The Costs of Being Prepared for a Natural Disaster

Whereas natural disaster preparation can save lives, it might have too high an opportunity cost to make sense or be a ShakeAlert that has been proven.

Seeding change: seeds or change?

Cash grants are an alternative form of foreign aid. Tough to accept, cash could have more benefits than other traditional programs.

Crime and Punishment in Svalbard

Two times the size of New Jersey, Norway’s Svalbard territory has a single jail cell that was briefly occupied a year ago. Trying to decide why Svalbard has little crime, some cite its sparse population of 3,000 or the fact that it is an…

Why We Should Look More Closely At the Size of Our Soda

The 6-ounce bottle of Coke was the king of soda when an upstart company called Pepsi-Cola sold a 12-ounce bottle for the same price. The year was 1934 and the price was 5 cents. Pepsi’s competitive strategy has been called brilliant because its biggest costs were advertising, bottling…

An Unexpected Cost of Climate Change?

Our Wednesday Environment Focus By Madeleine Vance, guest blogger and student at Kent Place School; edited by Elaine Schwartz Global Warming has become more than just a threat to the environment. In the movie “Carbon Nation,” former army colonel Dan Nolan…

The Rotten Kid Theorem and Other Gary Becker Ideas

Gary Becker image courtesy of University of Chicago. All too often, if you say you are looking at the economics of the family, people assume you are talking about money. Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, who died this week (1930-2014), changed…

An Offer Sriracha Cannot Refuse?

Hearing tax incentives and “sensible” regulation, will Sriracha move from Irwindale, California to Texas? Last year, Irwindale residents complained that the local Sriracha processing plant was a “public nuisance.” Hearing that their teary eyes, sore throats, heartburn, asthma and nosebleeds…

Your “ROI” From Braces

Dear Alexa, At work, I have become ashamed of my less-than-perfect smile since I am surrounded by colleagues who had the luxury of wearing braces in their youth.  Should I get braces to perfect my smile, even though I am…

How Much to Pay For a Line Waiter?

If a lobbyist wants to go to a congressional hearing but cannot do the line, she can hire a line stander. Maybe 30 minutes before entering, the customer takes the place of the “waiter.” Saying they have “significant expertise in all of…

A Spring Training Dilemma

The battle was between Mesa, Arizona and Naples, Florida. It was the Cactus League vs. the Grapefruit League. Arizona’s homes for the Cactus League:   Florida’s homes for the Grapefruit League: Our story begins in 1952 when the Chicago Cubs…