Dear AIRLEAP Members,
AIRLEAP is unique in many ways. Unlike any other economic association, we are promoting ethics, integrity, and responsible leadership in economics across all fields of economics, all economic sectors, and all political perspectives. At present, we have no university affiliation (or affiliation with any other financially significant entity), we have received no government grants, have no corporate sponsors, no endowment, no physical office space, and, most unfortunately, we have no steady income base (because our regular membership is free).
People are often inclined to give to charities that directly assist those in need – to provide the poor with shelter, food, clothing, medicine, etc. Personally, we agree that these charities are wonderful, we contribute to them ourselves, and we hope that you do as well.
In addition to such forms of direct assistance, however, we would like you to consider the indirect, though possibly just as important, effect of ethics, integrity, and responsible leadership in economics. Our work does much to promote responsibility among economic leaders to “do no harm” with regard to the establishment of economic policies, especially in developing nations. We also promote the kind of responsibility in economics that should have been exercised to prevent the financial crisis of 2008-9, which caused immeasurable harm worldwide. Please consider that, with better economics – economics with greater commitment to ethics, integrity, and responsible leadership – there would be less people in need of charitable assistance. We (in AIRLEAP and in charitable organizations) are all, in a broad sense, part of the same effort; AIRLEAP is just further “upstream” in addressing the causality underlying the situations in which people are in need.
So, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to AIRLEAP this season.
If you cannot contribute but would like to volunteer for AIRLEAP, your help would be greatly appreciated. Please stand by for another message coming your way about our drive for volunteers, especially to help with our exhibitor’s booth at the annual meetings of the American Economic Association early next month.
Thank you so much for your support!
Sincerely,
AIRLEAP’s Board of Directors
Deirdre N. McCloskey, Chair
Richard G. Anderson
Amelie Constant
Mark Costa
George DeMartino
Seth Giertz
Francis McFaul
Steven Payson
Brooks B. Robinson
W. Charles Sawyer
Stephen Ziliak