Monday’s tragic apartment fire in St. Paul highlights an ongoing debate about what government should regulate. The fire started in a house subdivided into five apartments. Seven people out of the 20 or more people living in the house were…
Category: Other
Governors can’t do much to economy
Elected officials don’t have the economic power most people think. State leaders have even less influence than those in Washington, D.C. Minnesota governors can do little to alter economic conditions despite claims to the contrary. Keep these reassuring thoughts in…
Supply-demand effects vary by market
News on the front page of Tuesday’s business section offered a classic demonstration of how markets for different goods respond differently to changes in demand or supply. The top story reported that the number of houses sold in the Twin…
Give the CEO a raise? All in favor say “aye”
Many think CEOs earn too much. But should government do anything about it? Government cannot cure every ill, particularly in situations involving decisions made within legal, private businesses. Intervention in such cases often creates more problems than it resolves, and…
U.S. colleges are envy of the world
As millions of Americans attended college graduations recently, their minds probably drifted during platitude-laden speeches and long recitations of names. Probably few reflected on how our diverse, decentralized system of higher education contributes to U.S. prosperity. Much of the dynamism…
Technology changes what is “tradeable”
Nik is a great political cartoonist. His caricature skills, sense of irony and wit are superb. But U.S. political cartoonists need not worry about competition because Nik draws for La Nacion, a Buenos Aires daily. Unless you follow Argentine politics,…
A Treasury secretary’s lot
Henry Paulson’s nomination as Treasury secretary is good news. It ends uncertainty hanging over the post since it became clear months ago that the Bush administration was greasing the skids under incumbent John Snow. Paulson certainly seems able and experienced.…
Mixed signals makes Fed’s job harder
Mixed economic signals are making it difficult for the Federal Open Market Committee to decide whether to decrease or increase the money supply, which in turn influences whether interest rates go up or down. Let me make an analogy with…
Capital gains put the “fun” in fungible
UnitedHealth Group did a service for all econ teachers by demonstrating that income is fungible. Something is fungible when it is “freely interchangeable with something else in satisfying an obligation.” By paying CEO William McGuire with highly favorable stock options,…
Creative highway financing doesn’t add up
Whether you’re amused or outraged by the creative proposals to finance improvements to the Crosstown Commons probably depends on how often you travel the interchange at Minnesota 62 and Interstate 35W. The Minnesota Department of Transportation claims that requiring private…