Economics
What’s So Bad About Google+ Integration with Google Search?
There has been a lot of complaining lately about Google’s integration of Google+ results into its search. There have been a lot of accusations. Many say we can no longer trust Google’s search results. Some have gone so far as to say that Google is going back on its pledge to “Do no evil.”
I see things a bit differently. Google offers a variety of services, many of which can be called apps in their own right. Google wants to integrate these services into a single app, each piece of which integrates into each other. The black toolbar added recently took a major step in this direction. The inclusion of social results from Google+ is yet another step.
Economics Fallacy – The Broken Window
Listening to Walter Williams in my morning commute speak about the “Broken Window Fallacy” reminded me of one of my favorite books on economics, “Economics in One Lesson” by Henry Hazlitt. The text of this book is available online, and well worth a read for anyone who wants to learn more about economics. I highly suggest reading this book if you have any interest in understanding how economics works, without having to dig too deep into mathematics. For a taste, read the chapter on “The Broken Window.”
“A young hoodlum, say, heaves a brick through the window of a baker’s shop. The shopkeeper runs out furious, but the boy is gone. A crowd gathers, and begins to stare with quiet satisfaction at the gaping hole in the window and the shattered glass over the bread and pies. After a while the crowd feels the need for philosophic reflection. And several of its members are almost certain to remind each other or the baker that, after all, the misfortune has its bright side. It will make business for some glazier. As they begin to think of this they elaborate upon it. How much does a new plate glass window cost? Two hundred and fifty dollars? That will be quite a sum. After all, if windows were never broken, what would happen to the glass business? Then, of course, the thing is endless. The glazier will have $250 more to spend with other merchants, and these in turn will have $250 more to spend with still other merchants, and so ad infinitum. The smashed window will go on providing money and employment in ever-widening circles. The logical conclusion from all this would be, if the crowd drew it, that the little hoodlum who threw the brick, far from being a public menace, was a public benefactor.”
The rest of the chapter is at this link.
One Tax-Cut to Rule Them All
We are in a serious economic situation right now. Not many people are aware of how dire things really are. While President Obama and the Democrat-run House and Senate are trying to work out how much more to spend on this and that, the available funds to pay for it have come and gone. Right [...]
Warcraft Economics – Auctions, Profiteering, and Helping Others
I love to play World of Warcraft. Questing, killing beasties, gaining achievements, and Player vs Player are just entertaining things to do on a nice relaxing evening. One of the great things about WoW, as it is known, is that there are so many different ways to play the game. One of my most enjoyable [...]
Stimulate Me – How Obama Could Win the Economic War
Now that we’re starting to get an idea of what President Obama’s economic knowledge is like, it’s starting to get a little worrisome. Taxpayer money is being thrown at hundreds of projects, like museums, sidewalks, libraries, and a trolley in Puerto Rico. Pushes for more “green energy” projects will do more to raise energy costs, [...]
How to Save the US Auto Industry
As the arguments have gone on about how to bail out the US auto industry, I’ve thought a lot about it myself.I believe that the US auto industry can be saved with some rather simple steps. Primarily, these include such common-sense things as un-crippling the automakers, reforming the automotive market, and trying some innovative experimental [...]
My Advice for President-Elect Barack Obama Pt. 1
Now that Barack H. Obama, the only messiah to actually have H. as a middle initial, has won the election, he can assemble his transition team, staff, and advisors. Since I’m a firm believer that not all advice should be taken from people who believe exactly as you do, I am applying for a role [...]
Dubai Ports Deal – Could it be a Good Idea?
There has been a lot of talk, lately, about the security of our ports, as a Dubai-based company is soon to gain control of certain aspects of our container shipping and receiving structure. Concerns about foreign control of these shipping terminals seems rather late, as foreign control is exactly what we’ve had for years. What’s [...]
Excellent Explanation of Oil Markets
DJ Drummond, over at Polipundit has written a fantastic entry on the economics of oil. I’ve written on this subject in the past, but Drummond really did a fine job of covering a lot of the details of why the oil prices fluctuate. Also, there’s a great chart showing the inflation adjusted prices of gasoline [...]
100 Million Missing Women?
While persusing the website of one of the authors of Freakanomics, I found an interesting article from Slate by Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt. The article tells of the work of Emily Oster in studying the problem of the “missing women” in Southeast Asia. The hypothesis of the missing women is that, given [...]