Economic Ideas

November 19, 2011

Stagnation or Education?

Is the problem stagnation or education? For George Mason economist Tyler Cowen, it was all about his grandmother. Debating MIT economist Erik Brynjolfsson, Cowen reminded us […]

November 18, 2011

Health Insurance Dilemmas

Assume for a moment that you are slim, love broccoli and run 4 miles each day. Should your health insurance premium be lower than the amount […]

November 17, 2011

Ben Franklin’s Turkey

The bald eagle is our national bird but, according to Ben Franklin, the turkey should have been. In a letter to his daughter, he explains why. […]

November 16, 2011

The Supreme Court and the Health-Care Law

How to understand what the Supreme Court will look at when they decide whether parts of the health-care act are constitutional? In an excellent interactive graphic, […]

November 14, 2011

European Ties

How to picture the US/European economic partnership? You could think of Skippy Peanut Butter. Owned by Unilever, a multinational based in the UK and the Netherlands, […]

November 12, 2011

Presidential Wagers

 Looking at the University of Iowa GOP Iowa Caucus Market, you could create these headlines: “Gingrich gains.” “Cain crashes.” Perry plummets. Romney remains. With quotes indicated […]

November 11, 2011

Car Rentals and Cuban Houses

Have you ever washed a rented car? Former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers tells us that, “In the history of the world,” no one has. For rental […]

November 9, 2011

“Tweakers”

Referring to Steve Jobs, most of us think of innovation and entrepreneurship. Like Thomas Friedman in “(Steve) Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs,” we imagine business starters and […]

November 8, 2011

The Future of Oil

When will we run out of oil? A room full of pistachios might have the answer. In the first several pages of The Invisible Heart: An […]