Not satisfied with making my city the butt of jokes for banning foie gras, some moron in the City Council wants to ban tiny little plastic bags, because, you know, people sell drugs in them: Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd) persuaded the Health Committee to ban possession of "self-sealing plastic bags under two inches in either height or width," after picking up 15 of the bags … [Read more...] about The War on Tiny Little Baggies
Archives for March 2008
It’s Okay to Look at Naked 13-Year Old Girls If They Have a Headache
Jacob Sullum at Hit & Run tries to ruin our day with this summary from a court brief: Savana Redding, an eighth grade honor roll student at Safford Middle School in Tucson, Arizona, was pulled from class on October 8, 2003 by the school's vice principal, Kerry Wilson. Earlier that day, Wilson had discovered [drugs] in the possession of Redding's classmate....Under … [Read more...] about It’s Okay to Look at Naked 13-Year Old Girls If They Have a Headache
Why I Love Economics
Over at Simple Justice, Gritsforbreakfast left this comment: My college major was economics, and I was downright angry when, after learning all the theory, it became clear that nearly every "assumption" economists said make free markets "work" was actually, demonstrably false. E.g., people have perfect information, make rational choices that maximize their self-interest, etc.. … [Read more...] about Why I Love Economics
Crashes, Chases, Economic Standup, and an Important Career Tip
Random shots around the web: Gideon has a great crash reel. Here's a pretty good top-ten list of movie car chases. Scott has an explanation of Mankiw's 10 Principles of Economics. Important career tip: Don't ask your employer to get you a hooker. (Hat tip: Randozza) … [Read more...] about Crashes, Chases, Economic Standup, and an Important Career Tip
Costs and Benefits of Being #1 at Incarceration
Scott at Simple Justice is always a source of fascinating issues, and recently he wrote about the Pew report on incarceration: The Pew report has been the subject of intense interest around the blawgosphere. This is the report that tells us that we finally reached a 1 in 100 incarceration rate (and far higher for minorities) and the cost is blowing the … [Read more...] about Costs and Benefits of Being #1 at Incarceration