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Opponents of healthcare reform (PPACA) contend it’s unconstitutional, as it forces us to buy health insurance or pay a fine. But is it? Suppose the IRS raised our taxes by the penalty amount, then gave everyone with insurance a deduction…
Read MoreWhile 59% of all children are born to married couples, two-thirds of all children are born to mothers under 30; among that population, over half of all births now occur outside marriage. One reason why is real earnings of men…
Read MoreThe Friday File: Encyclopaedia Britannica, first published in 1768, announced it will no longer put out a print edition. In ’90, its peak year, EB sold 120,000 copies, but at $1,395 a set, sales in ’10 were just 8,000. Can…
Read MoreHard as it was, the recent Greek default was easy because Greece just stiffed private banks and hedge funds. Next time – yes, next time – it will be harder. This is because most of Greece’s debt is now held…
Read MoreIn ’11, March Madness earned the NCAA $548 million from TV rights and $40 million from ticket sales; 96% of all NCAA revenue. And, in 05-06 (the latest year for which data are available) the average salary for the 65…
Read MoreWhile gasoline prices have risen dramatically, and now average $3.80 a gallon, its impact has been muted. This is because natural gas prices have collapsed, falling 42% from a year ago, due to abundant supply and an unusually warm winter.…
Read MoreRecent economic data are mixed. On one hand, the job market is doing well, bank lending is rising, and car sales are zooming. But, gasoline prices are up, real after-tax incomes are almost flat — causing consumer spending to grow…
Read MoreThe Friday File: When it comes to makeup, spending cycles back and forth between lips and eyes. A fall in colored lipstick sales from ’07 through ’09 was offset by a rise in “smokey eye” which then morphed into volumizing…
Read MoreHow big is the US welfare state? Bigger than you think! In Europe, governments subsidize industry, and provide healthcare and day-care, through high taxes. Here we do the same thing, but with special (charitable, medical) deductions, (childcare) tax credits and…
Read MoreA recent paper by three economists shows that Palestinian terrorist attacks that killed Jewish Israelis (civilian and military, in Israel the West Bank and Gaza) between ’02 and ‘04 had no effect, immediate or delayed, on the happiness of Jewish…
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