What makes America great? Our sense of humor, and constitutional right to make fun of stuff. With that in mind, enjoy the video below of CU student Chad Heidt singing about Michael Phelps bong blunder.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Trade is still Good!
As a followup to my last post, here is a story about the WTO and it's worries that nations will drift to protectionism and worsen the already bad world economic situation. I particularly like this sentence:
I hope there are some politicians who read this blog (although, I guess they probably read the NYT).
Trade barriers aiming to defend jobs may deepen the global recession if they make it harder for other countries to sell their goods abroad, as happened when nations closed their markets in the Depression.
I hope there are some politicians who read this blog (although, I guess they probably read the NYT).
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Trade is Good!
George Bernard Shaw once said "If you took all the economists in the world and laid them end to end, they still couldn't reach a conclusion". One conclusion they can agree upon is the mantra that I teach my students: "Trade is Good". Free trade makes the world better off. It's a fact. To most economists, "protectionism" should be one of the seven words you can't say on TV.
However, when times get tough as they are now, politicians think they can get votes by looking like they are saving jobs with tariffs and other protectionist measures, like the "Buy American" clause that was in the stimulus package. During the Great Depression Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff act, raising tariffs and setting off a trade war that shrank world trade 60% between 1929 and 1932, and helping to make the Depression worse.
The New York Times has two articles today warning about the dangers of protectionism during these hard times. One is this editorial. And if you think the Times editorial page is written by commies, then you can read this opinion piece from the Times business section by Greg Mankiw, famous text book author and former adviser to w. Left or right, people interested in good policy know Trade is Good. Let's hope our politicians get the message.
However, when times get tough as they are now, politicians think they can get votes by looking like they are saving jobs with tariffs and other protectionist measures, like the "Buy American" clause that was in the stimulus package. During the Great Depression Congress passed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff act, raising tariffs and setting off a trade war that shrank world trade 60% between 1929 and 1932, and helping to make the Depression worse.
The New York Times has two articles today warning about the dangers of protectionism during these hard times. One is this editorial. And if you think the Times editorial page is written by commies, then you can read this opinion piece from the Times business section by Greg Mankiw, famous text book author and former adviser to w. Left or right, people interested in good policy know Trade is Good. Let's hope our politicians get the message.
Friday, February 6, 2009
The skiiing was great. The economy? Not so much!
Went to Copper Mountain to ski yesterday on a day that was just perfect. Sunny, warm and beautiful, but not so hot as to be melting the snow. In fact, it was so gorgeous that I felt compelled to call a few of my friends back in Buffalo to tell them about it. Honestly, I didn't realize it was -7 back home while I was sitting with my jacket off, in the sun, enjoying lunch and the fantastic view. This, it appears, is not a good way to endear yourself to the folks in western New York.
I was skiing with my neighbor Kathy, and since most of the chair lifts are "quads", that meant we rode the lift with a bunch of different people during the day. I like to talk to strangers, and I learned a long time ago that "where you from?" is a great conversation starter. In years past when I'd ski on a weekday, about half of those people would be from outside Colorado. And at the end of the day, while enjoying the apre-ski brewski, I would see many groups of people on the patio who were obviously here on a ski vacation.
Yesterday, all of our fellow lift-riders were Coloradans. And there were only 2 tables of folks having a beer who appeared to be vacationers. And today in the mail I got a mailing from Breckinridge offering 70% off rooms during Spring Break, usually the busiest time of the year in ski country. Now, none of this is hard data that the economy is killing the ski industry this year, but it sure doesn't feel good. And a real problem for the ski resorts is that those of us who live in state and ski there are not much of a source of revenue. Sure, there are a lot of us, but we have already bought our passes, and we don't stay over night or stay for dinner. Lunch and a beer is about the best they can expect to get out of us.
So, if you can afford a ski trip this year, it looks like a hell of a good time to go. Deals will be many, and lift lines short, and we need your money!
I was skiing with my neighbor Kathy, and since most of the chair lifts are "quads", that meant we rode the lift with a bunch of different people during the day. I like to talk to strangers, and I learned a long time ago that "where you from?" is a great conversation starter. In years past when I'd ski on a weekday, about half of those people would be from outside Colorado. And at the end of the day, while enjoying the apre-ski brewski, I would see many groups of people on the patio who were obviously here on a ski vacation.
Yesterday, all of our fellow lift-riders were Coloradans. And there were only 2 tables of folks having a beer who appeared to be vacationers. And today in the mail I got a mailing from Breckinridge offering 70% off rooms during Spring Break, usually the busiest time of the year in ski country. Now, none of this is hard data that the economy is killing the ski industry this year, but it sure doesn't feel good. And a real problem for the ski resorts is that those of us who live in state and ski there are not much of a source of revenue. Sure, there are a lot of us, but we have already bought our passes, and we don't stay over night or stay for dinner. Lunch and a beer is about the best they can expect to get out of us.
So, if you can afford a ski trip this year, it looks like a hell of a good time to go. Deals will be many, and lift lines short, and we need your money!
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Want a little Economics education?
Did you major in Humanities in college, and now you wish you knew something about Economics? Wonder who the hell these Keynesians are, and why we should or shouldn't be among them? Don't have time to go back to school and major in Eco? Then I suggest "New Ideas from Dead Economists", by Todd Buchholz, which was loaned to me by a student who wrote a paper on if for extra credit last semester (thanks Charlotte!). If I were teaching an "Economics for Poets" class (and hey, you guys at Naropa, don't you think that's a great idea!) I would use this as the text book. Not technical or full of math, but it will give you an excellent history of the study of Economics, and the ideas that still shape our thinking. However, it was written some time ago, so it won't tell you how we got into the current mess.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Just a few things....
My class was talking about the economics of the Super Bowl yesterday which led us to talking about the "losers gear". Every year the league makes a bunch of gear to be worn by the winners right after the game, which means that there are now a bunch of "Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl Champs" shirts and hats. The league donates the loser gear to people in poor, remote areas....poor enough, I guess, that they've never heard of Ebay. Imagine what collectors, or even constantly jilted fans would pay for it.
Well, one of my students is from Buffalo, and a loyal Bills fan, which certainly can't hurt her grade. She said she was in Mexico and saw a guy wearing a Bills Super Bowl champs shirt. She started chasing the guy down the street, trying to buy it from him for $60. He looked at her like she was crazy and ran off. Bills fans can't even get respect in the third world.
The class also wanted to talk about Michael Phelps' new-found use of water...in a bong. The question is, did he hurt his image, or has he just become a lot cooler in the eyes of a bunch of people? We he lose his Speedo endorsement, or get a new one from Doritos? The moralist hypocrites who are raging about this should shut up. When they can do with their bodies what he does with his, they can tell him what to put in it. It's not like it's performance enhancing, unless of course, you are performing rock n roll!
Finally, tomorrow night on PBS (channel 6 at 8pm in Denver) there is a tribute to the late, great George Carlin, the greatest stand-up comic who ever lived. Saw this on Taplin's blog today, so I put it here so you can all enjoy a brilliant bit of comic poetry.
Well, one of my students is from Buffalo, and a loyal Bills fan, which certainly can't hurt her grade. She said she was in Mexico and saw a guy wearing a Bills Super Bowl champs shirt. She started chasing the guy down the street, trying to buy it from him for $60. He looked at her like she was crazy and ran off. Bills fans can't even get respect in the third world.
The class also wanted to talk about Michael Phelps' new-found use of water...in a bong. The question is, did he hurt his image, or has he just become a lot cooler in the eyes of a bunch of people? We he lose his Speedo endorsement, or get a new one from Doritos? The moralist hypocrites who are raging about this should shut up. When they can do with their bodies what he does with his, they can tell him what to put in it. It's not like it's performance enhancing, unless of course, you are performing rock n roll!
Finally, tomorrow night on PBS (channel 6 at 8pm in Denver) there is a tribute to the late, great George Carlin, the greatest stand-up comic who ever lived. Saw this on Taplin's blog today, so I put it here so you can all enjoy a brilliant bit of comic poetry.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
3 Comments about the Super Bowl
1) What a great game!!! This was the kind of game after which I feel sorry for those stuffy people who don't like sports. I like indy films, theater, music of all kinds, but I won't likely see anything in any of those arts that is close to the thrill of a great game like this one. Those who can't appreciate sports are missing out on the best theater in the world.
2) Greatest Halftime show ever!!! Not the greatest Super Bowl halftime show, or even the best football halftime show, but the greatest halftime show in the history of halftime shows. A very young woman at the party where I watched the game, said that Janet Jackson was cooler than Bruce. He killed that argument with that performance. First time in my whole life that I didn't want halftime to be over! Anyone have an argument about that point? Please leave a comment.
3) My apologies to Kurt Warner. If you read my last post, if looks like an attack on Kurt Warner. I meant it to be an attack on athletes who are always talking about their religion, and Warner is certainly an example of that. But I didn't mean to say that is his in any way a bad guy. As a matter of fact, he seems to be a really good guy. He played his ass off and loss tonight, and I would still love to ask him those questions. And I imagine he would answer them like the gentleman he is, and I would probably not buy his answers. But isn't that kind of civil disagreement what America is all about? I didn't mean to make that comment a personal assault.
Great game, The Boss rocked, and Kurt Warner, even though he lost, played his ass off. And how great was Jennifer Hudson's singing of the national anthem?
A truly super Super Bowl. Not many years you could say that!
2) Greatest Halftime show ever!!! Not the greatest Super Bowl halftime show, or even the best football halftime show, but the greatest halftime show in the history of halftime shows. A very young woman at the party where I watched the game, said that Janet Jackson was cooler than Bruce. He killed that argument with that performance. First time in my whole life that I didn't want halftime to be over! Anyone have an argument about that point? Please leave a comment.
3) My apologies to Kurt Warner. If you read my last post, if looks like an attack on Kurt Warner. I meant it to be an attack on athletes who are always talking about their religion, and Warner is certainly an example of that. But I didn't mean to say that is his in any way a bad guy. As a matter of fact, he seems to be a really good guy. He played his ass off and loss tonight, and I would still love to ask him those questions. And I imagine he would answer them like the gentleman he is, and I would probably not buy his answers. But isn't that kind of civil disagreement what America is all about? I didn't mean to make that comment a personal assault.
Great game, The Boss rocked, and Kurt Warner, even though he lost, played his ass off. And how great was Jennifer Hudson's singing of the national anthem?
A truly super Super Bowl. Not many years you could say that!
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