Archive for July, 2009
O’Reilly vs. Amsterdam
If O’Reilly is taking a strong stance against it, does that mean that marijuana decriminalization is actually gaining some ground here in the U.S.?
This hack-job is hilarious. And classic FOX/O’Reilly style. Enjoy:
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (1) : Jul 29th, 2009
How much is $1,000,000,000,000?
Filed under Uncategorized : Comments (0) : Jul 27th, 2009
2008 Obesity Update
This just in – we’re fat!
The CDC does a study of obesity levels by state and publishes the results annually. The 2008 data are in, and we’re fatter than ever.
This is a problem.
One possible solution : reform agriculture policy. We (as taxpayers) heavily subsidize the corn industry so that we can get extremely cheap corn-based foods. One problem : corn-based foods (think high fructose corn syrup, not corn on the cob) are high in calories and low in nutrients.
We need to stop subsidizing corn and start encouraging sensible, sustainable agriculture for healthy crops like fruits and vegetables.
Filed under Healthcare, culture, environment, politics : Comments (2) : Jul 12th, 2009
In defense of renting : Part II
This post continues a thread started here.
In my first installment, I walked through the often overlooked costs of owning home and the often overlooked benefits of renting. After housing, most Americans spend the largest portion of their income on automobiles. Does owning a car really make sense?
The seasoned tadfad reader is well aware of my personal feelings towards our car culture. Without dwelling too much on the cultural aspects, I want to examine it from an economic perspective.
Owning a car is an incredibly inefficient use of capital to achieve a fairly mundane goal–personal transportation. Due to decades disastrous public policy and infrastructure choices it remains the only option for many Americans. Consider that in 1910 we had the world’s best public transit system. Then we fell in love with cars, built highways at the expenses railways, and today we have the worst public transit (among developed nations).
Automobiles are complex (and subsequently expensive) machines. All but the cheapest of cars cost at least $15,000; it’s not uncommon to double or triple that figure for popular models. Add in the cost of financing and taxes and the purchase price will commonly tip the scales at $50,000 or more. After that huge investment, a car depreciates rapidly, becoming virtually worthless in 10-20 years. And all along the way, you pay recurring expenses for fuel, service, insurance, and repairs.
The costs don’t stop there. We also bear a tremendous burden for the upkeep of our roads and highways. (Fuel taxes pay only a fraction of these costs). Add in the economic and social cost of the all-too-common traffic accidents and the total cost is immense.
There are alternatives.
A few companies are growing networks of short-term car rental. Zipcar is the most successful of these, offering the use of a car by the hour. You pay an annual membership fee plus an hourly rate; they pay for everything else (including the fuel!). If done correctly, this is a good deal for all since the utilization rate for the fixed capital (the car) is much higher.
The other obvious choice is better public transit. Critics love to lament the cost of building and operating high quality public transit systems, but compared to the cost of the automobile system it’s a bargain. The rub comes in the timing–until we have good, reliable public transit, we won’t give up our cars. But until we give up our cars, we won’t get the cost savings of public transit. A dilemma to be sure, but we’ll get through it one way or another (likely with the help of $5 gasoline).
Of course, public transit doesn’t work very well when everyone lives in their own McMansion on a 1/4 acre suburban plot. . . but hey–you can always sell the house and rent.
Further reading – a related post from two years ago.
Filed under culture, economics : Comments (1) : Jul 9th, 2009
The other budget buster
We love to lament about the goverment costs of health care, energy policy, and social services. Depending on who you ask (and when) each of these is responsible for past, current, and future budget woes.
Why don’t we talk about the other 711,000,000,000 lb gorilla in the room?
Filed under economics, politics, war : Comments (0) : Jul 7th, 2009
