I've been slowly working my way through Choice: The Best of Reason, edited by Nick Gillespie, Reason's Editor-in-Chief. I subscribe to Reason, and I normally read through each issue over a period of a couple of hours. Then I have to wait a month to do it all over again. Choice, however, is a collection of very meaty material, so I've been waiting after each article to let it … [Read more...] about Choice: No Fruits, No Shirts, No Service
Economics
Deposit and Return
In the hope of encouraging more recycling, Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn is pushing a 5-cent deposit for beverage containers. Unclaimed deposits would be used for environmental programs. I think this is a terrific idea. It will save me a lot of work because I can now just toss this stuff out the car window when I'm driving, secure in the knowledge that the state already … [Read more...] about Deposit and Return
The Wealth Un-Race
Over on Left2Right, Don Herzog is talking about equal opportunity, using a race as an analogy. Not that I object to his conclusion, but I've never liked the race analogy because it can be misleading. Wealth is not a race, or at least not a normal one. A race is about more than just a race, it's about winning the prizes at the end. When it comes to personal financial … [Read more...] about The Wealth Un-Race
Of Books and Oranges
Over on Marginal Revolution, Steve Landsburg is wondering if there are too many books and says something a little strange: Writing a book is not like growing an orange. If you grow the best orange in the world, the second best orange still gets eaten. But if you write the best book in the world, the second best book loses a lot of readers. So the market price of an orange is … [Read more...] about Of Books and Oranges
Theory of Escalation or Escalation of Theory.
Economist Steven E. Landsburg wonders in Slate why people walk up stairs but don't walk up escalators. It's a clever example of how economists think about problems and the kinds of mistakes they make. Some of his Slate readers don't get it: You fool economists have way too much time on your hands. You ignore the most obvious answer to go through this pathetic exercise that in … [Read more...] about Theory of Escalation or Escalation of Theory.