Unions

Plenty of information out there on unions and the role they play in our economy. This is esecially the case now that states are considering limiting their power to collectivly bargin. There is a great recent Q and A piece. This is more from a previous post. Enjoy

More on Debt

Another interesting piece on our National Debt. This time it does not come from an Op-Ed piece. A slightly different angle, interesting non the less. This issue is not going way.

Options When it Comes to Debt

Here is a good piece be David Brooks (from the NY Times... Op-Ed). He points out how unrealistic it is to get a handle on our debt problems by small tweeks in our spending. His point is that we have to change what we think of our role of the government. Money quote:

The coming budget cuts have nothing to do with merit. They have to do with the inexorable logic of mathematics. Over the past decades, spending in nearly every section of the federal budget has exploded to unsustainable levels. Each year, your family’s share of the national debt increases by about $12,000. By 2015, according to Douglas Holtz-Eakin, the former director of the Congressional Budget Office, Moody’s will downgrade U.S. debt.

Rent Controls

A recent and relevent article on rent controls in NY. (H/T: Mankiw)

Higher Education and Competition

The economics of higher education is an interesting one (and an excellent final position paper for those looking for a good topic). There is the difference between teaching universities vs. research universities (Temple is the latter). There is the competition between private universities vs. public universities (Temple the latter). And as highlighted in this article the difference between wealthy universities with large endowment vs. relatively poor ones with small endowments (again, Temple is the latter).

This has been very relevant lately. The reason is that the government has been pushing the wealthy universities to spend some of that endowment money to help the students. The result (to quote the article):

"Getting into Harvard is like winning the lottery twice," said Barmak Nassirian, an executive with the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admission Officers. "You're getting into Harvard, and if you don't have the adequate resources, you're getting into an institution that has the financial resources to package you properly."

So the natural question that comes up for economists are "should these universities have to spend their endowmnets?" and if so, "how does a place like Temple University (without those endowments) compete with the larger wealthy institutions?"

Chick-fil-A

Should a business have any objectives other than making as much money as possible? Two recent articles address this issue. The first takes on the issue much like our taking sides issue #1 does. (H/T Zhao) The second speaks specifically about the Chick-fil-A fast food chain. They have a reputation of being very Christian. I can think of two cases in which this may go against the profit maximizing objective. They close on Sundays and their stances on controversial issues may bring bad publicity. Over time either these practices will diminish, or competition will drive them out. (Their sandwiches are very good)

Chicago Mayor Race

For a while the courts said that Emanuel could not run as mayor of Chicago. Now the case is being heard in the State Suprem Court. Since is is the clear favorite if he is allowed to run this information quickly changes the intrade odds of him winning as see by this chart. This is shown in the image as the price fluxuates rapidly. A perfect example of information flowing quickly for this contract as we would expect in any efficient marketplace.

Health Care and the Debt

There is plenty of confusion about connection between the Health Care legislation and our current fiscal situation. The main question is if repeal of the Health Care legislation would reduce or expand the deficit. This piece clarifies quite a bit.

Matt Ridley's Talk

A good discussion about economic progress over the years in an interesting way.

Welcome Spring 2011

Please read and post comments as you see fit (remember to leave your name).