Concentrated power is not rendered harmless by the good intentions of those who create it.— Milton Friedman I think all too often we forget that people in power are ambitious and the person who reins in power to do some good now also reins in power for so many others to do so much bad tomorrow.
Entries tagged with “The Good Fight”.
Mon 23 Mar 2009
Concentrated Power is not Rendered Harmless …
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, Government, Politics, The Good Fight
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Sun 8 Feb 2009
“But” Libertarains
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, Politics, Rants, The Good Fight
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Wed 4 Feb 2009
Storm Shelter Economists
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, The Good Fight
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However, this is a good time to remind everyone that there are always “companies” that rush in after a disaster to take advantage of the victims of that disaster. It is sad but true. After Hurricane Andrew struck southern Florida, trucks crammed with jugs of tap water pulled into town, charging exhorbitant [sic] prices for something that, a day or so before, was not even considered valuable. After the ice storm struck Quebec, Canada in January, 1998, the same kind of thing happened. We heard of one person buying a whole truck-load of generators, then trying to peddle them to power-less Canadians at twice the price. There are companies that have products that can be “turned into” storm shelters. They have jumped into the shelter business, adapting these products somewhat. So go by the old adage, “Let the buyer beware!” If you have already decided that you are going to buy a shelter, ask the hard questions before you invest–because it really IS an investment.The little amateur economist in me keeps pestering me about another old adage. People who excel in one field of study or research do not necessarily have more or better insight in another field which they have not studied or researched well. In this case, these storm shelter experts do not have any better insight into economics, which they have obviously not studied well. The owners of those “trucks crammed with jugs of tap water [that] pulled into town, charging [exorbitant] prices” were well compensated for their risk of negotiating washed out roads, looters and other disaster related dangers. Had they not pulled into town with their high priced water, the town would have had many truckloads less of much needed potable water. The incentive to provide cheaper water to survivors was not lessened by their arrival. The incentive to do better future disaster planning was instilled in the buyers of that high-priced water. The “person buying a whole truck-load of generators, then trying to peddle them to power-less Canadians at twice the price” provided a whole truckload of generators which might never had arrived at the site of the disaster had that person been forced to sell the generators for a more “reasonable” price. The incentive to provide cheaper power to survivors was not lessened by the arrival of that one truckload of generators. The incentive to do better future disaster planning was instilled in the buyers of that high-priced power. Note to self: Avoid supplying extra information about the reasons you are providing information on a web site. Stick to the subjects you know best.
Thu 29 Jan 2009
Only $646,214 Per Government Job
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, Government, The Good Fight
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Mr. Zandi’s current estimates have government employment growing by 330,400 over two years as a result of the House bill (compared with 244,000 in Bernstein-Romer paper). Yet even that updated figure still amounts to only 8.3% of total jobs added, even though state and local governments are to receive 39% of the funds ($214.5 billion). Spending $214.5 billion to create or save 330,400 government jobs implies that taxpayers are being asked to spend $646,214 per job.
Mon 27 Oct 2008
Free Market Policy?
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, Rants, The Good Fight
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Fri 17 Oct 2008
The Price of Oil Drops as Winter Starts
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics
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Thu 16 Oct 2008
Another Fine Example of Government Regulation
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, Rants, The Good Fight
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Tue 6 May 2008
Paycheck to Paycheck
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, REI, Rants
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Thu 3 Apr 2008
Their Shoes
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, The Good Fight
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Picture this. You are called in to a local court and asked by town officials about your earnings over the last year. It is revealed that you have had a really great year. Your pay went up and you were able to pay down your existing debt. You have a few skills that make your labor much in demand. Demand is so great that you will see a massive increase in pay this coming year.
Now, one of the idiot politicians asks, “Since you made so much money last year and since there is a shortage in alternatives to your work skills, why not work for less next year.” I’m willing to bet that you would probably want to ask the idiot politician what he or she was smoking and whether they were willing to share.
Let me make sure you understand what I am saying. You have a highly demanded skill, but there are alternatives for your customers. Unfortunately, all those alternatives are even more expensive than purchasing your skills. Your customers are hitting hard times and they need financial relief from your high prices.
(more…)Tue 25 Mar 2008
50 Cents on the Dollar
Posted by Charles Clarkson under Economics, REI, Texas
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In real estate investing propaganda I often see terms like “50 cents on the dollar” or “buy property for half off.” This is bull shit, folks. Any product sold is worth exactly what the purchaser paid for it. A house which sells for $50,000 is not worth more than $50,000. We know that because it sold for $50,000, not for more than that.
Is is possible for a person to buy a house in the morning and sell it immediately for a profit. With a double closing I could do it in one trip to the closing company. Though it is a rare deal, it might be possible to buy a property for $50,000 and immediately turn around and sell it for $100,000 in one transaction.
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