Econ70
Rather than assume your guests are rational (like economists) and will stick to their dietary resolutions, use behavioral economics to structure your Thanksgiving meal. First, keep the food in the kitchen; that forces guests to get out of their chairs…
Read MoreThe worst year for forest fires was 2006 when 9.87 million acres burned, with 2007 a close second at 9.33 million acres. This year, 9.10 million acres, an area roughly half the size of SC, have burned making it the…
Read MoreDue to German-inspired excessively speedy austerity in Greece, Spain and Portugal, (GSP) the Euro-zone economy is quickly entering a needless recession. Worse, the GSP economies are shrinking by more than the spending cuts and tax increases they’re imposing, thus worsening…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Invented in 1930 and manufactured at the rate of 1,000 per minute, the Twinkie is going bye-bye. A victim of health consciousness and bad management, Archie Bunker will need to slip something else into his lunchbox. Between…
Read MoreBy 2060, India and China are each projected to have economies larger than that of the US, and collectively 46% of world GDP, compared to 24% today. By contrast, the developed economies of Europe, North America and Japan will account…
Read MoreThe Mortgage Interest Deduction is of limited value because of low rates and low house prices. A $300,000 house with a 30-year mortgage at 3.25% pays just $7,800 in mortgage interest, yet the 2012 standard deduction is $11,900 if married…
Read MoreWashington will not solve the Fiscal Cliff during the lame duck session of Congress. Rather, they’ll pass a stop-gap measure raising the debt ceiling and more importantly giving themselves more time to pass revenue-positive tax reform, consisting of broadening the…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Each unexpected gridiron victory by an NCAA division 1-A school (Doug Flutie BC ’88) increases athletic donations by $134,000, college applications by 1% and average SAT scores by 1.8 points. Thus, five extra wins means an extra…
Read MoreShort-term bonds issued by Exxon-Mobile and Johnson & Johnson currently yield a hair less than comparable Treasuries. While historically a very rare phenomenon, this trend may persist and even expand because some corporations have higher credit ratings than Uncle Sam…
Read MoreWhile spending $6 billion for the ‘12 election sounds like a lot, it’s just 0.0375% of our GDP, or just 3.75 cents/$100. It’s about as much as Americans spend renting movies, and it’s less than we spend on Halloween! What’s…
Read More