Beyond less sleep, when we moved our clocks ahead last night, we created many unintended consequences. It all began during the 1880s when the railroads said that they should coordinate time. With railroad companies observing 52 different times and even…
Would You Share Your Tuition, Your Income and Your Grades?
When are you willing to share what you have earned? College tuition? While the yearly sticker price for Duke, Harvard or Wellesley is close to $60,000, not everyone pays it. At Wellesley College, close to 40% of all students pay…
The California/Missouri Chicken Cage Disagreement
Sort of like coach or first class, most of the chickens that lay our eggs live in a battery or a colony cage. In the typical cage called the battery, a chicken has 67 square inches. By contrast, colony cages…
Gender Pricing: When Do Women Pay More Than Men?
NYC fined the owner of Freckle Skin and Hair for charging men less than women for haircuts. “It’s ridiculous, I have some guys who need to come in every two weeks. If I raise my prices, I’ll lose all my…
Why Are Steak Prices Rising?
In 1918, a filet mignon at Delmonico’s Restaurant would have cost $1.65. That same item on their 2014 menu is $48.00. However, according to the BLS inflation calculator, if the price had remained the same, it would now be $25.56.…
A New Cause of the Housing Bubble
In the 663 page report from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (remember them???), the 2000-2011 real estate boom and bust is blamed on relatively predictable conditions. Just glancing at their chapter titles and conclusions, you can see that they blame…
One Reason That Chocolates Are More Expensive
In an econlife post from September 2013, we presented a spending ladder that emerging market nations like the BRICs–Brazil, Russia, India, China–might climb. At each rung, spending surges and then flattens at that higher level until consumers can afford to climb…
Changing Female Images
Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg said, “You can’t be what you can’t see.” When econlife looked at women and the symphony orchestra several weeks ago, we first saw a world that, in 1970, was 95% male. Musical directors only saw men…
The Huge Impact of the Panama Canal Delay
The Panama Canal’s renovation was supposed to be done at the end of next year. However, the locks contracting group now is saying that the work is $1.6 billion more expensive than they expected–around 50% more– and they want extra…
Law & Order and Jimmy Fallon
States can use taxes for more than revenue. Our story begins when NYC lost the $79 million that Law & Order generated annually because NBC cancelled the show. Just feeding the actors for 14 years meant $1.5 million to David’s Gourmet Catering and…