Economics and Social Policy XXXVIII

Welcome to the June 17, 2007 edition of Economics and Social Policy.

Adam presents Free Internet posted at Sophistpundit.

Ya wanna screw up the balance between demand and supply? Have the government provide something for “free”. It’s certainly more than plausible that Cisco Systems would want the government to provide “free” internet – it’s all money in their pocket for routers, switches, etc.

And the payback to an expensive taxpayer funded boondoggle would be? Easier access to porn for poor people? Internet gambling? Nigerian Oil Minister scams?

If you are concerned about the underclass in America, it’s time to focus on rebuilding traditional families and education.

DWSUWF presents GWB determined to honor campaign promise and unite the country. posted at Divided We Stand United We Fall.

Heh, and double-Heh. The President’s on a mission.

Charles H. Green presents How Marketing Can Destroy Sales Trust posted at Trust Matters.

It’s no accident that Marketers are usually depicted on Dilbert as weasels.

Dan Harris presents China Cell Phone Chargers - Capitalist Market With Socialist Characteristics posted at China Law Blog, saying, "China's economic policy reaches into the pocket, deeply."

One of the commenters on this post points out the obvious – the phone providers make big profits on the sale of accessories, an consequently have little incentive for standardization. However, I would expect that most of the phones sold worldwide tend to be heavily discounted, and usually come bundled with a charger. It’s the costs of extra chargers, car chargers, holsters, etc., that really run up the bill.

Chances are good that the profits from the sale of accessories are subsidizing the prices of the phones. Mandate an end to the add on sales, and what happens to the base price? It’s probably going up.

And it’s not like the Chinese government is in favor of open and secure communications between its citizens, either.

Vahagn Hayrapetyan presents Chinese healthcare and high fuel costs - vahagn.name posted at vahagn.name.

I’m not completely sold on preventative care as the silver bullet of healthcare cost management. This is at least partly due to the fact that I don’t want Nanny Bloomberg deciding what, where, and when I can eat.

Alfa King presents Sugar shortfall posted at Alfa King Memories.

R.Pettinger presents Does Aid Increase Economic Welfare posted at Economics Essays.

A good post on the pluses and minuses of foreign aid. More discussion from one of the victims here.

Gavin R. Putland presents Corporate solution to rape and How Australia loses $1 trillion a year posted at /etc/cron.whenever/.

I’m not buying that land speculation is the key driver in the business cycle in the Australia piece. Seems more of a classic confusion between correlation and causation to me. And the rape analogy to cap – n – trade shouldn’t be pushed to far, though one notes that once cap – n – trade becomes more than a theoretical possibility, all sorts of incentives are created to pollute now to sell the savings later.

Shadox presents Why Your Next Car Shouldn't be an "American" Car posted at Money and Such.

Well, the whole notion that the American auto industry is suffering because of resistance to CAFÉ standards is balderdash. What’s really killing Detroit is poor design, poor quality, and a $1,400 plus cost per vehicle disadvantage.

CAFÉ standards, on the other hand, only deliver 3 things: a sense of moral superiority, fewer consumer choices, and less vehicle safety.

Steven Silvers presents eHarmony complaint proves once again that lawsuits are a great way to generate serious publicity for extremist silliness. posted at Scatterbox at stevensilvers.com.

Somehow, access to one online dating service in the galaxy of existing online dating services hardly seems like a denial of a major public accommodation.

Summer presents We need better daycare posted at Wired For Noise.

We may need better daycare, but the only way society is likely to get it is to increase the number of stay at home moms. I’m not sure that warehousing the kids with the government is a good idea.

Grey Swan presents Financial Aid Subsidizes Consumption Grey Swan posted at Grey Swan.

There’s no doubt that the prevalence of financial aid and subsidies raises the costs of education, as well as distorts the market by incenting kids better suited for the trades to go to college.

Jon Swift presents I Am Paris Hilton posted at Jon Swift.

Well, we all want to be Paris Hilton… more specifically, we all want to have Paris’s money. As for the rest of the baggage, I’m not so sure.

Wenchypoo presents If Only There Were Fewer People… posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo's Mental Wastebasket.

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