Elite futures- July 31, 2008 Candidate Barak Obama is the one with the fancy resume and the devotion of "elites" here and abroad. He now states that the effects of any new drilling for oil will not be felt for about 20 years. But just a couple of weeks ago, he and many other elites were all over "the speculators" for pushing up prices at the pump via their nefarious actions on oil futures markets. Elites ought to be heldhttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/elite-futures.html But can they fix potholes- July 30, 2008 Becker-Posner do their usually thorough job discussing the arguments for and against government involvement in fast food choices. They include discussions of possible external costs. But, thorough as they are, their discussion does not quite touch the logic of the LA City Council. This morning's LA Times includes "Council bans new fast-food outlets ... Officials want to bring eateries withhttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/but-can-they-fix-potholes.html Dueling forecasts- July 29, 2008 Here is a climate change report from a respected source: "A 50% rise in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, higher temperatures, with more droughts and storms harming people, crops and buildings, more animal and plant species becoming extinct under expanding farmland and urban sprawl, dwindling natural resources; a billion more people living in water stressed areas by 2030, with morehttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/dueling-forecasts.html You too can live like Al Gore- July 28, 2008 Google "democratization of luxury" and you get 4330 hits. This morning's LA Times mentions a new private aircraft that will sell for $139,000 ("Built for just plane fun ... Icon's A5 is meant to be flown more places by more people"). Today's WSJ has a section on cities, including an interview with Ed Glaeser. Responding to a question on higher gasoline prices, he says, "I would be veryhttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/you-too-can-live-like-al-gore.html Heard this song before- July 26, 2008 Last Thursday, the LA Times ran an op-ed by LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, "Why you want this tax hike" (italics in original) to pay for transportation projects, mostly transit, specifically mostly rail transit. It's an old story, "it would pump $32.1 billion in construction funding alone into our economy and create more than 210,000 jobs." But we have heard this song before and what is lefthttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/heard-this-song-before.html Predictable failure- July 25, 2008 Socialism had a hold on the imagination of perhaps most thinking people a hundred years ago. Those days are gone and markets are now taken seriously -- even though as many as 100 U. of Chicago faculty think of Milton Friedman as just an ideologue. Interestingly, cities are still the exception where faith in central planningindustrial policy is as strong as ever. This cannot work. Carlhttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/predictable-failure.html Ready for prime time- July 24, 2008 Interesting debate between the candidates' economists.http://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/ready-for-prime-time.html Semi-legalization in California- July 23, 2008 While much has been written about the drug culture, the gray area created by California's pot legalization has (to my knowledge) received little attention in the popular press. This week's New Yorker includes the excellent "Dr. Kush: How medical marijuana is transforming the pot industry." Legalization is an appealing idea and when opponents dissatisfied with the "theory" ask for examples, therehttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/while-much-has-been-written-about-drug.html Who knew- July 21, 2008 Sunday's LA Times includes "Uncle Sam's speciality loan program worth a look". The piece mentions that "Two little-known federal lending programs may hold the answer for cash-strapped home buyers. For financing which you don't have to put up cash of your own, even for closing costs, consider the U.S. Department of Agriculuture's Rural Development Program. Or if you're buying a fixer upper, thehttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/who-knew.html Ratchet in California- July 17, 2008 Twenty years ago, Robert Higgs spelled out a government size-and-scope ratchet effect. Today's LA Times and WSJ include discussions (here and here) of the latest realizations of the effect in California government. Both pieces are worth looking at. Markets may be positive sum, but policial economy is not. And when the chickens do come home to roost, new programs are proposed to solve oldhttp://www-rcf.usc.edu/~pgordon/blog/2008/07/ratchet-in-california.html |