Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker spoke on the dangers of “big government” at Thursday night’s Liberty, Faith, and Economics Summit at CUW.
It’s no secret that former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is a fan of the 40th president of the United States. U.S. President Ronald Reagan espoused an eternal optimism and belief in the American people, Walker said during a Thursday night event at Concordia University Wisconsin.
“More than just ideas and policies, he made me proud to be an American again,” Walker told those gathered. “He rallied what we, as the American people, already knew to be true and compelled us to stand up for it.”
Among the ideas that Reagan championed was the benefits of a free market economy.
“He went out and made the case to the American people about why giving them more of their money back would work,” Walker explained. “And history shows that it worked.”
The benefits of capitalism and its intersection with the Christian faith was the focus of this year’s Liberty, Faith, and Economics Summit. The event, which the Concordia Free Enterprise Center organizes, annually explores topics related to the event’s namesake. Previous year’s summits have drawn speakers of international repute including North Korea defector Yeonmi Park, tech titan Jaron Lanier, and Stanford epidemiologist Jay Bhattacharya.
In addition to Walker, this year’s Liberty, Faith, and Economics Summit welcomed a variety of speakers earlier in the day to address the theme of “Is Capitalism Consistent with a Christian Identity?”:
- Dr. Greg Beabout | Professor of Philosophy at Saint Louis University
- Dr. Rachel Ferguson | Director of the Free Enterprise Center at Concordia University Chicago; Assistant Dean of the College of Business; Professor of Business Ethics
- Rev. Dr. Jason Lane | Assistant Vice President of Academics for the Core Curriculum at CUWAA; Associate Professor of Theology
- Mr. Bob Simi | Executive Director of the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center
- Dr. Tyler Watts | Professor of Economics at Ferris State University
- Mr. Larry Reed | President Emeritus of the Foundation for Economic Education
Above: Gov. Scott Walker, CUWAA President Erik Ankerberg, Concordia Free Enterprise Center Director Scott Niederjohn
Concordia launches YAF student chapter
Ahead of Walker’s keynote address, the former governor took a moment to recognize the launch of Concordia’s Young Americans for Freedom (YAF) chapter. YAF is a national nonprofit affiliated with Young America’s Foundation, for which Walker currently serves as board president. Young America’s Foundation is the leading organization for young conservatives, and has contacts on more than 2,000 college campuses. Dr. Lamont Colucci will serve as the faculty advisor for the new Concordia chapter.
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The Concordia Free Enterprise Center (CFEC) hosts the annual Liberty, Faith, and Economics Summit. The Center opened in fall 2021 under the leadership of Scott Niederjohn, a nationally recognized economist and scholar who now serves as a professor of economics at CUW. The Center aims to support the ideals of a free and virtuous society through four areas: research, education, application, and public policy.
The next CFEC-hosted event will take place Thursday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. in Concordia’s Todd Wehr Auditorium. Jason Riley, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, will speak on “Why Thomas Sowell Matters.”
Registration for Riley’s talk is preferred, but the event is free.