Email: ninosmalek@hotmail.com
"But how is this legal plunder to be identified? Quite simply. See if the law takes from some persons what belongs to them, and gives it to to other persons to whom it does not belong. See if the law benefits one citizen at the expense of another by doing what the citizen himself cannot do without commiting a crime." Frederic Bastiat
"Many people want the government to protect the consumer. A much more urgent problem is to protect the consumer from the government." Milton Friedman
"He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord." Isaiah 26:3
Verses for Encouragement
Books on Faith and Hope
Recommended Books for The Economic Way of Thinking
Online and Print Publications
CV
CLASS LINKS FOR STUDENTS:
San Jose State University
De Anza College
Valley Christian High School
Ludwig von Mises Institute
Cato Institute
Independent Institute
Beacon Hill Institute
Acton Institute
Mackinac Center
Heritage Foundation
Reason Foundation
Hoover Institution
Smith Center for Private Enerprise Studies
Citizens Against Government Waste
Family Research Council
American Center for Law and Justice
Institute for Humane Studies
Mercatus Center
Foundation for Economic Education
Foundation for Teaching Economics
Council for Economic Education
Econoclass.com
Association of Private Enterprise Education
Federal Reserve
Department of Commerce
Wall Street Journal
The Economist
The Dismal Scientist
Freakonomics
Everyday Economics
Invisible Heart
Larry Elder's Homepage
John Stossel #1 (ABC)
John Stossel #2 (Fox)
Stossel in the Classroom
Sean Hannity's Homepage
Glenn Beck's Homepage
Laissez-faire Books
Liberty Fund
Capitalism.org
San Jose State Economics
George Mason Economics
Mark Skousen Homepage
Christianity and Theology Links:
Living on the Edge
Ankerberg Theological Institute
Christian Research Institute
John MacArthur Ministries
Ligonier Ministries
In Touch Ministries
Truth for Life
Winning Walk
Wall Builders
American Destiny
Miscellaneous Links:
United States Marine Corps
Dallas Cowboys
Muscle and Fitness
Libertarian Party
Fox News
Rick Steves' Europe
Let's Go Travel
Bobby Flay Official Site
Food Network
Travel Channel
UFC
I teach Principles of Macroeconomics and Principles of Microeconomics at San Jose State University and De Anza College. I also teach Government/Economics and Advanced Placement Economics at Valley Christian High School in San Jose, California. My previous experience also includes teaching introductory economics at George Mason University.
I hold a B.A. in Economics (minor in Speech-Communications) and an M.A. in Applied Economics from San Jose State University and Ph.D. in Economics from George Mason University where the faculty included Nobel Prize winners Dr. James Buchanan and Dr. Vernon Smith. I also had the privilege of being the student of Dr.Walter Williams. My Ph.D. field exams were in Austrian economics and Public Choice economics and my dissertation focused on economics education. My dissertation committee included economists Dr. Donald Boudreaux (chairman) and Dr. Peter Boettke.
My father is Assyrian (from Iran) and my mother is from Ecuador. I was born in San Jose, California on August 23, 1971. I speak Assyrian and Spanish and I studied Italian at San Jose State University.
My parents are Roman Catholic, so I was baptized as an infant in the Roman Catholic church. I also received my First Communion at Holy Family Catholic Church in San Jose when I was in elementary school. However, my parents enrolled me in a conservative Baptist school (Liberty Baptist) where I attended from the first grade until my sophomore year in high school (I then transferred to Santa Teresa High School my junior year and graduated in 1989). Today, I can best describe my views on fundamental theological and moral issues as conservative, non-charismatic, evangelical Protestant but my views on "liberty issues" are arguably more liberal.
Politics fascinated me since I was a young boy starting with Ronald Regan's presidency. I registered as a Republican when I was 18 years old. However, as I matured and continued my studies in economics, my views became more closely aligned with the Libertarian philosophy. So, my political philosophy can best be described as conservative/libertarian (depends on the issue). To be clear, even though my positions on some public policy topics are philosophically Libertarian, this does not mean that I support the morality of the issue at hand. In other words, I agree with the conservative perspective on the morality of many issues but not the role of government regarding those issues.
My college years were spent at San Jose State University where I was a member of
Theta Chi Fraternity, the Speech and Debate Team, and student government as Interfraternity Council President in 1993. I graduated in 1995.
At first, I wanted to be a stockbroker after watching the movie Wall Street. However, after working at Merrill Lynch as an intern one semester, I realized that a career involving sales was not for me. I decided that I wanted to pursue law school and a career as a JAG officer in the United States Marine Corps. I applied and was accepted into United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School in Quantico, Virginia in the summer of 1993 in order to receive an eventual commission as a Second Lieutenant. However, because of a medical discharge, my training was cut short and, due to subsequent major shoulder surgeries, my pursuit of the military ended. However, the time I did spend at OCS had a tremendous impact on me personally and later professionally as a teacher.
I ended up not going to law school but rather entered the Master's program in Applied Economics at SJSU. It was during this time, and specifically after reading a book entitled Economics on Trial by Mark Skousen, that I became a "born again student" and my appreciation for the economic way of thinking and free-market economic ideology grew (my first real exposure to classical liberal/free-market thought was Frederic Bastiat's The Law which was given to me by a teacher when I was a young teen). I also studied Austrian economics through summer programs at The Ludwig von Mises Institute, located at Auburn University, and at New York University (NYU).
After receiving the M.A. in Applied Economics in December 1997, I sent my resume to several financial firms, but I had a difficult time finding a position. I was eventually hired at a major law firm in Palo Alto working in information technology support. After four months of this, I decided to enter the teaching profession. After a short time of substitute teaching, I started teaching full-time at Valley Christian High School in San Jose in April 1998. At the beginning of the fall 1998-1999 academic year I also started teaching economics during the evenings and weekends at San Jose State University and De Anza College. I did this until I left in August 2003 to pursue the Ph.D. at George Mason.
My interests and activities include reading ( mostly nonfiction books dealing with theology, public policy, and economics), writing opinion articles, working out at the gym, some sports (however I am not into "X-games" related activities nor am I a "thrill-seeker"), attending my church (Venture Christian Church), going to the movies, grilling and cooking, watching TV (especially The Fox News Channel, Travel Channel, Food Network, UFC, and football--primarily the Dallas Cowboys), and keeping up with the political scene.
I also enjoy traveling. I have seen most of the United States from our major cities to the middle of nowhere--especially since I completed a cross-country drive from Washington D.C. to California in spring 2006. In addition, I have travelled throughout Europe on four separate occasions (fall 1997 and summers 2001-2003) doing the backpacking, train, and hostel routine. On those trips I went to Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy. I have also been to Ensenada, Mexico and Nassau in The Bahamas.