20 | February | 2013

Friday, May 24, 2013

Despite recent increases, US gas prices are consistent with oil prices and cheaper than any country in Europe

Mark J. Perry | February 20, 2013, 11:13 pm

There have been a lot of news reports lately about rising gasoline prices in the US (now about $3.77 per gallon), although gas prices were actually higher than that last fall ($3.88 per gallon), last spring ($3.94 per gallon) and in May of … read more >

Carpe Diem

Wednesday evening links

Mark J. Perry | February 20, 2013, 6:36 pm

1. Markets in everything: The Bottle Charger transforms a used soda or water bottle into a 5 watt charger for a smart phone. 2. Markets in Everything: Hotel in Sweden allows customers to experience homelessness for $10 per night. 3. … read more >

Economics, Monetary Policy, Pethokoukis

How the Fed just tightened monetary policy

James Pethokoukis | February 20, 2013, 5:33 pm

As the US economy deteriorated back in 2008, hawkish statements from FOMC members “effectively tightened monetary policy … by pushing up the expected path of the federal funds rate,” explains Richmond Fed economist Robert Hetzel in The Great Recession: Market Failure or Policy Failure. In … read more >

Economics, Health Care, Pethokoukis

Is the way to fix Obamacare … more Obamacare?

James Pethokoukis | February 20, 2013, 4:23 pm

Democrats from President Harry Truman onward have pushed for government-provided health insurance. And they thought their moment had arrived with the election of Barack Obama as president and huge Democratic majorities in Congress. It didn’t quite happen the way they … read more >

Carpe Diem

Interactive map of every recorded meteorite impact on Earth

Mark J. Perry | February 20, 2013, 3:21 pm

Powered by Tableau Ramon Martinez of Health Intelligence created the visualization above displaying every registered meteorite that has impacted on Earth. A total of 34,513 meteorites has been registered, most of them (33,277 meteorites, 96% of total) with a mass … read more >

Carpe Diem

The minimum wage is unfair to small business owners

Mark J. Perry | February 20, 2013, 1:06 pm

Economist and blogger Steven Landsburg presents an interesting argument against the minimum wage – it’s unfair to burden a relatively small segment of the population with the higher costs of the minimum wage – small business owners who employ low-skilled … read more >

Carpe Diem

PwC: Shale oil could revolutionize global energy markets and transform the world economy

Mark J. Perry | February 20, 2013, 12:20 pm

In a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) titled “Shale oil: the next energy revolution,” the global consulting group predicts that worldwide shale oil production could soar to 14 million barrels per day over the next several decades and account for 12% … read more >

Economics, Health Care, Pethokoukis

How disruptive innovation can slowly fix US health care — if government lets it

James Pethokoukis | February 20, 2013, 10:07 am

I’m a big, big fan of the book The Innovator’s Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Health Care by Clayton Christensen, Jerome Grossman, and Jason Hwang. As such, I am always on the lookout for manifestations of ”disruptive innovation” in the health care … read more >