By Alice-Anne Lewis
Mark Skousen spent his days at BYU advocating for an economic textbook which taught free-market ideas and not just Keynesian economics of big government and deficit financing.
Now, over 20 years later he is still battling for economic freedom – this time on an international level.
Skousen, author, former economic analyst for the CIA and editor of a financial newsletter, was recently named president and CEO of the Foundation for Economic Education, the oldest free-market think tank geared to educating the general public on free-market ideas.
“Our ultimate goal is to maximize economic and political freedom around the world,” Skousen said.
In the last week, Foundation for Economic Education acquired Laissez Faire Books, the world”s largest distributor of books on liberty, which sells to 90 different countries, he said.
Skousen said owning Laissez Faire Books will be key in getting Foundation for Economic Education on the map and spreading free-market ideas to national anti-capitalists sectors and to global hotbed Marxists groups.
“I want to make FEE a household institute,” Skousen said.
The FEE publishes a monthly newsletter, hosts seminars and teaches summer courses to students at the organization”s Irvington-on-Hudson, New York headquarters, he said.
Skousen and his family moved to New York a week before Sept. 11 and watched the tragedy unfold.
“It hasn”t been easy for New Yorkers,” he said.
The economist is equally concerned with the costs involved in implementing tight security.
“You can”t go a city block without seeing policemen,” Skousen said. “That”s costly.”
Contrary to historical opinions, Skousen said war is not good for the economy because the costs shovel out money, which cannot be used in building individual”s capital.
When Wall Street firms and President Bush called on citizens to demonstrate their patriotism by buying stocks, Skousen came out against the plea saying it went against common sense. Instead, he encouraged people to preserve their capital.
As a man who admits to being “bullish” about determining the stock market, Skousen said this is a good time to invest as the economy has shown improvements.
When it comes to spending, Skousen”s advice is simple.
“Be frugal, thrifty and make wise choices,” he said. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is sending the same message to its members, Skousen said.
“The Church has it right and the government is wrong,” he said.
The country is coming out of a recession thanks to recent tax cuts, a dynamic economy and low interest rates, Skousen said.
Larry Wimmer, professor of economics and mentor to Skousen, said the FEE is a good fit for the economic analyst. But he also said Skousen”s ideas on a free-market have moderated since his freshman and sophomore year at BYU.
Skousen said his economics professors at BYU had a profound impact on his ideas.
President Bateman also served as a role model for him.
“He was in the real world,” Skousen said. “He wasn”t just an academic economist, he was a practical business man.”
During Skousen”s years at BYU, he not only took on the economics department to employ a new textbook, but also thought the Cougar mascot was overused by colleges.
Through his editorials as opinion editor of the “Daily Universe,” Skousen said he urged students to adopt the cricket stompers – a Utah spin off of Nebraska”s corn-huskers – as the new mascot.
But this too, like the economic book he promoted during his college days, did not pass.
