicians had no right to take his money to give away, in order to get votes.
In a letter dated March 3, 1975, Walter said: "Sometimes it is a very lonely struggle trying to help our people, particularly the ones who do not realize that help is needed."
In the same letter, he mentioned a certain hospital which "has an all but written policy of prohibiting the flunking of black medical students."
Not long after this, a professor at a prestigious medical school revealed that black students there were given passing grades without having met the standards applied to other students. He warned that trusting patients would pay -- some with their lives -- for such irresponsible double standards. That has in fact happened.
As a person, Walter Williams was unique. I have heard of no one else being described as being "like Walter Williams."
Holding a black belt in karate, Walter was a tough customer. One night three men jumped him -- and two of those men ended up in a hospital.
The other side of Walter came out in relation to his wife, Connie. She helped put him through graduate school -- and after he received his Ph.D., she never had to work again, not even to fix his breakfast.
Walter liked to go to his job at 4:30 AM. He was the only person who had no problem finding a parking space on the street in downtown Washington. Around 9 o'clock or so, Connie -- now awake -- would phone Walter and they would greet each other tenderly for the day.
We may not see his like again. And that is our loss.
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
Walter E. Williams 1936-2020
Thomas Sowell|Posted: Dec 02, 2020 5:15 PMThe opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
Walter Williams loved teaching. Unlike too many other teachers today, he made it a point never to impose his opinions on his students. Those who read his syndicated newspaper columns know that he expressed his opinions boldly and unequivocally there. But not in the classroom.
Walter once said he hoped that, on the day he died, he would have taught a class that day. And that is just the way it was, when he died on Wednesday, December 2, 2020.
He was my best friend for half a century. There was no one I trusted more or whose integrity I respected more. Since he was younger than me, I chose him to be my literary executor, to take control of my books after I was gone.
But his death is a reminder that no one really has anything to say about such things.
As an economist, Walter Williams never got the credit he deserved. His book "Race and Economics" is a must-read introduction to the subject. Amazon has it ranked 5th in sales among civil rights books, 9 years after it was published.
Another book of his, on the effects of economics under the white supremacist apartheid regime in South Africa, was titled "South Africa's War Against Capitalism." He went to South Africa to study the situation directly. Many of the things he brought out have implications for racial discrimination in other places around the world.
I have had many occasions to cite Walter Williams' research in my own books. Most of what others say about higher prices in low income neighborhoods today has not yet caught up to what Walter said in his doctoral dissertation decades ago.
Despite his opposition to the welfare state, as something doing more harm than good, Walter was privately very generous with both his money and his time in helping others.
He figured he had a right to do whatever he wanted to with his own money, but that politicians had no right to take his money to give away, in order to get votes.
In a letter dated March 3, 1975, Walter said: "Sometimes it is a very lonely struggle trying to help our people, particularly the ones who do not realize that help is needed."
In the same letter, he mentioned a certain hospital which "has an all but written policy of prohibiting the flunking of black medical students."
Not long after this, a professor at a prestigious medical school revealed that black students there were given passing grades without having met the standards applied to other students. He warned that trusting patients would pay -- some with their lives -- for such irresponsible double standards. That has in fact happened.
As a person, Walter Williams was unique. I have heard of no one else being described as being "like Walter Williams."
Holding a black belt in karate, Walter was a tough customer. One night three men jumped him -- and two of those men ended up in a hospital.
The other side of Walter came out in relation to his wife, Connie. She helped put him through graduate school -- and after he received his Ph.D., she never had to work again, not even to fix his breakfast.
Walter liked to go to his job at 4:30 AM. He was the only person who had no problem finding a parking space on the street in downtown Washington. Around 9 o'clock or so, Connie -- now awake -- would phone Walter and they would greet each other tenderly for the day.
We may not see his like again. And that is our loss.
Thomas Sowell is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
- dilbert firestorm
- 12-16-2020, 01:59 AM
- dilbert firestorm
- 12-16-2020, 02:21 AM
https://townhall.com/columnists/devo...liams-n2581604
A Eulogy for My Father, Walter E. Williams
Devon Williams|Posted: Dec 15, 2020 2:08 PM
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
Editor's Note: This column was authored by Walter Williams' daughter, Devon Williams.
In the late 1980s, when telemarketing was at it is peak, a company called our home during dinner. I picked up the phone and handed it to my dad. This is what we heard him say:
"I'm not interested."
"No. No, thank you."
"Well ... I'm not ever going to die."
And then he hung up. My mom and I looked at each other, and then him, with looks of incredulity. He explained that it was a company selling life insurance.
For a long time, I believed just that -- that he was not going to die. That he would be here dropping knowledge on me, my family and the rest of the world forever.
I have always understood my father to be a teacher, a college professor. And, at the core of it, that's what he was: a teacher. And he loved being one. So, why, in the days that followed my father's death have things felt surreal? I've spoken about my dad to reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. I've spoken to one of the greatest minds and prolific writers this country has to offer: Thomas Sowell. I've heard from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, real estate developer Harlan Crow and businessman Charles Koch. I've read hundreds of tweets, posts and emails from his students, politicians, educators, philanthropists, authors and reporters. You might intuit, that hearing from all these people demonstrates that maybe Dr. Walter E. Williams wasn't just a professor. That maybe, because of his profound effect on so many people, he was something more. I would argue that the essence of my father was that of an educator. In fact, many years ago, my dad told Dr. Sowell, "On the day I die, I'd like to have taught a class." Teaching was his passion. It was his gift. It was, second only to his family, his greatest love.
Some of the obituaries I have read have called my dad a giant. He was. Literally. He stood at 6 foot 5 inches tall. My mom and I used to joke that it was always easy to find Dad in a crowd: We just needed to look up. An athlete well into his 70s, he took advantage of his stature and long limbs and played tennis and basketball, but his favorite activity was cycling. My mom would pack him snacks the night before, and he would set out for a 30- to 50-mile ride around 5 a.m. (when she and I were still sound asleep). I think that he enjoyed the time alone with his thoughts and his bike. Often, after a ride, he would shower and get straight to work on his syndicated column or his classwork for the week -- clearheaded and ready to go.
Not only, however, was he physically a giant but he was an intellectual giant. In his lifetime, he wrote 10 books, hundreds of articles, book reviews, scholarly journal articles and more than a thousand weekly columns. And, while proud of his accomplishments, with every book, he'd tell me, "I still don't think I'll catch up to Tom (Sowell) ... he writes with both hands." He also gave hundreds of lectures around the world -- Johannesburg, Cambridge, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and many more nationally. Additionally, you could find him on TV and radio. He called these venues his "big classroom." Economics is a challenging and abstract discipline that includes sophisticated analysis and calculus. But my dad had a supernatural ability to breakdown complex ideas and make them digestible for everyone.
As a father, he was also a teacher. My dad taught me that hard work eclipses talent or natural gifts every day of the week and twice on Sunday. He taught me how to drive like a Philadelphia cabbie and how to parallel park in a space equal to the length of my vehicle. He taught me that the best time to look for a job is when you already have one and that opportunities are often masked as disappointments. He taught me that play is necessary, but that it's more fun when your work is finished. He taught me to love my life and the people in it. He taught me to drink the wine and not to save it for a special occasion. And he taught me that family is always my safe place to land.
When my dad was in Philadelphia and not with us in D.C., he would call me and ask, "How's my baby?" I would tell him, "I'm just fine, Dad," knowing full well that he was asking about my son. They shared a special bond, and it pains me greatly to know that they only shared six years together.
We will all miss Dr. Walter Edward Williams. But I'd like to think that through his dedication to his teaching, the reach of his students and profound effect he had on so many that, maybe, his statement to the life insurance salesman was true.
A Eulogy for My Father, Walter E. Williams
Devon Williams|Posted: Dec 15, 2020 2:08 PM
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Townhall.com.
Editor's Note: This column was authored by Walter Williams' daughter, Devon Williams.
In the late 1980s, when telemarketing was at it is peak, a company called our home during dinner. I picked up the phone and handed it to my dad. This is what we heard him say:
"I'm not interested."
"No. No, thank you."
"Well ... I'm not ever going to die."
And then he hung up. My mom and I looked at each other, and then him, with looks of incredulity. He explained that it was a company selling life insurance.
For a long time, I believed just that -- that he was not going to die. That he would be here dropping knowledge on me, my family and the rest of the world forever.
I have always understood my father to be a teacher, a college professor. And, at the core of it, that's what he was: a teacher. And he loved being one. So, why, in the days that followed my father's death have things felt surreal? I've spoken about my dad to reporters from The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. I've spoken to one of the greatest minds and prolific writers this country has to offer: Thomas Sowell. I've heard from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, real estate developer Harlan Crow and businessman Charles Koch. I've read hundreds of tweets, posts and emails from his students, politicians, educators, philanthropists, authors and reporters. You might intuit, that hearing from all these people demonstrates that maybe Dr. Walter E. Williams wasn't just a professor. That maybe, because of his profound effect on so many people, he was something more. I would argue that the essence of my father was that of an educator. In fact, many years ago, my dad told Dr. Sowell, "On the day I die, I'd like to have taught a class." Teaching was his passion. It was his gift. It was, second only to his family, his greatest love.
Some of the obituaries I have read have called my dad a giant. He was. Literally. He stood at 6 foot 5 inches tall. My mom and I used to joke that it was always easy to find Dad in a crowd: We just needed to look up. An athlete well into his 70s, he took advantage of his stature and long limbs and played tennis and basketball, but his favorite activity was cycling. My mom would pack him snacks the night before, and he would set out for a 30- to 50-mile ride around 5 a.m. (when she and I were still sound asleep). I think that he enjoyed the time alone with his thoughts and his bike. Often, after a ride, he would shower and get straight to work on his syndicated column or his classwork for the week -- clearheaded and ready to go.
Not only, however, was he physically a giant but he was an intellectual giant. In his lifetime, he wrote 10 books, hundreds of articles, book reviews, scholarly journal articles and more than a thousand weekly columns. And, while proud of his accomplishments, with every book, he'd tell me, "I still don't think I'll catch up to Tom (Sowell) ... he writes with both hands." He also gave hundreds of lectures around the world -- Johannesburg, Cambridge, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong and many more nationally. Additionally, you could find him on TV and radio. He called these venues his "big classroom." Economics is a challenging and abstract discipline that includes sophisticated analysis and calculus. But my dad had a supernatural ability to breakdown complex ideas and make them digestible for everyone.
As a father, he was also a teacher. My dad taught me that hard work eclipses talent or natural gifts every day of the week and twice on Sunday. He taught me how to drive like a Philadelphia cabbie and how to parallel park in a space equal to the length of my vehicle. He taught me that the best time to look for a job is when you already have one and that opportunities are often masked as disappointments. He taught me that play is necessary, but that it's more fun when your work is finished. He taught me to love my life and the people in it. He taught me to drink the wine and not to save it for a special occasion. And he taught me that family is always my safe place to land.
When my dad was in Philadelphia and not with us in D.C., he would call me and ask, "How's my baby?" I would tell him, "I'm just fine, Dad," knowing full well that he was asking about my son. They shared a special bond, and it pains me greatly to know that they only shared six years together.
We will all miss Dr. Walter Edward Williams. But I'd like to think that through his dedication to his teaching, the reach of his students and profound effect he had on so many that, maybe, his statement to the life insurance salesman was true.