ForeignPolicy.com has a story about how high gas prices are improving America. I am a firm believer that high gas prices equal shorter commutes (equals less pollution if your into that sort of thing) and a lower obesity rate (equals lower health care costs,) both of which are great concerns for a growing number of Americans. It is good to know that I am not alone in this thinking.
Political Baggage 101
As a sophomore in college, I took a microeconomics class taught by Dr Joseph Horton. The first day’s lecture consisted of the usual happenings such as going over the syllabus and both instructor and student introductions. While introducing myself, I mentioned my aspiration for politics and a possible political career. Dr Horton replied that politics was an honorable career, but that sound economics often disagrees with sound politics. As the semester continued, I began to understand why politics and economics sometimes mesh like water and oil.
Here is a list of unpopular ideas that most economists agree on via an archived blog by one of my favorite economist Dr Greg Mankiw. It should be noted that I strongly support every item on this list and I plan on explaining my stance in future posts.
- 87.5 percent agree that “the U.S. should eliminate remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade.”
- 85.2 percent agree that “the U.S. should eliminate agricultural subsidies.”
- 85.3 percent agree that “the gap between Social Security funds and expenditures will become unsustainably large within the next fifty years if current policies remain unchanged.”
- 77.2 percent agree that “the best way to deal with Social Security’s long-term funding gap is to increase the normal retirement age.”
- 67.1 percent agree that “parents should be given educational vouchers which can be used at government-run or privately-run schools.”
- 65.0 percent agree that “the U.S. should increase energy taxes.”
- 90.1 percent disagree with the position that “the U.S. should restrict employers from outsourcing work to foreign countries
- 46.8 percent want the federal minimum wage eliminated.
I Am Not Nor Have I Ever Been A Member of the Democratic Party
One of my colleagues recently informed me that he was certain that I was a liberal-democrat. I found this idea very surprising and assured him that was not the case. But in hindsight, most of my friends and peers have come to this same conclusion over the past several years. My response to them was “You guys are just so far to the right that anybody to your left seems liberal.” I am not certain why people come to such a conclusion, but if I were to venture it a guess it would be my vocal disapproval of conservative attempts to enforce their values on the general public through legislation even when I share those same values. Nonetheless, I took the World’s Smallest Political Quiz today. It confirmed my position as a libertarian.
Hat Tip to Fellow Phi Sig David Cook
As much of America knows, he is the most recent winner of American Idol. But, most people probably do not realize he is a fellow member of Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.
Economics at Work: Automakers Respond to Changing Consumer Demand
Nissan Motor Company plans to sell electric cars in the United States and Japan by 2010. Nissan is the first major automaker to put its reputation on the line by promising a time table for bringing the technology to market. The electric cars are designed to be plugged into electric outlets at consumers homes.
While I welcome this technology, I am curious to see how much this shift in energy consumption will effect electric bills. It will take years for the vehicles to have any real market saturation, but I suspect that when they do that we will see a spike in electricity bills. And such a spike should help push the way for more alternative sources of power such as solar, wind, and nuclear.
Hat Tip to UCA Alumnae Christina Lecuyer
I was catching up on Golf Channel’s The Big Break:Kaanapali and took notice of a young female golfer by the name of Christina. Not only was she and excellent golfer, but she also looked very familiar. I didn’t catch her last name or any of her biography information, but I couldn’t help but wonder if she was the same Christina Lecuyer that played golf at the University of Central Arkansas. I knew the odds were slim and wrote it off as a coincidence.
The following night I saw a commercial on the Golf Channel that had a short clip of Christina. The resemblance was enough to inspire a Google search and low and behold it is the same young lady I met in academic writing during my freshman year at UCA.
So here is wishing Christina the best of luck on the show and her golf career (she already has talent by the bucket loads.) Go Bears!
Houses in Conway Are Still Overvalued
The original title for this article was “Houses in Conway Are Still Overpriced,” but I am a firm believer in the free market. And in a free market, a fair price for a good is determined by whatever somebody is willing to pay for that good. However free trade requires the absence of force and fraud. And I am not certain that there is not rampant fraud going on in the housing market; but that nugget will serve as the topic of another post.
Since the housing market peak in the last quarter of 2004, housing prices in America have fallen on average by nearly 10%. Housing prices in the Little Rock metropolitan area including Conway have risen 3% in that same time. Now, one could make the point that housing prices in the Little Rock metro were relatively low compared to the market in 2004. But, I don’t think that is the case. It will take 2-3 more years for the market to correct itself in the LR Metro, and that is only if the government manages to stay out of it.
Here is the link to the Wall Street Journal article.
Keith’s Travels: Ohio Edition
My employer, SFI, has recently chosen to send me to our Portsmouth, Ohio plant for 3 days a week. This is scheduled to last for 3-4 weeks. The journey is not too bad. I catch a flight out of Little Rock into Cincinnati, then it is a 2 hour drive from there. I have found the people of in the region to be most pleasant. One of the most fascinating things I have seen is the murals that are painted flood walls (which protect the city from the Ohio River.) Here are two of my favorites.
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The Myth of the Middle Class Squeeze: Part I
The idea that taxes have been shifted to the middle class is one of America’s biggest myths. The fact is that the lower half of American earners (by household) do not pay any federal income tax. And the richest 1% that Congress is always giving all of those tax breaks to foots 37% of the bill.
Happy 135th To the Men of Phi Sig
Phi Sigma Kappa was founded on this day in 1873 at the Massachusetts Agricultural College.
Damn Proud!