Posts Tagged ‘economist eisenberg’
Pricey Policy
To save lives, Congress requires all new cars and trucks to have backup warning systems to prevent the killing or injuring of pedestrians while driving in reverse. If installing a camera (the cheapest solution) costs $75/vehicle, the cost/life saved is $65 million!! It’s so expensive because all 250 million cars will need a camera before…
Read MoreOne Currency, No Leaders
The virtue of the gold standard was that countries with trade surpluses saw their gold holdings rise, which increased their money supply, raised prices and reduced exports. Conversely, countries that ran deficits lost gold, which caused their money supply to decline, pushing prices down and boosting exports. Today, euro-using Germany runs chronic surpluses, yet won’t…
Read MoreWhat’s Your Name?
The Friday File: In 2012, the three most popular girls’ names in descending order were Sophia, Emma and Isabella. For boys, it was Jacob, Mason and Ethan. In 2012, the girl’s name most rapidly rising in popularity was Arya; for boys it was Major. Since 1913, the most popular girls’ names have been Mary, used…
Read MorePainless Price Rise
Despite the recent rise in house prices and residential shelter costs comprising 32% of the CPI, rising house prices won’t, in the short run, worsen inflation. This is because the CPI does not look at house prices, but rather the cost to rent a dwelling (owner-occupied or rented). And since house prices and rents are…
Read More