I enjoyed this video about the workings of the Federal Reserve, courtesy of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. (HT to Tim Schilling)
Cute. It’s also worth noting that it’s potentially just as important to understand what the Fed *doesn’t* do. More specifically…repeat it with me, people, THE FED DOES NOT PRINT MONEY. [...]
Tags: Macroeconomics · Policy
In addition to teaching economics, I often find myself having to make a pitch for why it’s important to understand economics in the first place. One of the reasons I usually give is something along the lines of “so you don’t have to take on faith what politicians have to say about policy choices.” [...]
Tags: Macroeconomics · Policy
My friend Jeff is organizing a series of “lightning talks,” which are two minute presentations (complete with a PowerPoint deck set to autoadvance in order to enforce the 2 minute rule) about something (hopefully) interesting. He asked me what the title of my talk is going to be, and I told him that I [...]
Tags: Just For Fun · Policy
Apparently the town of Tracy, California has decided that its revenue shortfall should be relieved by charging people for making medical 911 calls. Before I get into the absurdity of this particular plan, let me give you a refresher:
Goods and services can be classified along two dimensions: excludability and rivalry in consumption. A [...]
Tags: Econ 101 · Markets · Policy
I’ve posted before about esoteric cartoons, and I will do you the favor of recounting one of my favorite Seinfeld dialogues on the topic:
Elaine: Look at this cartoon in the New Yorker, I don’t get this.
Jerry: I don’t either.
Elaine: And you’re on the fringe of the humor business.
(George comes in)
George: Hey!
Elaine: Hey! George look at [...]
Tags: Just For Fun · Policy