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Stealing from the Politically Weak
“First they came …”
The city of Berkeley is facing a $14 million budget shortfall this year and expects a larger gap the year after. The three main ways of covering a municipal shortfall are borrowing, reducing spending, or increasing taxes. Borrowing without a plan to increase revenue would be disastrous. Spending cuts are unfeasible: no [...]
Internet Economics
For those interested in advancing their economic education at a very low cost (opportunity cost), I recommend The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics. The articles are clear, written by different economists, and completely non partisan. It’s hyperlinked similar to Wikipedia so you start on something like cartels, move to corruption, and end with economic growth. No charge for this [...]
Keynes vs. Hayek
Who offers a more compelling theory of the business cycle? The makers of this video seem to have had an answer to that question in mind.
In addition to being catchy, the rap hits on the most important distinctions between the Keynesian and Austrian theories of the business cycle. I especially liked the references to the [...]
Also posted in Banking & Finance, hayek Tagged business cycles, hayek, keynes, video Leave a comment
A Keynesian Theory of Blogging Cycles
Much like an economy, a blogger sometimes needs rest. Blog post supply decreases, leading to a decrease in blogger confidence, which in turn further decreases the supply of blog posts.
A temporary stimulus can remedy this downward spiral. All I have to do is press “G,” right?
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Textbook Oddities
It’s a new semester here at Berkeley, which means among other things, it’s time to buy textbooks for classes.
Textbooks are expensive, there is no doubt about that. I try and recoup as much as my initial investment as possible by reselling my books at the end of the semester.
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Lend Me Your Ears
Two links for your listening pleasure:
Thomas Sowell on economic facts and fallacies.
Libertarian economist David R. Henderson debates liberal economist Mark Weisbrot.
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30 Rock Pays (unintentional) Tribute to Paul Samuelson
MIT economist Paul Samuelson died over the weekend. He was famous for his work on collective action problems, among other things. Coindicentally, the most recent 30 Rock episode contains a joke pertaining to public goods and free-ridership. Around the two minute mark, one of the head writers of the show within the show asks two [...]
Posted in Econ 101 Tagged 30 rock, collective action problems, free-ridership, paul samuelson, television 2 Comments
What is Money?
Money is the good that facilitates trade. If I want something from you, I have to offer you something that you’ll take in exchange. I offer you cash because you know you can offer that cash to someone else. I offer your company my credit card and your company accepts it because the credit card [...]
Poverty and Prostitution
In a recent debate I had over the proper public policy for prostitution (my view was it should be legal, her view illegal), my adversary argued that the conditions of poverty force women into prostitution. Here’s why that argument doesn’t make much sense from an appropriate economic perspective.
Independent of the level of absolute poverty within [...]
Also posted in Freedom, Self Interest Leave a comment
Why Economic Growth Matters