Brian Gongol
Optimism about the next Mexican government
"Calderón seems to put Mexico on a trajectory to further progress to freer markets, more economic growth, stronger democratic institutions, and rule of law"
PowerPoint abuse may be dangerous for troops in Iraq
The PowerPoint-slide mentality's way of cutting out transitional thoughts and continuity of explanation may actually be dangerous for those whose lives depend upon thoughtful execution of plans
"No telling Mommy I shot my probation officer"
No subsidies, please
Hong Kong resident complains about a subsidy fund, countering that the government proponents of the fund "must know that entrepreneurs, by definition, are people who don't need official assistance." That would be correct.
First transatlantic telegraph message sent 158 years ago today
99-word message took 17 hours and 40 minutes to cross the ocean. Today, an e-mail sends the same thing virtually instantaneously. But there are still lots of people around who can't fathom why technology is a good thing.
A fitting tomb for Fidel Castro
An e-mail from Milton Friedman
Even a guy who headed the President's Council of Economic Advisers gets a little giddy from getting a note from Uncle Milty
Contaminated water makes campers sick
Financial Center
Dumpster-diving doofuses don't get basic economics
Perfectly healthy and income-earning people are "dumpster diving" for food in places like DC. Several say it's because they are concerned about waste and about damage to the environment, and some like the fact it's apparently "free" food. But on the former point, if they were really concerned about waste and social justice, they would put their efforts to use by helping to coordinate organized ways in which surplus food could be distributed to people who need it. On the latter, they obviously aren't bright enough to grasp the opportunity cost of their time and the health risks involved from playing Oscar the Grouch. If they understood anything about markets, they would realize that no grocery store or restaurant wants to throw away perfectly good food, and that the market encourages those firms to make optimal use of every gram of food they find. Moreover, the dumpster-divers obviously don't get the fact that increased agricultural production and better means of preserving food are a much bigger issue than anything they're going to solve by rooting through Hefty bags of rotten potatoes.
Index funds vs. value investing
The framing effect
How we perceive risk determines what we do about it
Maniac drives through Paris at ludicrous speeds