New Words for the Same Old Hustle

What would Martin Luther King Jr. have made of a recent ad last month (Jan 21) in the Boston Globe? On Page 10, to honor King’s memory and legacy, a full-page ad reproduced the peroration of his unforgettable 1963 speech at the Lincoln Memorial: “I have a...

Enron, Tyco, and Accounting for Conglomerates

In the wake of the Enron scandal, investors are all of a sudden focusing intensely on the integrity of corporate accounting. So self-righteous pundits and politicians are elbowing each other for space at the head of the lynch mob demanding new regulations to enforce...

Who Pays The Tariffs?

As predicted, the steel industry has bellied up to the federal concession stand for all forms of relief and favors. The emotionally charged premise is that the steel industry is vital to our defense and economic strength. This same argument was successfully used by...

Snub the Tyrants and Grow Your Own

Allow me to suggest a New Year’s resolution you’ll thank me for: Grow your own tomatoes. As you’ll see, becoming a grower can be rewarding far beyond the sweet taste of your crop. The traditional extra benefits keep bringing many of us back season...

OPEC, Oil, and Energy Economics 101

We are all familiar with pundits from all corners decrying our dependence on foreign oil. Before the oil embargo in the 70’s and subsequent attempts to wean ourselves from OPEC, we were importing about 25% of our oil and now we are importing over 50%. This is...

Enron, Krugman, and the Public Intellectuals

The failure of Enron has had important impacts for its shareholders, creditors and business counterparties. There will be some important second-order impacts, too. Enron has already become an excuse for politicians and special interest groups to seek useless and...

Keeping Your Cool on Global Warming

Q. What are you chuckling at? A. This news story. Apparently satellite photos now confirm that the polar ice caps are shrinking and the planet’s temperature is increasing. As more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, more of the sun’s heat is...