Welcoming the New Nickel

Circulation of the newest 5 cent coin is set to begin on Monday, Feb. 28 at the U.S. Mint. The coin is the latest in a series of redesigned five-cent coins that honor Thomas Jefferson and his patronage of explorations conducted by Lewis and Clark.

The coin now features a side view of Jefferson, where previously it featured his entire face. An American Bison is depicted on the backside of the coin, whose picture has been restored after its retirement from the mint since 1938.

Later this year, a second nickel in this year's series will be released; it will replace the bison with a scene from the American Northwest. It will be inscribed with the words, "Ocean in view! O! The Joy!" The quote is taken from the journal of William Clark, who wrote down his emotions upon reaching the mouth of the Columbia River.

To see pictures of the new coin click below:
http://money.cnn.com/pf/features/popups/new_nickels/frameset.1.exclude.html

Workers Expect So-So Raises

Average raises are thought to increases by a mere 3.7% from 3.6% last year; more companies are tending to use bonuses and other types of benefits. Though the raises are mediocre, it is the second year in a row that average pay raises have increased.

This article ties into the topic covered at the Economic Roundtable luncheon today. Dr. Mark Pauly discussed how firms were to cope with increased health care premiums. One point that he stressed was that in recent studies, employees tended to favor increases in coverage rather than real wage increases. This leads me to feel that this slight increase in real wages is perfectly acceptable by most employees knowing that they will be rewarded in other forms later on; such as bonuses, increased health care coverage, increased vacation, etc... Recent data states that seventy-seven percent of organizations use "variable compensation," which is up from sixty-six percent in 2001.

What do you think? If you worked for a firm and heard that you could have a choice between higher real wage or increased health care coverage or increased vacations or a bonus, which would you choose? Is the supporting data correct in that most would prefer "variable compensation" over "more cash in pocket?"

How Capone Effetced Economics

When looking at economics, there is much talk about markets and there supply and demand to people. Well, when Al Capone was walking the streets of Chicago he also supplied and demanded to people in a not so legal way. During his time the Prohibition act was in place and people were unable to obtain any sort of alcohol, until Capone came around. He ran an illegal brewing company, which was very successful. Like we leanred in economics, there was a high demand for alcohol, which led to Capone raising the prices and making big money. He started of by just doing this in the streets of Chicago, but his business was so successful that he spread thorugh all the midwest and to major cities such as New York and New Orleans.

Also, Capone managed another successful illegal business, which had to do with loaning money. Businessman would come to Capone who were desperate for money, and Capone would loan them the money, but they would have to pay a high interest in return. They would also have to pay this money in a certain given time or they might get "Whacked". Capone was a very dangerous man, but a very successful businessman. Capone must have paid attention in his economics due to the great amount of profit he made throughout his life.

Is Canseco Just Trying to Make a Profit?

There has been a lot of hype these last couple of years in Major League Baseball about the use of steroids with professional baseball players. There has been many pointed fingers towards certain baseball players during these years. These fingers have been mostly ponited at the the home run kings of recent "Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Mark McGuire, and Sammy Sosa". People think that just because these guys got a little more muscular and hit a few more home runs that they most have taken steroids. To add to these rumors of steroid, last week Jose Canseco announced his publishing of his book, which accuses many specific players taking steroids. Earlier this week he also stated in a interview, "There is no doubt in my mind that Barry Bonds takes Steroids". This comment has now sparked a big controversey with Barry Bonds and this upcoming season.

On February 23 there was a news conference held for Barry Bonds in Scottsdale, Arizona. Bonds spoke out in rage on the assumption Canseco made about him. He stated, "I don't believe steroids help baseball players at all, it takes hand and eye coordination, techincally to hit a baseball, and thats my opinion, I just don't believe it." This comment is very true because it takes much more than a little added muscle to be a great baseball player, such as Barry Bonds. Bonds has had successful seasons his entire career. So what if he got a little more muscular, the muscles he got could of easily been achieved by legal supplements. Studies have been done that have proved that steroids only add 3 yards onto the distance of a hit ball. Still, steroids don't help you make hard solid contact everytime at bat. Also to mention, Bonds had one of the highest batting averages in MLB, which shows he does more then just hit home runs. Now the question arises, Is Canseco telling the "Truth" or is he telling "Lies" to try and make money for his newly released book?

The Dangers of abandoned mines

Years ago, a mine may have a been a busy site where workes excavated one of America's keys to existence. However, now some of these mines have been shut down and are no longer in use (http://www.msha.gov/KIDS/ABANDON/SURFACE.HTM). This presents a safety hazard to the citizens of the areas around these abandoned mines. Many people have died from dangers such as falling rock, and falling into the mine from high ground. Also, much of the dirt is loose from the mining and can shift under the pressure of footsteps. Also, many of these mines have accumulated water, forming a swimming hole. There are many dangers that this presents, one being that people don't know the depth of the water, so diving in can cause injuries or even death. In addition, many times explosives have been left in these caves. This is very dangerous because as they age, they become easier to set off. I would imagine the government has some kind of guidelines for keeping a mining site safe to the public, however I am not sure what they are. Do any of you bloggers have an opinion on this issue and know of government policy regarding mine sites.

Poor Paris Hilton

Recently, film star, Paris Hilton's Sidekick II was hacked into, spilling numerous famous numbers into the public. Phone numbers from Christina Aguilera, Anna Kournikova, Ashlee Simpson, Fred Durst, Eminem, Usher, Avril Lavigne, Lil' John, Ashley Olsen and Vin Diesel all can be found on the internet (http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/21/technology/personaltech/hilton_cellphone/index.htm). This presents a troubling idea dealing with people listening in on my conversations and even getting ahold of my phone book. Marietta College student Ricky Sikina foundHiltons address book and the internet and decided to call Lil' John. Upon dialing the number, Sikina was heartbroken to find out that the numbers were disconnected. So my question is this, if you were able to talk to any of these stars, what would you say to them, and how awkward would the conversation be if say, Lil' John would have picked up that phone?

Bird Flu Vaccine

Here is a little follow up to my previous story of the flu epidemic in birds, throughout Asia.

"The government is preparing to test an experimental bird flu vaccine and is increasing disease surveillance in hopes of reducing the toll from any eventual American outbreak. "

It appears that the flu that hit Asia is becoming more and more severe as the week rolls on. Over a period of a week, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has been able to accumulate about 2 million vaccinations for these birds. United Nations has expressed their thoughts about this flu by saying, " Asian bird flu outbreak poses the gravest possible danger of becoming a global pandemic", so this is obviouosly now very serious. So far, the dead body count has reached about 45, but thats only counting the few that have died from the flu, their are many more who have caught the flu. Apparently, the Asian population has caught the flu from chickens and the other poultry, as well as person to person. I'd like to know what you guys think about this flu in Asia? What should the U.S. do to help out? Should we worry about the "poultry" flu here? Feel free to express yourself...cause I know Pat, Mike, and Ruth will.

Pope's New Book Hits Stores in Italy

Pope John Paul II released his fifth book this week, entitled Memory and Identity. Most expect this to become a worldwide bestseller. The Pope actually has some good business sense- his book is meant to appeal to a wide audience. First and foremost, he has the entire Roman Catholic faith as possible readers of his book. While obviously not every catholic will run to the bookstore, many will be very interested to read what their church's leader has to say.

Secondly, the book will appeal to those interested in history. In it, he discusses a wide variety of issues, including the 1981 assassination attempt on his life and the damage done to the world by Nazism and communism. Historians will likely find his thoughts and memories of these worldwide issues very interesting. In this way and others, his book will undoubtedly appeal to those in different faiths and religions.

It seems like he is making a pretty safe move in publishing this book and there is very little doubt that it will become an international bestseller. The timing is especially important, since the Pope has been quite ill the last few months. This will serve as another motivator for people to want to read his book.

Game Over for Video Game Sequels?

A recent trend in the video game industry is mimicking a similar fashion that has been occuring in movie production for years- publishers pushing forward sequel after sequel trying to start a franchise. Sequels have often been criticized by movie critics for being not very good films. Creating sequels is actually a pretty safe business practice- if the original was popular and made the company money, why not make another movie (or game) with the same characters in a slightly different storyline? The formula should be a quick and easy profit- audiences are already familiar with the characters and know what to expect from the sequel. This is much easier than trying to start a new franchise from scratch- name recognition is already present, and it makes sense that those that paid for the original will do the same for the sequels.

However, the problem with sequels, both in the video game and the movie industry, is that producers use the same tired formula over and over without breathing new life into the franchise. This allienates fans, and makes for poor movies and video games. The future looks to be more of the same- less and less original ideas and more and more recycling of past successes- that is why there are dozens of Mortal Kombat games with very little differences between any of them.

The Greek Deficit and its Agricultural Policies

Could cotton subsidies be responsible for the Greek Deficit? These subsidies were the highlighted downside of the Greek agricultural policy, and impoverished large amounts of the population. This certainly contributed to the deficit and the above average inflation rate in Greece, but it is not the sole problem. Greece will be closely watched by the EU for the next two years as part of a plan to gain a higher growth rate. There is a huge amount of pressure on Greece from the EU to perform, which will help motivate change in Greece. Part of this change will be agricultural reform which certainly improve trade. It will be necessary for Greece to put more funding towards research and development to increases competitiveness and create jobs. Growth is certainly one of the most important issues that should be worked on in order for Greece to recover from their problems.

Entrepreneurship In Vietnam

Vietnam went through a economic crisis during the 1980's with its peak being in 1988. This crisis caused a shortage of consumer goods which meant that large amounts of food had to be imported. Since then Vientam has gone through many changes which have made possible the acceleration of entrepreneural business. The Enterprise Law passed in 1998 was the catalyst for the growth of state owned and private enterprises.

The increased amount of entrepreneurs have contributed not only their own improvement but also to that of their country. Hundreds of brands from entrepreneural business are currently being sold in over 140 countries. Vietnam is directly behind china in the exportation of textiles and clothing. Although the competitiveness of the goods exported from Vietnam are still humble compared to other nations, Vietnam is constantly striving to increase the quality of goods produced. Vietnam has come a long way in recent years and is showing promise of becoming a strong competitor to watch out for in the near future.

The New EU Super Power

Some people are saying that the European Union is soon to become the new super power. With the increasing value of the EU compared with the decreasing US dollar, and the power the EU holds over American business it could very well be on the way to becoming the new super power. The problems lie in the member nations of the EU whose growth is stagnant, possibly as a result of the aging population. Some believe that a solution would be immigration. The inclusion of Turkey could provide growth, but the large muslim community may impose a problem with some people in the christian majority of the EU.

The political power has a long way to go in being compared to the US. Having many languages within the European Union imposes problems that are not easily overcome. Communication is key to a stable community. Also, the lingering conflicts between some countries in the EU also leave room for instability. It will be interesting to see if unity can be sustained over a long period of time. There are definitely some issues within the Union that I believe will keep it from becoming the new super power. We will just have to wait and see.

Do we save too much?

Recently, in ECON 301, an article was brought to my attention which was titled "why long-term bond yields are low." As I'm sure all are aware, the real interest rate, or yield, on a bond is usually fairly steeply upward slopping. This is normally the case for a number of reasons. One reason is that the longer the term to maturity, to more uncertainty or risk that is associated to a corporate bond. To drawl in demand for these bonds, a higher yield must be given in order to entice consumers to buy these long-term financial instruments.
Well, this article discusses the phenomena currently occurring in the market place, the real interest rates on long-term bonds are falling. But why is this so? The author of this article, Samuel Brittan, offers a very interesting explanation to the occurrence just mentioned. He writes that falling real interest rates reflect a "growing shortage of attractive investment projects to absorb savings." In other words, the demand curve for long-term financial instruments has shifted to the left, while the supply curve (reflecting our savings), has remained constant. Thus, demanders are willing to pay less for our money then would be the case if more attractive investment projects existed. What I find so interesting about this is that if we as Americans saved more (as many people think we should), the strain on the financial markets could, theoretically, push real interest rates down to zero.
My question to you is, should we as Americans save less, as by doing so shift the supply curve left and raise interest rates?

www.samuelbrittan.co.uk

America is getting fat

Obesity is a big problem today in the United States and its growing especially in children. Producers are trying to get up with easy lunches for kids such as lunchables, but lunchables actually contain a lot of fat. Fast food places are also offering fruit and milk instead of fries and soda. The biggest question is how do we stop obesity? Can we stop obesity? Kids can eat as healthy as they want, but could still be fat if they do not get any exercise. All these new products and dieting, are they really helping the U.S. to loose weight?

Gold Expensive! Who Knew?

The worth of Gold is at an all time high (above $430 in Europe), which means everyone is happy except the US. With the weakening dollar investors are concerned, having hit a five-week low against the euro. Central banks are moving away from US dollar assets.


Gold rose to $431.25/432.00 per troy ounce from $427.00/427.70 compared to Silver which stood at $7.51/7.54 from $7.38/7.41 in London on Monday.

"Gold analysts have said that gold, which has struggled to rally decisively since hitting a 16-1/2 year peak in December at $456.75 should gain further this year as they expected the dollar to slide further." The euro is doing very well and is the outlook is positive. What does this mean for the U.S dollar than? Well for one, exports should be increasing and things should be looking very positive for large corporations.

International Music Downloads

RS promotions is a predominant music recording company in Thailand (compared to java records, arista records in U.S...etc) and they want their share in the online music industry to help strengthen its business. Already Soundbuzz, the biggest music download provider in Southeast Asia is operating in 14 markets, including the United States and Europe. RS wants to tap into download market to increase growth in sales. RS has agreed to have a contract with Soundbuzz which starts at 1,000 titles on http://www.soundbuzz.com The current Stock Exchange of Thailand for RS is at 13.70 baht, down 20 satang in trade worth 173,000 baht.

At 50baht a songs, including ringtones, RS will be getting their share in the online music industry. Mr Yanyong, deputy managing director of SET-listed RS, said RS has a potential of 50% growth in revenue from music downloads this year, to 180 million baht.

Raising Interest Rates in Thailand

Currently the Bank of Thailand decided that interest rates should be raised on credit cards. There is a 18% annual rate limit for credit cards and regulators are beginning to increase their deposit and loan rates. Over the past year issuers have already rising 3-4%. The joint venture between Bank of Ayudhya and GE Consumer Finance expects and increase of !5% with projected card growth of 100,00. The joint venture company had 550,000 cards by the end of 2004. As the managing director of Krungsriayudhya Card, Sukdee Chongmankhong, said "If deposit rates increase, the central bank will allow us to raise rates for sure".

The Japanese economic is the exact opposite. The idea is to keep interest low so that it will stimulate exports. The results of keeping interest low, a shortage; forcing the Japanese to save money (low access to credit) instead of taking out loans.

Thailand will have higher credit card rates which could eventually lead to a surplus. Is that the best way solve the economic problems of Thailand? Would this discourage consumers to use credit cards?

"Opium, what kind of elasticity is it?"

As soon as we finished talking elastisity in class last time, a picture rushed into my head: a increasingly crazy demand for opium in China during the period of Opium War. Before Opium War broke out, China, who received a great amount of profit from exporting silk and tea to other countries, is a highly advanced and fertile country. Unfortunately, China quickly earned envy from other countries, such as British and France. In order to open the great market of China, British began to exported opium to China. From then on, Chinese people fell into a hopeless gulf. More and more people got addictied to opium and became too morbid to protect their homeland when it was invaded. Even thougth the price for opium jumped incredibly, there was no evidence for a decreasing demand for opium. Adversely, as people's addition to opium became serious, more opium is demanded.
I think it may understate the relationship between the price and opium demanded if we simply use the perfect inelastisity. Do we have another type of elasticity that could better describe this special market of opium during that time? Do we have to come up a new elasticity?

New Rival for Tiffany: Costco

Costco is recently offering a yellow diamond ring for $180,000 on its website. The unbelievable thing about all of this is not that they expect someone to pay almost $200,000 for a ring (because people will), but that this is Costco selling it!!

A few months ago, I read a very interesting article about how Walmart has only one competitor that it fears- that was not K-Mart, Target, or Sears, but Costco! Costco isn't the biggest competitor Walmart has, but it has proven resilient in the face of this supergiant. It is famous for selling products in bulk at very low prices. In this instance, the yellow diamond ring is selling for $84,000 less than the IGI estimation. That is a pretty big discount.

It is very interesting to think Costco, the largest wholesale club operator in the United States could be giving Walmart a run for its money (and in this case, Tiffany's). You can hardly go to a community in the U.S. without seeing a Walmart somewhere close by. Costco can't compete with Walmart with its nearly omnipresent status. However, this unlikely competitor is proving to be quite a match.

While this latest news of Costco selling a diamond ring for quite a bit of money doesn't really affect the market in any way, it is another piece of evidence that Costco may be here to stay and may be more willing and ready to battle Walmart than retailers like K-Mart were. It is will be very interesting to follow this company in the years to come.

World's Biggest Wine Country: USA

A recent study suggests that by 2008, the United States will become the world's biggest wine consumer. This would mean it would jump past countries like France, Italy, and Spain. Wine is already a $100 billion market and all signs indicate it will continue to grow. Americans are drinking more and more wine, and are willing to pay much more for it than Europeans.

This increase in wine consumption is occuring not only in the United States, but all across the world. This is obviously causing changes in the wine industry. Most visible is the "internationalization" of wine styles- toward more familiar and crowd-pleasing tastes, rather than the wide variety of the past. This has many wine connoisseurs concerned about taste as well as quality.

The wine market will be an interesting one to watch over the next three years to see if the report is correct. It seems all the statistical evidence points towards the United States leading the world in increasing the consumption of wine. My main question is what accounts for this rapid increase in wine consumption in the United States? Nevermind the overall world's increase, but I wonder why the United States specifically is expected to jump ahead of major wine consuming countries like France, Italy, and Spain. Any thoughts on this?

The Franchise Tag

In pro football, there is a title which no player desires to have. The dreaded franchise tag. Once a players contract is up, contract re-negotiations begin. Sometimes, if the player wishes to leave his team but the team wants to keep him, they place the franchise tag on the player. This tag signs the player to a one year contract, but other teams have the option of matching the contract and signing the player, but giving up draft picks to the other team in exchange(http://www.nfl.com/news/story/6194643). So my question is, why would teams want to keep a player on their team who has no desire to play for them? With team morale being so important, and players whining about everything, forcing a player to stay on your team while he is unhappy seems to be an incorrect philosophy.

Fast Fruit Becoming A Main Course

The federal government’s new dietary guidelines suggest eating five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Fruit consumption in the nation’s restaurants rose 9% between 2003 and 2004, according to market-research firm NPD Group.

The increase of demand for fruits leads to a dramatic increase supply of fast fruits in the food market. Wendy’s international Inc. plans to go nationwide with fruit bowls that come in two sizes--one as a main course; the other as a dessert-sized cup.(http://www.sacbee.com/content/shopping/drivethru/story/12350325p-13213512c.html) McDonald’s Corp. this spring plans to sell a fruit-and-walnut salad(http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050220/ZNYT01/502200904). And in May, IHOP Corp. is expected to introduce entrée-sized fruit plates for adults and smaller versions for children.

The significant demand also results in a high price of fast fruit. Wendy’s 8.9-ounce fruit bowl is priced at $4.19, about the same as the chain’s premium salads.

Regulating Buzz Marketing

The World of Mouth Marketing Association is expected to announce a new set of rules and guidelines for word-of-mouth advertising (buzz marketing), one of the fastest-growing advertising practices. The practices include building Web communities for customers to chat about their product experiences, handing out product samples and even hiring actors to talk up a product in public places. Big advertisers such as Procter & Gamble and Microsoft have embraced the practice. Criticism has come that “some of these practices are deceptive because people think they are talking to a real person and they are talking to a shill”. Under the association’s new rules, marketers must make sure that people talking up products or services are real consumers, not actors.
When companies come out with a new product, they have to create demand themselves. Traditional advertising is used more often to keep the sales of existing product that people are already familiar with and have demand for it, but it doesn’t work well when it comes to a brand new product. Therefore, marketers come out with buzz marketing method, which is usually called word-of-mouth advertising. However, this method can be abused and getting self-regulation is not easy. The invisible hand can not control those buzz marketing practices because they lead to more demand and profit. Concerning the social welfare, government has to make regulations to keep buzz marketing practices from being deceptive.

Medical Bills and Bankruptcy

Costly medical bills and insurance premiums are the cause of almost half of all personal bankruptcies. The findings in the study underscore inadequate private insurance plans that offer bad coverage. What needs to be done in order for this not to happen? There are many people who can not afford medical coverage. The study estimates medical-caused bankruptcies affect about 2 million Americans each year, counting debtors and their dependents, including 700,000 children. There needs to be a solution to lower insurance premiums for families. Comment.

Where's the Dollar Going?

It's common knowledge that the dollar has been falling lately, relative to the Euro. What's the problem though? New consumer confidence data came out higher than economists had predicted, but consumer expectations fell at the same time. This article suggests that the de-valuing of the dollar might come from foreign banks. Banks all hold reserves, this we know,but most foreign banks hold a large reserve of the US dollar vs that of other currencies. This would suggest that the dollar is highly valued, sorta like gold was in the early days of the US. Now though, foreign banks are diversifing their reserves, causing a de-valuing of the dollar.

If this process continues, what should be an approach to appreciate the dollar? What can get the dollar back into the status of 'the currency' so to speak? Perhaps we need to take care of our own national debt, so that other foreign entities aren't so worried about the state of our economy. Better fiscal and monetary control here on the homeland might contribute to an appreciation of the dollar again.

What are the Titans thinking?

Febuary 21, 2005, the Tennessee Titans cut a few of their top players to deal with the $27 million dollar cap hole they sit in. What I mean by "top players" is, they cut Derrick Mason, who led all NFL receivers last season with 96 catches for 1,168 yards and seven touchdowns. He was the first player in franchise history to have four consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. In addition to cutting one of the NFL's top WR, Titans decided to cut Samari Rolle, who is considered to be the top cover corners in the NFL. What could the Titans possibly be thinking?!? As a diehard Browns fan, I would love to see the new management in Cleveland pick up one of these highly sought after free agents. I understand that the Titans need to cut a few of the higher paid veterans, but the Patriots have displayed that veterans are definitely a key to winning Super Bowls. I'd like to know what an sports enthusiast thinks about this cuts. Please don't comment unless you actually have knowledge about the topic.

Salary Cap in baseball

In baseball, there is no salary cap. This is a major problem for a few reasons(http://dfarq.homeip.net/article/20040218191639287). For one, this allows team like the Yankees to spend nearly 200 million dollars and buy every good player available. They do this year after year too. Last year they picked up Alex Rodriguez and his 283 million dollar contract. This year, it was maybe the most dominant pitcher to ever play the game, a 6'10'' southpaw who goes by the name of Randy Johnson. Another reason why baseball not having a salary cap is that small market teams, like my beloved Reds, stand no chance to me the World Series. Unfortunately, this is not just a problem that my Cincinnati Reds must endure, but all of baseball must suffer through this too. While the large market teams are signing all star players from teams who can't afford them anymore, the small market teams are forced to play with rookies and salty veterans whose careers are coming to a close. My question is this: What needs to be done to make baseball more fair, and what should the salary cap be?

When will we be blessed with the PS3?

There have been numerous speculations about the new PS3. I've searched for several weeks and this website(ps3land.com), seems to be the most legitiment site out there. I want to know how you feel about this upcoming release? I am excited and pumped for the release of the ps3. I'm just a little worried about the price that Sony is going to be asking. $300 was steep for the ps2, and I'm just hoping that the price will be reasonable. I read a rumor that the ps3 may be able to record t.v. and burn DVD's, wow, how much could that possibly cost? How powerful will the ps3 be? "It has been rumored by some that the PS3 will be up to 1000 times more powerful - however this is unlikely." I would love for it to be this powerful, and my anticipation is through the roof for this new revolutionary gaming system.

Bird Flu Could Become Epidemic

On Monday a federal health official commented on what he believed could be a bird-flu epidemic. Dr. Julie L. Gerberding said, "scientists expect that a flu virus that has swept through chickens and other poultry in Asia will genetically change into a flu that can be transmitted from person to person. " Health experts even believe that this bird flu could be fatal for humans. The scary thing about the flu is, that the mortality rate is about 72%, which means that the death rate, and chance of an epidemic is very high. An epidemic is, an outbreak of a contagious disease that spreads rapidly and widely. Right now, Americans shouldn't exactly panic, because the flu has been isolated Asia. What do you think? I know I'm pretty confident that the h5 flu will stay a ways away from the United States. I don't really think that there is much to worry about here, but a word to the wise, probably shouldn't eat the eggs in Asia.

Lose the Weight or Lose the Job

The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa in Atlantic City has recently implemented a new policy stating that all male and female waiter and waitresses could be in danger of losing their jobs if they gain more than 7% of their body weight. The Borgata did state that weight gain due to pregnancy or a medical condition would, however, be exempt. Many feminists and union members are in an uproar about the new policy and think of it as a new form of discrimination, but the Borgata feels it has done nothing that would be considered unfair or illegal. They back the policy by saying that the customers expect a certain level of service and appearance.

This is not the first case of 'shape up or ship out' policy-making I've seen. Just a few weeks ago I was reading an article from the Detroit Free Press about a company called Weyco Inc. in Okemos, Michigan.
Click here for the article: http://www.freep.com/money/business/smoke15e_20050215.htm

This company implemented a policy where employees were forced to quit smoking or they would be fired. They believed smoking put other employees at risk, increased health care costs, and made smokers less productive.
I've worked in many different places and it always seemed like those who smoked got more breaks or free-time since they had to leave and smoke. One time I even calculated the average time spent smoking by my co-workers and used that time to eat dinner (on the clock). My manager tried to punish me for it but was quickly silenced when I defending myself by saying that smokers 'got paid' to smoke so I should 'get paid' to eat.

Do you think these policies are taking things too far and becoming illegally discriminatory? I, for one, feel that these companies are taking a step in the right direction. It's about time that America set higher standards for people and gave them incentives to live healthier lives. We may not be the country that smokes the most but we are most definitely the most overweight and I feel it's about time that began to change. Besides, smoking is harmful to one's health and leads to lowered fitness levels. In addition, many often forget just how dangerous second-hand smoke is and I feel that non-smokers are the majority and should be protected against the harmful effects of those who choose to 'light up.'

Hmm, Why Aren't We Happy Yet?

I came across an interesting article by a London economist who offers a lofty but pretty accurate assessment of the function of economics and how economics is only used to study " institutions such as markets, taxes and foreign trade would affect the happiness of people," but not necessarily how to make people happy. Richard Layard of the London School of Economics is the one writing this book titled "Happy" in which he offers the pyschological reasons of why money cannot necessarily buy people's happiness. I found this assertion to be very odd and very ironic coming from an economist to offer a pyschological perspective. I am not suggesting that economists don't care about people's welfare- they study the decisions made by consumers, producers, government, etc. and how the market works, but basically, not everyone wins and not everybody benefits from the market all the time. I would be curious to hear more about what Layard has to say about how people can be happier, not necessarily as a self-happy pamplet, but moreless as an offering from his perspective and personal experience as an economist.

Ford Entices College Students

Ford Motor Co. is offering a $500 cash rebate, along with other hefty discounts, to full-time college students and recent graduates who are looking to buy or lease a Ford or Lincoln-Mercury vehicle. Ford saw U.S. sales drop 5.4% last month. They are offering the discount through January of 2006. They have also eased their lending policies in order to offer more loans to younger buyers. Are these incentives really going to help with the sales? Most college students do not have the capability of buying or leasing a new car because they do not have any credit established. In my opinion, I do not think these incentives are going to help with sales even though the cash rebate might catch your eye. I am a GM guy and not interested in a Ford. I can see where Ford wants to reach out to the younger population, but on the other hand most college students are worried about paying off their student loans and getting a job before they worry about buying a car. What is your opinion? Do you agree or disagree?

"Strong Europe"

Yesterday President Bush landed in Brussels to kick off a week long trip to Europe. Mr. Bush is expected to express support for a strong and united Europe. But why is his the case? Advance excerpts from speeches he intends to make show Bush calling "Europe and North America the main pillar of our security in a new century." Also he will emphasize the necessity of a strong friendship to promote global peace and prosperity, and he will ask for a joint effort from Europe and the U.S. in rebuilding Iraq. While I do not deny the validity of any of these claims or wants, considering the possible consequences of a stronger and more united Europe, I feel like there has to be an alterior motive to his visit.
One possible consequence is that a united Europe would have roughly the same GDP as the U.S., and could therefore see itself as a counterforce to the U.S. Also, the admission of 10 more countries into the EU would mean that 10 more countries would be less likely to import U.S. goods due to the free transfer of goods and services enjoyed by EU member countries.
My question to you is, why do you think President Bush is voicing such strong support for a "strong Europe?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/21/international/europ...

ESPN vs The Ohio State University

Similar to Fox News' Network bias toward Republicans, or ABC's toward Democrats, an unexpected TV channel is biased against an instiution. Anyone who watched ESPN's coverage of the Alamo Bowl which featured an under ranked Ohio State football team, could easily see that for whatever reason, ESPN seemed out to get the program. Anyone who believes that Ohio State has the only players who take money from boosters, or have grades given to them is living in a dreamworld(http://www.danwismar.com/archives/wizblog/002655.html). It seems that ever since the Buckeyes won the national title in 2002, nothing but bad things have been said about them. Now I know that some of you non-buckeye fans will say that Ohio State won on a call. So to that I say, what's your point? The New England Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders on a very questionable call to reach the super bowl a few years ago, yet everyone loves the Patriots. So I guess my question is why does everyone hate Ohio State so much, is it jealousy or what?

To create an Asia Union?

In Thursday’s class, we learned EU. I began to wonder if it is possible for Asian counties to create an Asia Union. The article “Could Asia Create an Economic Union” analyzes this issue from two perspectives. First, culture differences make it hard to create an Asia Union in a short time. Second, every country’s economy depends mostly on the courtiers which are outside of the Asian area making it hard for such a union to be profitable to Asian countries. Among the Asian countries that would not benefit China would probably gain the least. Therefore, they can not create a union very easily.

I agree with the author. If there is an Asia Economic Union, the dominant countries would be China, Japan, India, and South Korean. These four countries history stands in the way of them doing business. And political conflicts still affect the economic cooperation among these countries. Because Asian countries depend a lot on outside world, even though they want to create AU, they will get a lot of pressure or help from the counties outside of Asia. And I think it is hard to have a single currency in Asia. Dollar has a strong connection with RMB (Chinese currency) and Japanese Yen, a single currency may affect the dollar. Will America easily agree to create an AU?

The key in the long run is the cooperation. Asian countries need more strength as individuals before they decide to unite, because Asian countries are just as likely to compete with one another as they are to compete with the West. Some areas in Asia are prospering, but there are many areas that are not. If you consider Asia’s wealth in contrast to its population, you will notice that resources are very scarce. When resources are scarce you are much more likely to see competition, not cooperation.

High volume vs. High margins

“Anyone who knows the basic laws of retail will recognize that company makes its money on high volume, not high margins.” This sentence really attracted me which came from the article “Overstock is oversold. ” Why is high volume? How about saying that I run a small business? I’m not expecting to operate it for a long time, but just some high profitable trades which would quickly enlarge my net income. In such case, I think high margins are acceptable since it’s easy to find a buyer with whom you don’t expecting long-term cooperate, although it sounds like gambling. Back to the sentence in quotation mark, I believe that what profit we are going to get from trades depends on both variable and fixed cost as well as unit. A retailer can simply make lots of money only by large quantities and low price if he ignores fixed cost. However, this is not the real world, sometimes utilities, wages, transportations expense are very high; the retailer has to bring up his selling price in order to get a positive net income. But the margin of each unit should not be so high or else no one would want to buy the merchandize. So these might be the article author wanted to explain, we need to adjust the price to a point meet social demand by not hurting us, then make profit with large volume sold; as well as we adjust our import and export to make sure merchandize are not overstocked, which would bring up the problem such depreciation.

NHL Cancels Season

A surprise decision to cancel the hockey season was annoucned today. Obviously, I was being sarcastic in the above sentence. After a five and a half month lockout, the player's union and owners are in the exact spot where they started; miles apart. The sticking point was the linkage of player salaries to revenue. Basically the owners want to cover themselves so they do not overspend and the players do not want to take a pay cut from the $1.8 million average salary they made last year. In the end owners save money and the players just get to go and play in their respected countries. These individuals are forgetting who gets hurt in the end; the fans and average Joe Smoe that works for the organizations. Fans do not get to root on their favorite teams and the workers do not get paid money. I know that some teams have tried to find their workers other means of employment, but these people now have to struggle until the owners and players decide to agree. So my question is this, do our athletes these days care more about the money or the game? And if you are a fan how do you feel about not getting to enjoy an NHL game this year and will it dictate when you decide to go back and support your team at a game?

Is punishing Enrollment Caps Fair

Last week Governor Taft in revealed his new budget for 2006. In this budget higher education would receive $1.56 billion in each of the next two budget years. This is the first problem for public universities and community colleges. Ohio's public colleges have seen an increase of more than 47,403 students over the past four years. Yet they are still receiving the same funding. How can we stress the importance of education when we are not willing to fund it. If we expect to our higher education to be top notch we should fund it. This lack of funding has caused many schools to raise tuition by 9%. What have some schools done to help keep a hold on rising tuition rates because of lack of funding? They have put enrollment caps on incoming classes. Schools only have so many faculty to teach so many students. If you go to a smaller public school like Central State, you are not expecting to sit in the same size classroom as at Ohio State. You are expecting more personal attention. Schools like Central State, Miami University, and Bowling Green will be punished by the new budget for trying to keep the size of their campuses under control. These three schools will see a five percent cut in funding (the largest allowed by law), because they are not growing because of their enrollment caps. Why does it seem that this budget wants to force public universities and colleges to grow bigger and bigger? Shouldn't it be the quality of the education and not the quantity of people being educated? With public education cost rising, will this cause more students to look to private institutions because they can maintain cost, or will private institutions see this as a reason to raise their tuition even higher? I hope it is the first.

Headline Turner

The heading in the paper read "Wal-Mart settles in child labor cases". Immediately my thoughts were that Wal-Mart was having little kids over seas working in factories making all of their items, and then selling their products at low low prices. Well this turned out not to be the case. The cases were 24 violations which occurred in New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Arkansas. The cases were over teen-age workers using hazardous equipment such as chain saws, fork lifts, and paper balers. These do not seem like horrible crimes. Many of the teenage workers probably volunteered to drive the forklift, or have ran a chain saw since they were twelve. This does not make it right, but is the headline fair? What if this headline was printed on page one of the newspaper and not page ten? This headline could hurt sales of Wal-Mart. Many people in their fast paced lives simply scan the headlines to get their news. That is how I found this one. What if 50 people in Washington County scan this headline, never reading the article, and decided not to shop at Wal-Mart anymore because they think Wal-Mart has committed horrible acts concerning child labor. Now 50 people will not make a difference, but if they tell 50, and they tell 50, and so on and so on, Wal-Mart may begin to wonder why it has had such a drop in customers. Now I know this is a tall stretch, but my point is that the media, newspapers, TV, magazines, and radio have a great effect on our economy. In all forms of media we see advertisement for this and that, we get hourly reports on stocks, and breaking news on businesses. I do not think the Marietta Wal-Mart or any other Wal-Mart will be hurt by this page 10 article, but it posses another question, if you just read the headline, and came up with your own assumptions, would you still shop there?

Abstains For Seniors

Early this semester some made a post about the drop in the number of beer commericals seen on tv. Whether this is true or not I am not sure, but one thing I am almost certain of is the increase in the number of ads for drugs helping with erectile dysfunction. Ok now that you have stopped laughing think about it. Every commercial break there is an add for Viagra, Levitra or Cialiss. There are ads with guys growing horns, or a guy who can not throw a football through a tire. (I am not sure what that has to do with ED, but that is beside the point) Former Sen. and Presidential Candidate Bob Dole was even a spokesmen for Viagra. With so much excitement over these drugs, many seniors are trying to figure out how they can pay for them. Well not to worry, the Bush administration has announced that at the beginning of 2006 the Medicare prescription drug law will cover erectile dysfunction drugs for seniors. Are we as young adults supposed to pay our taxes dollars for the pleasure of seniors. The Medicare program is not supposed to cover lifestyle drugs. If Viagra was needed for someone to live then Medicare should definitely pay for it. With almost 60 million people on Medicare, and more to come as the baby boomer generation gets older, funds will be scarce. How can we as a country put one person’s pleasure above another person’s life? With our nation accruing more and more debt is this the best way tax dollars can be spent. Has this nation come to the point where it puts pleasure above necessity?

Consumer Confidence

Consumer confidence has fallen and has hit a 16-month low. Economists say that the main reason for this decline is because of the political debate over revamping Social Security. Economists also say that the President's budget proposal is a reason for the decline because it is again in red figures. In January the Consumer Confidence Index was 92.5 and was down in February to 79.1. In my opinion, I do not believe that these situations should have an effect on consumer confidence. I am not going to change the way I am spending my money because of Social Security and the budget for the new fiscal year. Do you believe these are the reasons why consumer confidence is slacking or are there other reasons? What could be done to help improve consumer confidence?

Careful about what you say online

With the recent blogger populatrity, companies have started to fire people that post subjects they do not agree with. People have been fired for using Dating services, bad mouthing their bosses and the company, and what they are working on. The argument for the companies that are firing these people is that these employees do not have contracts and if they say something that company does not believe in then they are allowed to fire them. Apple, the computer company, is trying to sue two online websites that have posted information about a new product that is coming out. In this article they state that they will not win this because of the first amendment but if you are working for them, then they could be fired and sued. Personaly I feel that people should not blog about how they hate their boss but I dont think someone should be fired for using a online dating service. For people that dont work for companies and post articles, then they are just acting with in the First amendment.

Strength in Starbucks

When you think of Starbucks you think of a high class coffee shop. Starbucks is a well acclaimed coffee shop. Many Americans start there day with Starbucks. If you have ever been to a Starbucks you know that it isn't just a place to get coffee, but a place to relax and read a newspaper or magazine. Many college students flock to Starbucks to read and do homework. Ten years from now will Starbucks still have the same title as they do now. Companies like 7-Eleven and Mcdonalds are huge competitors with Starbucks. Do you think these companies have a chance to push Starbucks off the top? I think so because there are more 7-Eleven's and Mcdonald's than there are Starbucks. Today it is all about convenience and Starbucks isn't as convenient as their competitors. We get our gas at 7-Eleven, so we might as well get our coffee there. Anyone else have a different opinion?

Businesses cash in on Valentine's Day

“The Valentine's Day crunch is on because the holiday is actually on Monday.” That means a lot of flowers, jewelry and other treats are in demand on tomorrow. And some businesses are trying to meet the demand. This is a good chance for all the investors.
“Money can't buy you love, but can love make you money? Some analysts think it can, and Valentine's Day is boomtime for companies that profit from our amorous affections — including those that sell flowers, candy, card and jewelry.” Everyone wants to have a romance; it means you have to pay a lot. This is one of the busiest days of the year in flower sales. The weekend before Valentine's Day represents hectic shopping for loved ones and sleepless nights for area florists preparing. “Last year, growers churned out 175 million roses to meet the pop in demand.” Valentine's Day is also a time for gifts of a more intimate nature; business is sure to be brisk at retailers. And there are some data about Valentine's Day isn't just for lovers, it's big business. "If romance moves you to make a stock pick, however, don't let emotions sweep you away. You should always do your homework.”

Alaternative Minimum Tax and future generation

Besides regular income tax, there is another tax which parallel with income tax. It is Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), which means if your income reaches a certain amount; you also have to pay AMT, so the tax burden doubled. There are currently 3 million people in America pay for AMT. However, under Bush Administration’s tax cut policy, people’s income increase, so more and more people will have liability to pay AMT. There will be 30 million people have to pay AMT in 2010.
More information please click:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/03/news/economy/amt_taxcuts/index.htm

With a big tax cut under Bush Administration and a huge spending on welfare programs and Social Security cost, there is already a big deficit in American government. However, a series tax cut policies will be carried for almost ten years. So a decade later, there will be a big tax burden in future generation. One reason is that there will be many baby boomer generation will retied, and government needs a big money to cover their welfares cost. So what government will do is increase the tax. So the tax burden will shift to future generation.

Have Fans Gone Too Far

JJ Redick is possibly the best shooter college basketball has ever seen. This season he is leading the ACC in scoring. So why do fans hate JJ?
Fans of opposing teams have learned to hate the great. JJ has learned to hold his follow threw a little longer while running down the court and he is the best free throw shooter college basketball has ever seen. He acts a little cocky, waves to the fans after hitting a big trey but most of the time just pumps his fists. He is emotional and opposing fans find it to be cocky.
But how much taunting is too much?
JJ takes abuse at every away venue. And not just your typical heckling.
Last season at Maryland was the worst for JJ. As he went to the free throw line to ice the game the crowd in unison started yelling FU JJ. Besides the derogitory comments what else has he gone through?
JJ has had to change his cell phone number five times. One night he got around 30 calls. People calling to tell him how much they hate him.
JJ has learned to deal with the comments about his game and the heckling towards him but he says fans cross the line when they mess with his little siblings. JJ has a younger brother and sister and he has seen signs refering to both of them. One sign at Maryland last season refered to having sexual relations with JJ's 12 year old sister.
So how much is too much?
And who takes control of the situation?

Follow this link to see a picture of me naked

If you went to this blog then you were probably interested in seeing someone naked. Sorry. What is it about sex that so intrigues us? Is it so interesting because of the taboo placed on it by society, or is it just human nature that we are interested in it and mezmorized by it? Today I was flipping through the channels and I caught myself stopping everytime there was some girl shaking her butt, or showing some skin. I don't know why I stopped, I just did without thinking. Usually the show was some thing I would never watch, but I stopped anyways. Try it sometime.

Advertisers realize this and use it. In a study, researchers found that billboards containing sexual appeals were recognized 91% of the time, while those not using sex were recognized only 83% of the time. Another study looked at means heart rates during sexy beer commercials and found that their heart rates were similar that of being aroused.

So what does all this mean. It means that sex in advertising works and as advertisers struggle to gain your attention, sex will be used more often. So my question is will sex eventually lose its mysticism or will we always be infatuated with sex, and will the moral factor come into play or will the dollars gained from effective advertising win out?

Majored in Accounting?

According to CNN news, the highest paid degree for these couple of years is accounting major. Besides that, graduates with a bachelor’s in accounting are also the top one demanded. I’m thinking that if we could use the market model to explain this fact. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was passed by government to “strengthen corporate governance and restore investor confidence in response to a number of major corporate and accounting scandals involving prominent companies in the US”, which made companies in dire need of more accountants and auditors. From then on, accounting major became more popular, the demand curve significantly shift to the right. As a result, salary would rise up, same as we find in the market model, when demand curve shift right, price goes up, and the causation of it was the government law.

There is another interesting fact in the report of “Most lucrative college degrees”. We see that civil engineering jumped 5.1% to an average salary at $43,159, but accounting only rose 2.4%. From my point of view, since the market always move towards equilibrium, the “supply” of accountants might have grown, which means the supply curve shifted a little bit to the right for these recent years. This leads to a result, the price would fall. However, since the SOX law still has a strong influence in business field now, graduates with accounting major are still highly demanded, and the salary would still be the top one these years (although business administration seems catching up, I guess there won’t be any shifter could lead it with a huge growth); the market is now moving towards its “clearing price”, by which time demand and supply are equal.

So what’s your opinion on the reports?

To Teach or Not to Teach?

If you're a K-12 teacher, or have the prospect of becoming one, you might want to read on. Compensation was based on years of experience in the past, and perhaps partially why you see the bulk of teachers in the 40-50 age group, the Baby Boomers who have stuck with their job. Perhaps they do truly want to 'influence the young and touch the future', or maybe it's just about the pay. With a younger age group coming in, the industry may be headed for a radical change and states and local school systems begin to rethink the classical idea of experience compensation.

The new idea on the block is performance pay. Why pay a man/woman more each year if they are using the same outdated teaching materials from the 1980's? If they are not creating any productivity in the classroom, why should they be compensated more each year? Economics would define the adequate wage rate for a worker as when the marginal product of labor is equal to the wage. This theory would be the agrument for proponets of the new wage system. This makes sense, it will encourage teachers to push their students more and to increase standardized test scores. "Teachers in Chattanooga, Tenn., can earn four-figure bonuses for boosting student achievement". Maybe it's just me, but for any job a four-figure bonus sounds a bit excessive!!

The prolem though is that this theory is for businesses, can it be applied to education? Some say that performance tests are not a fair estimate of efficiency because some students just don't test well. And what about the subjectiveness of it all? Who decides what it 'increased achievement' and what's not?

Fighting the streets of Iraq... fighting the streets back home.

No matter what your stance is on the current war on terrorism--almost everyone unanimously supports our troops who put their lives on the line for our country. There are currently 150,000 troops in Iraq right now fighting the remnants of Saddam's loyalists while another 16,000 troops are busy searching for Al Qaeda in the mountains of Afghanistan. To date, over 130,000 troops have served in the war since it began in 2001 and have returned home.
However, some of those have returned home to literally nothing. This is partly due to soldiers who are still suffering from the anxieties and horrors of war; but it is also due in part to how high housing costs have become while real wage rates stay the same. It is hard enough to come back from war and just deal with the shock that comes with the reintroduction into our own culture. Some of these soldiers though are also coming back and trying to find their place in a work force they have been out of for well over a year.
I for one get pretty upset when I read things like this, but then again I am a soldier myself so I tend to be very biased. How do some of you feel about this topic? I would like to know how other MC students and also MC employees feel about this. Hope to see some replies.

Local Companies Closing

Since I am from the Marietta area, i know a little more about this than many of you probably. However, in the last 6 months, 2 companies (Walker in Williamstown, WV and Marietta Magnetics) have announced closures. Walker let go of close to 400 workers, many of them being my classmates (in high school) parents. Now Marietta Magnetics (a family owned company) is closing costing 125 workers their jobs. For those of you that are not from this area, have these closings been occuring in your hometowns? For those around Marietta, what do you think of these closures?

Budget Proposal

As Bush's proposed 2006 budget reaches the desks of congressmen and women, we as the public are afforded the yearly opportunity to see exactly what our nations priorities are, at least according to the president. Mr. Bush vowed in his State of the Union address to cut the deficit in half by 2009, a goal that he wishes to work towards by eliminating "150 nonmilitary programs, including 48 in the Department of Education, that he says have become ineffective." If President Bush's proposed budget were enacted as is (which is likely not to happen), it would be the first time since that Reagan administration that there was an overall reduction in spending, in the area of "nonsecurity-related programs." While Mr. Bush is trimming the "pork" in many domestic areas, he has proposed increasing Defense Department spending by five percent, with the goal of ensuring a safer America.
I do not want it to be thought that I disagree with any of the specfic proposals I mentioned. I have a feeling that there does exist many ineffective programs that are really just a waste of money. Also, I agree with the importance placed on the Department of Defense, because we need a safe and strong America. However, I do disagree with the president when it comes to his tax policies and proposals. I'm sure that all are aware of the theory of the "trickle down economy," so it suffices to say it is my belief that this theory is no longer as strong as it once was. Some possible reasons for this include; the breakdown of trade barriers as globalization takes hold, and the fact that the additional income held by business owners, from the tax cuts, can now be used to purchase more technology rather then labor.
My question to you is, would you be willing to part with a slightly larger portion of your income in order to lead our country out of debt?
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/07/politics/07cnd-budg.html

Pfizer Cancer Pill Proves Effective

After loosing a very good friend from cancer last semester (Marietta Alum, Jennifer Hammer) the intensity and reality of how cancer effects people has really struck home. This entire occurance was within three years after the discovery of her cancer, a long hard fight against it... After reviewing this atricle, it seems that we may be on the right track in order to fight cancer overall. Many people have stated that the drug companies have cures for cancer and AIDS but are not releasing it, to help secure their business future. I fell this is complete hogwash. If there was a cure held today by a company, their benefit to being the sole firm brining this treatment to the WORLD population would be unreal. So great, that this would probably be one of the highest and most widly used drugs in the US. (Cancer has now taken the #1 Cause of Death in the USA) Why would a company withhold from releasing such a product?

Axonyx's Alzheimer's Treatment Falls Short

Axonyx, a US based pharmaceutical company released that a new drug developed will not live up to its expected and promised goals. It seems that rather than slowing the disease down, it only provides an "improvement in memory" however after testing using a Placebo, it seems that this drug does not even slow down Alzheimer's disease... With the average population aging as quickly as it ever has, I feel that if a drug company was to harness a sure proven method to slow the disease down, or provide a possible cure, they will gain a huge market share immediately...

Judgment Day For The FDA

With the recent yanking of Vioxx from store shelves, the FDA now seems to be looking into the Cox-2 inhibitors (common pain killers). Merk Co. the maker of Vioxx saw their stock prices fall greatly after the press release of their top rated drug being directly related to serious health problems. Pfizer, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world will be in the center of the stage standing behind their products Celebrex and Bextra. It will be very interesting to see how this effects the current medications offered for pain treatments in the future...

Jose Canseco's New Book

I find it hard to believe that a man with a public disobedience record such as Jose Canseco has the right to accuse people of steroid use. In Canseco's new book he explains how Major League Baseball has such a huge steroid problem along with many accusations about other players using steroids. I am one to believe that this might be used as another attention getter to keep a washed up, criminally troubled Jose Canseco in the news. In his book, Canseco says MLB sluggers like Mark McGuire and Rafael Palmiero obtained and used steroids under the close supervision of Canseco. In the long run Canseco's comments can only hurt him. Sure he might sell more books, but his relationships with a lot of his close friends, that a MLB stars past an present, will be severed. Do you think Canseco's book is helpful or harmful for the MLB? Do you feel Canseco's book will have a positiv or negative effect,if any, on the MLB?

Stiffening Up Medicare Benefits

Nobody likes to pay taxes, but those taxes help not only your neighbor but you as well. We all just hope that our taxes will be used properly for reasons we agree with. A relatively large portion of our taxes goes toward Medicare among other programs. This CBS News article reports that under a new law passed Medicare benefits will cover Viagra, the sensational new drug that helps men with Erectile Dysfunction. As with all drugs, Viagra will only be “prescribed only when medically necessary, and in limited quantities.” Unlike the users of Viagra I find this very hard to swallow.
It seems very important in Healthcare, as well as in anything, to examine the economic benefits of a decision. All I can hope is that the utmost scrutiny and economic evaluation will be placed on any decision involving the drug. Doctors as well as patients need to remember that every decision has an opportunity cost. Unfortunately every decision will not be a pleasant one. This one should be very easy though.

Here to Stay

Not too long ago there was a merger between Aetna and U.S. Healthcare Inc. that created the country's largest medical-benefits corporation. Most people do no like the idea of any one firm getting too large because of the possible implications. As this merger progressed the healthcare industry was quickly taking the characteristics of an Oligopoly.
As the article states, a firm of this size has a clear leverage against other competitors, doctors and hospitals. The main concern of critics to this plan is that with fewer choices among competing firms the consumers will be the ones to suffer in terms of patient care declining as profits rise.
Competition is of course the driving factor in a healthy market but as costs continue to rise and rise drastic measure just might need to be taken. As the article states “Optimists predict that the half-dozen or so remaining big players, with their enlarged networks, will have the clout to force doctors and hospitals to hold down medical costs.” With third party insurance across the country the risk as well as the cost is spread around. I do not want these corporations to make money over the well being of others, but as more Americans frivolously spend other people’s money through insurance benefits something must be done. Unfortunately big managed healthcare organizations that seriously take in to account the economic evaluations involving its customer’s treatment might just be the answer.

Kicking the Kickbacks

The National Institutes for Health (NIH) is taking steps to ban all income that member scientists and researchers receive from drug companies. This obvious conflict of interest is more than just that an ethical issue though, many economic implications stem from this sort of behavior. It is in the nature of Healthcare as a commodity to have irregular demand. Unfortunately uncertainty is a major factor of all health problems. It is because of this that the market for medical treatments is very one sided. The new guidelines to be set by the NIH will help prevent any doctor driven demand for products that are not necessarily safe. The medical market may never have completely independent supply and demand factors but this is a good step in keeping the market in check.

US Airways seeing 'clear skies' ahead

According to Washingtontimes’s business news in February 6th 2005’s, the US Airways is getting better despite since many analysts assumed that the business of airline would be end soon after the US Airways field has had bankruptcy in September,
During that bad time, many airline unions got some changes to make sure they can still exist in that environment. For instance, the International Association of Machinist changed its labor contract to reduce its payment for employees by 12 percent to 20 percent. In addition, the Arlington based air carrier used its own money to maintain the company can operate normally. After all the US airline unions’ effort, recently, Bruce Lakefield, who is the chief Executive officer, declared that the most difficult time of US Airways has gone.
Now, the US Airways is getting start to expand its operations and hire more employees. Although there are still some people do not accept the changing of the US Airways, many accept it and affirm those changes.
The US Airways’ achievement is obviously. However, it still has a big problem that it needs an investor to offer $230 million in new finance. Nevertheless, no matter who is the investor will take a high risk. Furthermore, the airline says that it will get profit till 2008. Because the airline has already promised to the employees that it would give them money based on the profit margin, some of the money may not go back to the investor. The last one and also the most important obstacle that may cause no investors offer that much money is the fact that the US Airways still own the federal government $600 million.

Do you really think the US Airways is getting better? Will there be any investor interested in offering that much money? How’s US Airway’s future? For my own, I think if there is someone who invests in the US Airways; its future will be good. On the other hand the investor may have the ability and prepare to endure that he may not receive the profit as he expect.

Health Care: Why So High?

In our class, the Economics of Healthcare, the topic has often come up as to why health care is so expensive. One of the issues we brought up in class was that malpractice suits were forcing physicians to charge higher and higher prices, which either drives up insurance or direct out of pocket costs to the consumer. The Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit organization that studies health care issues, and the Harvard School of Public Health conducted a survey to determine what a sample of the population considered the most important health care issues. Surprisingly, at least to me, was the placing of malpractice suits - 11th out of 12. Of course, 1st place went to lowering the cost of health care and insurance. It doesn't make sense to me to list the symptoms of a problem as most important rather than the source. Yes, the costs are high, but the real question is: what is making them high? A majority of people do agree that malpractice needs addressed and would be for a reform (if the industry as a whole would accept it). The Bush administration stands firm that malpractice suits are indeed a main source of the hgih priced health care. "Bush is seeking a $250,000 cap on non-economic damages that compensate for pain and suffering, saying large malpractice awards are driving up the costs of business and insurance and forcing doctors to give up their practices."
However, a Congressional Budget Office analysis found such malpractice costs are actually less than 2% of all health care spending (2002). I feel that this office, just like the surveyed people mentinoed earlier, are looking at symptoms rather than the source. Actual malpractice suit costs probably are less than 2%; the real costs come when doctors and insurance agencies raise prices in response to malpractice costs. A deeper analysis of the issue is required to determine exactly why health costs as much as it does.
The source for the information found in this post can be found HERE .

Surging Cost for Medicaid Ravage State, Federal Budgets.

It was reported in the Wall Street Journal today, that the costs for Medicaid are severly hurting Mississippi's budget. In that state alone, Medicaid spending has doubled to 3.5 billion dollars. Gov. Haley Barbour said that "Medicaid is a cancer on our state finances."

In the current fiscal year, which will end on June 30, it is predicited that Medicaid costs will be 268 million dollars more than the state budgeted for the program. State officials are warning that the program will run out of money by the end of February unless the legislature passes an emergency appropration. The state has already shut down some construction projects. The state may also delay plans to give public school teachers a raise.

Is this just a problem in Mississippi or will it turn out to be problematic in other states, or maybe the nation, as well?

The article can be found here: http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110773763704247315,00.html?mod=health%5Fhs%5Fpolicy%5Flegislation

Social Insecurity

Social security has come under considerable scrutiny as of late. The program was not designed to support this many people who live this long past the age of 65. Some may even call it "social insecurity." Many people see problems with social security, and this disenchantment has traveled high up the ladder, all the way to the President. Bush said earlier that he sees privatization as a potential solution to the problem. His statement has caused quite the uproar, resulting in a variety of opinions. Of course, Wall Street sees this as a good idea because of the money that will be pumped into the market. However, one group, Lyndon LaRouche, stated that such privatization is fascist. On less extreme notes, some agree while others say the move is too risky. Whatever the correct solution is, it has become clear that the weaknesses of our current social security program have become too glaring to ignore. Where will our nest egg come from?

The information for this post can be found at: HERE

“And the Winner is...”

On Friday, a $280 billion dollar claim made by the U.S. government was rejected by a federal appeals court. This case was against the tobacco industry and it involved obtaining money illegally. Recently, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit reversed a lower court ruling that past profits could be seized as “ill-gotten gains.” This victory for the industry was from a fifty year conspiracy to hold back information from the consumers about the dangers of smoking. It just so happened that this decision increased the shares of the top tobacco companies. This ruling also affected the U.S. government’s case. Right now, the best that the government can do if it wins the racketeering case is to further restrict the tobacco companies from marketing and advertising. According to Edward Sweda said that, “Far from winning the case at trial, the cigarette companies she be worried about remedies, which could change the way they do business.” The government might decide for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. After Friday’s ruling, the RICO Act sought by the government, which allows a court to impose remedies that “prevent and restrain” further violations was denied because it was decided that it doesn’t “prevent and restrain.” Senior Judge Stephen Williams’s opinion was, “Wealth deprivation is an extremely crude device for preventing criminal behavior. My question to you is, “If the tobacco companies, who seem to be in the lead now, win, how can the government stop these companies from continuing on with their deceptive practices?

"Jobs...They're Coming"

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that as the 77 million baby boomers that are approaching retirement will open up more opportunities to find jobs for the working class. Currently one of the fastest growing employment opportunities is in health care. The Labor Department projected a 27% increase over 2002 in nursing jobs, physician’s assistants jobs will grow by nearly 50%, and physical and occupational therapists by more than 35%. There will be a demand for these professionals as the retirees start to use these services. Other services that will be in demand are fitness trainers and dental hygienists. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the average age federal workers has reached nearly 46 years of age and for both the Energy and the Education Departments the average age is near 50.
Do you think that the jobs that are coming will support a new generation and will the pay for those jobs allow for an equal quality of living?

Early Detection: "Could Save Lives and Money"

Medical researchers reported this past Thursday that the risk of silent heart disease in patients is directly correlated with rheumatoid arthritis. Patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis are three times more likely to have been hospitalized for an acute heart attack and five times more likely to have an unrecognized heart attack. Factors such as elevated cholesterol, blood pressure, weight, and alcohol abuse were not contributing factors in a study of six hundred patients. Researchers suspect that rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease have a common origin. To prevent full-blown heart attacks when taking medication for rheumatoid arthritis, should tests be done routinely to check heart health? I believe that if routine checks were made for heart health when medication was prescribed for arthritis, savings could be made for the patient and the insurance companies.

China has more private business owners

In China’s active market socialism society today, more private enterprises appeared. The number of registered private enterprises were expanded from 1.31 million over 2001 to 3.34 million in 2004. The number increased twice during the two years. These enterprises were mainly located in the eastern coastal region, like Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shanghai, Shandong, and Beijing. Half of China’s private enterprises are in these six areas. “Private companies are growing pluralistic in main industrial sectors.”

From my experience, I know that before China became market economy, we used a lot moral incentive; however, after China went to market economy, moral incentive did not work very well, so the material incentive had an effect. The victims were the workers in state owned firms, they lost their jobs. Because of soft budget restraint, managers and workers did not have incentive to work hard, some of them even corrupted. I am happy to see China has more and more private business owners, because it will make our market economy more competitive. Although competitive market makes inequality problem even more serious, I think that we are trying to make our “cake” bigger (aggregate profit increase). Even though the income is not equality, at least everyone can have more than before.

Health-Care Worries Keep Millionaires Working

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal dated Feburary 3rd, millionaire even worry about rising health costs. They've gone as far as rethinking their retirement plans.

A mail survey sent to 1,312 people who have at least $1 million to invest shows that even having a lot of money and a lot of assets do not alleviate the worry of rising health care costs. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, employer sponsored health insurance premiums increased 11% in 12 months, ending in the spring of 2004. Separate data from the Kaiser Family Foundation and Hewitt Associates show that there was a 13% increase last year in costs for companies who provide retiree health benefits. Because of this increase, employers are cutting benefits, and asking the retirees to pay.

My question to you: Is the health care system so expensive that millionaires are now worrying about future benefits? Or, was the majority of people in this survey overreacting to higher health care costs?

The Economics of Polygamy

What is the optimal number of wives for a man at any one time? Our culture and laws suggest the answer is one. Putting aside any religious concerns, economic conditions in other places and times may suggest that one wife is not optimal.

Research by Eric Gould, Omer Moav and Avi Simhon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, indicate "four in 10 adult women of child-bearing age [in the Ivory Coast] share their husband with another wife." Though their research finds that rich men tend to have more wives than poor men, it apparently matters whether your income is due primarily to wages or due to ownership of land or corruption. Those whose income is primarily due to the latter have more wives than those whose income is primarily derived from wage labor. The study also indicates that well-educated men tend to focus on "quality" rather than quantity in seeking wives. However, a quality wife will come only at a higher price, hence low income earners may substitute quantity for quality in selecting wives. One policy implication stemming from their analysis is that governments of developing countries should invest in public education in order to increase the supply of quality women (and thereby reduce the demand for multiple wives).

What conditions might make polygamy an optimal social policy? One such scenario might be if a severe imbalance in the number of men vis-a-vis women devleops, say, due to some type of disaster (war, disease, etc.) affecting the number of men available. Are there any other economic arguments why multiple wives may be optimal? [Of course, the same arguments apply to women having multiple husbands.]

For another take on this, see Tyler Cowen's views here.

Holly-Guild??

In reading another blog, I ran across an interesting article by Tyler Cowen. I had never really thought about the issue, but it made me ponder. Why are there so many unions in Hollywood? What makes the varying guilds in Hollywood so prevalent and able to succeed vs. that of other sectors?

Tyler cites the goals of unions and guilds in Hollywood as follows:

Additional important functions of the unions and guilds are (a) the codification and regulation of professional categories, (b) accreditation of members' work experiences, and (c) the provision of educational, labor-training, and other qualification-enhancing services.

Almost every person in Hollywood belongs to some kind of guild or group, from the actors, writers, directors, location managers, all the way to set electricians. With one of the main goals of unions as defined in various economic books being providing safe working environment for the members and better pay/benefits, it causes one to wonder. Do actors who make 15 million a film and have stunt doubles really need to belong to group with the power to argue for them? Perhaps some of the 'overlooked' behind the scenes people that aren't making gross amounts of money, I could see the point of pension plans and such. And generally the fees one would pay to a union would go to what is deemed at a 'strike fund', well movies are always produced, so if one actor walks out, for 15 million, someone else would take the place. Now for writers and other such varying positions, I could see the need for benefits and no exploitation of the work they perform.

What are some thoughts on this?

NHL Lockout: Day #140 and No End in Sight

The NHL lockout has now just about hit the inevitable, the loss of an entire season. It's sad because in a sense because other than myself and the rest of my family nobody watches anyway, but this will be the first time in the history of one of the four major professional sports leagues that an entire season will be lost. The basis of the problem is that the owners and players cannot agree on a new collective bargaining agreement, in which the fundamental issue is a salary cap. NHL teams are losing money at an all-time high. For example the Edmonton Oilers sold out every game last season, however, they still finished the season in the red. The owners latest proposal was a salary cap that would set the cap somewhere between $32 and $42million(keep in mind revenue in the NHL is the lowest of the four major sports, the salary cap in the NFL is around $80m and the Yankees paid out a record $184m in the MLB last season). The players obviously turned that deal down. Well before that the players came in with an effort of their own which included a %24 rollback of their salaries accross the board for two years, the owners said that that would not solve the long term problems because the league would be right back to the problems that they have now in two years. Even though that is true it buys everybody two years to negotiate. The players aren't willing to agree to a salary cap, but they do want some sort of luxury tax or revenue sharing system, where teams would have to pay a certain tax to the league for a certain amout of specified money that they spent over the league average. NHL teams are losing money, eventhough some are selling out such as the Oilers. The league is struggling as it is and they can't afford have this go on to much longer with a dwindling fan base. Is a salary cap the answer or should revenue sharing be invoked as the players prefer.

Apple Computer, Inc. reaches highest profit and revenue in its history.

Lately, we as consumers have more and more been hearing about Apple Computer when it comes to today's technology. It's upstart of the iPod and iTunes music start created new markets for many buyers and attracted many to Apple. This past quarter Apple's revenues rose and the company gained a net profit of $295 million. They have been experiencing increased sales all over the world; Europe accounting for $847 milion in revenue.

Have consumers started to buy according to quality, lack of viruses/spyware, and a seemingly more dependable computer rather than a cheaper under the cut Wintel computer? Apple has now, however, joined the club of producing $800 dollar and less computers. Although Apple claims it is not just trying to make a cheap computer. The new mac mini, which is basically I tiny box, has already been a big hit on the market. It's small desktop size with great performance makes it attractive to many. Also the iMac G5 (similar design style to the iPod) has been a hit. It's lack of wires, all-in-one flat screen, makes it very nice for the desk. Consumers seem to be finding the unique style more and more attractive.

Apple Computer, Inc. is expecting to open up two dozen new stores of which 10 will be out of the U.S. With a new total of 125 retail stores they expect to gain more profit expecially since the stores out of the country have already far surpassed expectations.

Microsoft's hold on the mac word processor is also slowly dwindling. The release of iWork 2005 is meant to give mac users a word processor and slideshow program made by Apple that is fully compatible with Microsoft Word and Powerpoint. Also the amount of media software is ever increasing and many of these programs can be bought in a simpler form for casual home use.

One huge difference between Apple and the Wintel world is that Apple controls all of it's products. It doesn't allow anyone else to make their products, which it has been found in the long run that this makes it about 36% cheaper to own any Apple when compared with an equivalent Wintel Computer (a report done by Garter Group).

Apple has shown great improvement in revenue, profit, and market shares in just this last quarter. Just how much has Apple affected today's computer world? Did it all start with music and the iPod? Or a demand in higher standards?

Study Shows Illnesses, Medical Bills Account for About Half of Bankruptcies

A new study, conducted by researchers Harvard University, shows that "costly illnesses" cause about half of bankruptcies. The researchers were from the law and medical schools at Harvard. They said that these results show the inadequacy of the private insurance system. These insurance companies do offer coverage for the "worst case castrophic coverage," but do not offer coverage for less severe illnesses. Dr. DavidHimmelstein, the study's lead author and an associate professor of medicine said, "Unless you're Bill Gates, you're just one serious illness away from bankruptcy." The study was distributed to 1,771 bankruptcy filers in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas, in 2001.

In the study 46.2% of the causes of bankruptcies were medical bills. That figure rose to 54.5% when other factors were added. The study also estimates that health-related bankruptcies affect around 2 million people a year. Most people filing the bankruptcies did have insurance before the onset of the illness. You can read this story at http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB110729735855242879,00.html?mod=health%5Fhs%5Fhealth%5Fproviders%5Finsurance.

After reading this article, this finding did not surprise me. Medical expenses are so high right now, and when the insurance providers do not allow for the right coverage, bills add up. My dad is a lawyer, and he has seen a lot of bankruptcies related to medical bills come through his office. My question to you, is after reading the summary I provided or the article itself, does this finding surprise you? What do you think can be done in order to correct this problem? Is this just something that comes along with having a good health care system?

Quit smoking, lose weight or lose your Job?

The company Weyco Inc is making their employees quit smoking or lose there jobs. They make sure people are quiting smoking by giving there employees urine test once a month. Four employees have quit and 20 employees have stopped smoking. The companies owner know has decided to say that people that are overweight can lose the weight or they can lose there job. He is doing this by offering them help to deal with there weight. Now I think it is one thing to help people quit smoking by offering them bonuses and for losing weight maybe offering them just help. But whey you step in and say that if you dont quit smoking or lose weight then you will get fired is crossing the line. As a person, I can not see how there is not a law suit in the process. Offering help for people how smoke and are over weight is a good idea but I guess they should lose there job if they dont. But at leased the company is going to save money on health care, while your job less.

Good journalism or Illegal use of information?

I know this blog doesn't have a whole lot to do with economics, per say, but I found it to be quite interesting. I was reading an article in Wednesday's Financial Times and decided to try and find it online to share.

Apple is suing various websites that have leaked insider information to the public and 'exposed company secrets.' One such website is THINKSECRET.COM, created by 19 year-old Nick Ciarelli of Harvard University. He has set up a blog site where he shares lots of tips, tweaks, and breaking news with other Apple lovers. He told everyone about the infamous iPod a week before it was released in 2001 and is now being sued for leaking information about a sub $500 Mac to be released early January, which Apple did in fact release after the blog post.

Many lawyers, both paid and pro bono, are working together to fight back against Apple and defend people such as Nick for being 'good journalists.' They say that not only does he have the freedom of speech, but he acquired the information legally and should be free to distribute it as he sees fit.

What do you think? Has he done something illegal here or is he just an informed Apple lover who likes to stay on top of the game, legally? Could this bring strict regulations to the use of blogs?

Disney Posts an Unexpected Rise

Despite its own expectations, Disney posted a small rise in quarterly earnings. This unexpected rise was due to many factors, but primarily the continued booming success of ESPN, and increased revenue from the ABC family channel. Many of the events of the past year have adversely affected Disney. The elevated terror warnings and continuous concern about attacks on U.S. soil have contributed to a decrease in patrons at Disney's theme parks. While the actual number of tourists (especially international tourists) exceeded their own expectations, the levels are not close to where they would like it to be.

Disney also suffered some more than modest failings at the box office. Two of its big budget summer films, Around the World in 80 Days and The Alamo proved lackluster performers at the box office. To make matters worse, Disney's strength was rumored to have diminished after Pixar Animation Studios opted to stop working for Disney and start working for themselves.

While at times over the last quarter, Disney looked like it might post substantial losses in the quarterly earnings, it has a somewhat brighter future ahead of it. Two of ABC's shows, Desperate Housewives and Lost are proving to be critical and viewer favorites, which will increase advertising revenue throughout the run of those shows. However, much of Disney's future is also not so clear. Many have questioned whether Disney can now create a successful animated feature without the aid of Pixar.

While Disney is quite happy with its unexpected rise in quarterly earnings, the future is quite unclear for a company that is not used to dealing with difficult times. It will be very interesting to watch as they deal with the challenging situations it has found itself in.

Although the future of Disney animated films may be in a state of jeopardy, I believe the company itself will thrive long into the future. ABC is currently drawing huge numbers with some hit shows, and ESPN will more than likely always remain a huge sell. Disney has such a diverse appeal and market that it will adapt to changing times and continue to be strong for the immediate future.

Introduced Bill that allows prescription-drug imports

On January 30, 2005, eight U.S. representatives and senators, including five Republicans introduced a bill that would allow Americans to import cheaper drugs from Canada and other countries although that Republican congressional majorities and the re-election of President Bush are against legal prescription-drug imports.

Earlier On Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Byron L. Dorgan of North Dakota and Republican Sen. Olympia J. Snowe of Maine got a chance to speak their own proposal from Majority Leader Bill Frist of Republican. Mr. Dorgan and Mrs. Snowe said that the prescription medicines were charged the highest prices for American consumers. They thought it was so unfair and they were determined to pass this bill within this year. In addition, the prices in U.S. are rising at 10 percent a year. In contrast, the prices of those drugs are 70 percent lower in Canada and elsewhere. Given those pressures, ten governors, including four Republicans, last week wrote to Mr. Frist, urging passage of a drug-importation measure.

As what we learned in class, we know that Americans spend a large number of money on health care; and the spending on drugs is part of it.

If the bill would be passed, here leads a question. Will the spending on health care decrease or increase? If the prescription-drug imports are allowed, then the prices of those drugs would fall. As a result, the spending on drugs would decrease. On the other hand, however, if the prescription-drug imports are allowed and the prices fall, people would tend to buy more of those drugs, then the spending on health care would increase. Moreover, the importing would bring some foreign competitions into the domestic pharmaceutical industry, and it would be more competitive in the domestic pharmaceutical market, which might be a good thing. What do you think?