My family was in the diplomatic service and I was raised in New York, Washington, Bangkok, London, Lisbon and Beijing. I studied Mandarin in China [Kunming, Yunnan] and Taiwan [Tainan] and did graduate and postgraduate work in economics. I do freelance work in various advisory fields and various countries and am an active investor.

I consider myself a free market, libertarian Republican, an agnostic with strong philosophical Taoist leanings, i.e. I am pro-business, in favor of low taxes, small government and keeping the state out of our private lives, including our bedrooms and churches of temples.

I think that the vigor of a free market coupled with a free society, in tandem with a strong military, defeated Communism and continues to be a beacon of light and inspiration to individuals in every nation around the world. It is America's destiny to embrace the world and to lead it, not by any other force than the strength of our philisophies and the freedoms espoused and lived by the vast majority of us as citizens.

I do not believe in free rides or hand outs for failing industries of individuals. America gains its strength by attracting winners and encouraging the setting and achieving of high goals. I have travelled widely, and sincerely believe that if you can't make it in the US then to can't make it anywhere. The losers in our society deserve our pity and sometimes our charity, but an able-bodied, able-minded citizen who chooses not to pull their weight is a burden on us all and, unless treated with disdain, will only breed decadent imitators whose indolence and sloth with undermine our great nation.