Mormon Bloggers

Commenting on this post, Notalawyer writes that he (or she) is seriously concerned about global warming especially because many natural scientists consider this to be a serious and existential problem. Its [sic] entirely possible that global warming could open up more space for human habitation, crop growth etc. But most scientists believe it will have large detrimental effects. While no one has more respect for the natural sciences than I do, I am not persuaded by Notalawyer’s reasoning.  Meteorologists, biologists, horticulturists, zoologists, physicists, entomologists, physicians, and other natural scientists are not economists.  (Each might well, and rightly, use as a pseudonym ‘NotanEconomist.’) While there are some exceptions – Indur Goklany, for example – of natural scientists who understand economics, far too many of them see the world as posing physics or engineering problems rather than as posing economic ones.  The two problems are very different from each other. And... Read the rest of this entry »

Cafe patron Stephen Schmalhofer sent this e-mail to me today.  I post it here in full, with Steve’s generous permission. I hated freshman economics at Yale.  It was the only C I ever received. Taught in a massive lecture hall, the professor posted endless equations and formulas.  It wasn’t real.   My father was the CEO of a poultry company in rural Pennsylvania.  I wandered the plant as a child and saw chickens raised in Pennsylvania, fed soybeans from Brazil, transported by trucks assembled in Detroit and Kentucky, processed by special machinery built in the Netherlands and operated by workers from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and finally shipped around the world.  (Even the feet were sold to China)  This is economics and it isn’t boring!  It’s gorgeous, like the spontaneously coordinating steps of a couple on the dance floor, a flock of birds or a school of fish.  It’s the delightfully humanizing marketplace- that virtual site of exchange where a man from Chile trades... Read the rest of this entry »

China has overtaken Japan as the world’s second largest economy. China’s over $5 trillion economy is now second only to the United States. But considering that the U.S. economy is over $14 trillion it will be a long time before China takes the top GDP spot. So all the excitement today about China’s economy is just a lot of fuss about nothing. China will have to triple its GDP to overtake the U.S. And in the meantime the U.S. will not be standing still.  Read More →

For decades Americans saved ever smaller amounts of their disposable incomes. In 1980 the savings rate was 10 percent but by 2005 had fallen to minus 0.5 percent. However, during the recession the rate rose to 1.7 percent in 2007, to 2.7 percent in 2008, and 4.2 percent in 2009. At one point in 2009 the rate hit 5.4 percent. Some see this as bad for an economy predominantly dependent on consumer spending. But more savings translates into more capital for businesses to expand. Greater savings also provides a cushion for future downturns thus avoiding debt defaults. More savings will eventually translate into a more robust and sustainable economy and less dependence on foreign investment in the U.S.  Read More →

Earlier this month I wrote about Spain drastically cutting solar subsidies. Now, because of the Greek economic crisis, Germany has reduced new solar plant subsidies by 16 percent. In June, Italy will likely cut support for new plants by 25 percent. Because of the uncertainties over solar subsidies, it is harder for companies to secure funding for alternative energy projects. There are very few wind or solar installations that can be profitable without subsidies. Projects that rely on government for funding welfare can expect the lights to go out on the money when budgets are strained. In most cases it is best to allow alternative energy to proceed on merit. A simple concept but so hard for politicians to grasp.  Read More →

It says something about how unpopular Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is that his main opposition in the November election, who out-polls him by a considerable margin (54 to 39% according to recent polls) can do so while advocating the barter system to pay for healthcare.  Sue Lowden, currently the Republican frontrunner in the campaign to unseat Senator Reid first made the statement several weeks ago.  Some supposed that this meant that patients should enter into haggling over price with their physicians in order to avoid exorbitant fees.  However in a more recent news interview, Ms. Lowden further explained her position, arguing that she meant exactly what she said, hearkening back to a pre-capitalist age in which our ancestors would pay for medical care with farm goods and favors, such as house-painting.  Nor has Ms. Lowden backed down in the face of considerable (and expected) criticism from the Democratic party.  Senator Reid’s campaign has perhaps put it most succinctly... Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve resisted posting on healthcare reform here for 2 reasons:1. No one wants to read a 10,000 word rant complete with charts and analogies.2. I can’t find the time to write said 10,000 word rant.So, I leave it to others with greater powers of brevity. Charles Krauthammer has two suggestions that should be tried before any radical restructuring of the current healthcare system. They will  Read More →

First Item: Not believing in the greenhouse effect, I mean global warming, I mean “climate change” is not a kook-fringe position. Even some of the authors of the UN’s climate reports don’t believe it.See this story.By the way, have you noticed how the problem has morphed over the years?I remember reading all about “The Greenhouse Effect” in elementary school and junior high. A specific,  Read More →

I was reading about the California Woman who just gave birth to octuplets. The poor lady had 6 kids already.It seems like the media has no shortage of advice and criticism for her. Some stories imply that any sane person would have aborted several of the babies, others wonder about a possible breach of medical ethics by the doctor who implanted 8 embryos in the first place.I’m glad she didn’t  Read More →

WARNING: this is a LONG, dry, economics rant post. Beware!”When are you moving?”I get asked this question every time I mention that we live in Ogden, but I work in Provo. The people asking the question have a point. A 156 mile round-trip commute isn’t the most pleasant part of my day, and on snow days I often can’t get either down or back.The short answer is . . . who knows!Here follows the long  Read More →

As a former Michigan resident, I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the state . . . well most of the state. I never did learn to like Detroit. I did learn to pity it, however. I have written previously about the problems facing Detroit. Here are some updated factoids, courtesy of MSNBC:The jobless rate has climbed past 21 percentThere are 15 candidates for the Feb. 24 special mayoral  Read More →

We all know inflation is bad. Rising prices devalue our money and make it harder to buy things. Apparently the opposite is also bad. Deflation – falling prices – is also bad for the economy, at least according to economists quoted by MSNBC.“A benign decline in prices amidst a sluggish but recovering economy would be unwelcome but tolerable,” Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg wrote in a  Read More →