An interesting piece at the Chronicle of Higher Education based on a new book.
Hat tip: MR
Whew.
9 years ago
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
New barber shop comes to Ann Arbor
This strikes me as likely a very profitable idea: a barbershop that combines Supercuts with Hooters and ESPNZone.
Now available in Ann Arbor, but not likely to lure me away from Salon Vox.
Now available in Ann Arbor, but not likely to lure me away from Salon Vox.
People I knew in Judy Thornton's class at UW
Readers who know me and also my old friend Ken Troske may have heard me tell a story about a small honors economics class - about 10 students - that Ken and I both took back in our undergraduate days at the University of Washington. The amazing fact about this class - amazing at least if you know both Ken and me - is that neither of us was the loudest person in the class nor the second loudest person in the class.
The loudest person was a fine fellow called Dan Shasteen, whose father sold aluminum siding in Hawaii and who was a great fan of Austrian economics in general and of Ludwig von Mises in particular. The second loudest person, and the motivation for this post, was called Nelson del Rio. I learned yesterday, by first reading the UW Economics Department's alumni newsletter and then following up on the "Celebration" awards ceremony page, that he has done quite well for himself indeed.
Congratulations to Nelson!
The loudest person was a fine fellow called Dan Shasteen, whose father sold aluminum siding in Hawaii and who was a great fan of Austrian economics in general and of Ludwig von Mises in particular. The second loudest person, and the motivation for this post, was called Nelson del Rio. I learned yesterday, by first reading the UW Economics Department's alumni newsletter and then following up on the "Celebration" awards ceremony page, that he has done quite well for himself indeed.
Congratulations to Nelson!
British elections (continued)
I missed the end of the drama while on the plane back to Ann Arbor.
The result was a coalition of the conservatives and the liberal democrats, as described by the BBC and approved of by the Economist.
One of the promises made by the conservatives to lure the liberal democrats into a coalition was moves towards electoral reform: something like rank order voting or proportional representation. The latter is a longtime wish of the liberal democrats, as illustrated by this old advocacy video featuring John Cleese (!) from Monty Python. I think the liberal democrats will be disappointed by electoral reform in the end, if indeed they get it, when they discover that it induces general equilibrium effects in terms of party platforms and and party composition. Is there any reason, in particular, to have a party that combines classical liberals (sorta) with social democrats under either alternative voting or proportional representation?
The result was a coalition of the conservatives and the liberal democrats, as described by the BBC and approved of by the Economist.
One of the promises made by the conservatives to lure the liberal democrats into a coalition was moves towards electoral reform: something like rank order voting or proportional representation. The latter is a longtime wish of the liberal democrats, as illustrated by this old advocacy video featuring John Cleese (!) from Monty Python. I think the liberal democrats will be disappointed by electoral reform in the end, if indeed they get it, when they discover that it induces general equilibrium effects in terms of party platforms and and party composition. Is there any reason, in particular, to have a party that combines classical liberals (sorta) with social democrats under either alternative voting or proportional representation?
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Police run amok in Missouri
Radley Balko continues his crusade against police using excessive force with this video.
Watch it. Is this really America? These guys are out of control.
And all over some pot.
More prosaically, whatever you think about the wisdom of the drug war, how can this sort of thing possibly pass any sort of cost-benefit test? Several cops spend several hours, all on overtime because it is at night, to execute this raid. Plus they kill the pets and scare the kids, probably making them distrust the police the entire rest of their lives. Worth it? Over some joints? What's the money value of keeping this guy from smoking pot? I don't even think it is positive, but even if you do, can it possibly exceed the costs?
Good job to the Economist's DIA blog to publicizing the video outside of libertarian-land as well.
Addendum: more on the reaction from the Columbia, Missouri - home of the University of Missouri - police to the public consternation about the video. The police chief does not really seem to get the point.
Watch it. Is this really America? These guys are out of control.
And all over some pot.
More prosaically, whatever you think about the wisdom of the drug war, how can this sort of thing possibly pass any sort of cost-benefit test? Several cops spend several hours, all on overtime because it is at night, to execute this raid. Plus they kill the pets and scare the kids, probably making them distrust the police the entire rest of their lives. Worth it? Over some joints? What's the money value of keeping this guy from smoking pot? I don't even think it is positive, but even if you do, can it possibly exceed the costs?
Good job to the Economist's DIA blog to publicizing the video outside of libertarian-land as well.
Addendum: more on the reaction from the Columbia, Missouri - home of the University of Missouri - police to the public consternation about the video. The police chief does not really seem to get the point.
Los Suns
Good for the Phoenix Suns for taking a gentle but very much deserved jab at Arizona's new anti-immigrant law.
And shame on so many in Arizona for supporting it. But more useful than moral posturing by those opposed to it, I think, is to interpret it as an indirect plea for a reasonable fix to a very broken system. The fix should not mean keeping the immigrants out or blaming them for problems they do not cause. It should mean an honest system that includes guest workers and a clear path to citizenship for those who want it and meet reasonable requirements.
And shame on so many in Arizona for supporting it. But more useful than moral posturing by those opposed to it, I think, is to interpret it as an indirect plea for a reasonable fix to a very broken system. The fix should not mean keeping the immigrants out or blaming them for problems they do not cause. It should mean an honest system that includes guest workers and a clear path to citizenship for those who want it and meet reasonable requirements.
Friday, May 7, 2010
More evidence to support Ann Arbor's smug self-satisfaction
Forbes ranks Ann Arbor America's fourth most livable city.
Ahead of us: Pittsburgh! Orem (that would be in Utah) and Ogden (also in Utah).
I guess "number of places you can drink" does not have a large weight in their model.
Ahead of us: Pittsburgh! Orem (that would be in Utah) and Ogden (also in Utah).
I guess "number of places you can drink" does not have a large weight in their model.
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