Russell Roberts's Blog, page 1566

Foer Gives Consumers No Credit

Here's a letter to the New York Times:

Demanding that Congress cap credit-card interchange fees, Albert Foer writes that "what almost no one realizes is that those [credit-card convenience:] benefits are far outweighed by an implicit transaction fee" ("Our $48 Billion Credit Card Bill," April 21).

The reason no one realizes the excessive burdensomeness of this fee is because it's a fiction conjured by Mr. Foer's imagination.  The very fact that consumers voluntarily use credit cards and debit...

"Son, I Want You To Grow Up to Be a Pipefitter"

Here's a letter of mine published in today's Washington Post:

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

John Tkacik [letters, April 19:] writes that "the most unsettling aspect of China's economic power is its manufacturing output. According to the latest figures in the CIA's World Factbook, industry accounts for about 22 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product and about 49 percent of China's." Because he doesn't elaborate, Mr. Tkacik apparently believes that this fact speaks for itself and that its...

Flowering of Civilization

The lead photograph in this New York Times report tells an interesting and humane story.  It's of Kenyan workers moving a large cart of dying flowers to be destroyed.

The Kenyan flowers were meant for European markets, but the flight cancellations caused by the Icelandic volcano resulted in these flowers never getting to market.

That part of the story is a bit sad.  Europeans who would have enjoyed these flowers don't get them, and the Kenyan flower-growers who would have enjoyed the income...

Broken windows in psychology

Turns out that psychologists can have their own version of the broken window fallacy:

The dark clouds of volcanic ash that have closed airports and stranded travelers for days on end may have a silver lining, suggests an expert on human creativity from Washington University in St. Louis.

Like it or note, stranded travelers around the globe are suddenly finding themselves with a lot of unscheduled time on their hands, and idle time is a key ingredient to becoming more creative in your...

Government Gives Me Hypertension

Justifying her support of the F.D.A.'s proposal to forcibly limit the amount of salt that Americans consume, Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Cheryl Anderson is quoted in today's Washington Post declaring that "We can't just rely on the individual to do something.  Food manufacturers have to reduce the amount of sodium in foods."

The cosmic arrogance of the likes of Dr. Anderson was described by H.L. Mencken:

A certain section of medical opinion, in late years, has succumbed to the messianic...

Extraordinary photos

Tony Kornheiser remarked the other day that everyone is focused on the inconvenience of European travelers caused by volcanic ash and no one seems to be talking about the people of Iceland.

These photos (HT: Gappy3000) are extraordinary. And they show you what is happening on the island.

A few samples, but go to the site to see them all. You can click on these to see them in their full size:

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Peace and Violence

Here's a letter sent to Dana Milbank of the Washington Post:

Dear Mr. Milbank:

You ridicule Tea Partiers as being malcontents intent on "expressing violent thoughts, peacefully" ("Gun-toting protesters voice violent thoughts peacefully," April 20).

I leave to each reader, and to history, the task of assessing Tea Partiers' propensity for violence.  One useful comparison would be with the anti-globalization protestors of a few years back (who likely fancied themselves as expressing peaceful...

Mike and I talk about money, motives, gifts, etc

The latest EconTalk is Mike Munger and I talking about how money and love motivate us and how that affects what works and what doesn't. We get into Enos Slaughter along the way. Next week, Paul Romer on charter cities.

Eye Candy

I don't know if it's reliable but I enjoyed eye-balling these numbers in this elegant design.

Stop the Bullies!

Here's a letter sent recently to Mr. Daryl Presgraves of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network:

Dear Mr. Presgraves:

Thanks for your e-mail encouraging me to use my blog to promote your organization's "Day of Silence" aimed at protesting bullying.

I support your efforts.  It's despicable whenever anyone harasses other people because of their sexual preferences.  All peaceful, consensual conduct among adults is the business only of those adults.  Bigoted busybodies who intrude upon...