Touché

Posted on March 17, 2011 | Comments Off on Touché

The Wall Street Journal‘s James Taranto links to my article “Are Text Messages an Antitrust Issue?” in his Best of the Web Today column.

It’s in the Questions Nobody Is Asking section.

He has a point!

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Posted in General Foolishness, Media Appearances

CEI Podcast for March 17, 2011: Are Biotech Crops Coming to Kenya?

Posted on March 17, 2011 | Comments Off on CEI Podcast for March 17, 2011: Are Biotech Crops Coming to Kenya?

Have a listen here.

CEI Senior Fellow Greg Conko discusses his recent trip to Kenya where he met with members of Parliament and other officials about the best way to regulate the introduction of genetically modified crops to the country.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, regulation, Technology, Trade

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Are Text Messages an Antitrust Issue?

Posted on March 17, 2011 | Comments Off on Are Text Messages an Antitrust Issue?

Text messages cost 20 cents to send, even though they use a fraction of a penny of bandwidth. What gives? Antitrust authorities want to know.

Over at The American Spectator, I explain that it is likely a case of unbundling:

Maybe phone companies are unbundling texting from their other services. That way the only people who pay for text messages are the people who use them. If phone companies don’t have to provide texting service for people who don’t want it, they can keep costs down and charge lower prices.

This is much more fair to customers:

Why not just give all customers unlimited texting and charge a higher monthly bill? That would punish people who don’t text, such as this writer. By eschewing the flat rate and tolerating a few texts per month from family and friends who haven’t been properly trained, non-texters can save $50 or more per year.

Monopolists (and oligopolists) don’t behave that way. Companies competing against each other on price do. Trustbusters are forgetting something else, too. If a monopoly exists at all, it is very temporary.

It turns out that a young company called Beluga makes a free texting application for smartphones. Few things are as temporary as monopoly (or oligopoly) power. Since Beluga bypasses the texting cartel, you can have unlimited texting without the $5 monthly fee. Think of it as Skype for the text messaging set.

Read the whole article here.

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Posted in Antitrust, Economics, Technology

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The War on Scent

Posted on March 15, 2011 | Comments Off on The War on Scent

Yesterday, I noted that Portland, Oregon is banning city workers from wearing perfume or cologne. Nevada’s legislature, not to be outdone, is considering restricting or banning pesticides, potpourri, air fresheners, candles, and pretty much anything with a scent in public places.

You can read the bill, AB 234, here. The restrictions on pesticides have to be read to be believed. It doesn’t take much imagination to see regulations that burdensome leading to less pesticide use. That means more pests. It also means public places would be less healthy, not more.

What will legislators go after next in the War on Scent? Body odor? Because there will be a lot more of it in Nevada if this bill passes.

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Posted in Nanny State, regulation

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Regulation of the Day 167: Wearing Perfume

Posted on March 14, 2011 | 1 comment

Portland, Oregon is banning city government employees from wearing perfume or cologne at work. The ban also covers “aftershave or other scented products like hair sprays and lotion.”

Violators will be disciplined.

1 Comment

Posted in Nanny State, Regulation of the Day

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Legislating the Way to Prosperity

Posted on March 14, 2011 | Comments Off on Legislating the Way to Prosperity

Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. has a novel idea for ending poverty: make it illegal. He explains in this short video of a speech he gave on the House floor:

The Constitution should be amended to guarantee everyone the right to a decent home. That way, everyone will get one. In a speech he gave on the House floor, he asks, “What would that do for home construction in this nation? What would that do for millions of unemployed people?”

The Constitution should also be amended to guarantee the right to decent health care. Jackson implores, “How many doctors would such a right create?”

Education needs an amendment, too. “How many schools would such a right build, from Maine to California?” Jackson goes on to wonder how many jobs would be created by giving every student and iPod and a laptop.

If ending poverty really is as simple as passing a few laws, then Jackson isn’t going nearly far enough. If we want a truly prosperous nation, then the Constitution should guarantee everyone not just a decent home, but a mansion filled with servants to take care of every need.

Everyone should have the right to not just a doctor’s visit every 6 months, but a cadre of specialists with access to the latest technologies and tests. This would be a boon for life expectancy.

And why only an iPod and a laptop for children? They deserve supercomputers! They should have the right  to a Ph.D from Harvard in the field of their choice. Such a law would guarantee that America’s population  will be the most educated in the world. And it won’t even be close.

If legislation really is the only thing keeping every American from enjoying Bill Gates’ lifestyle, then Jackson is being far too moderate. Don’t just legislate a decent lifestyle. That doesn’t go nearly far enough. Congress should pass a law that guarantees an above-average lifestyle for all Americans.

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Posted in Economics, General Foolishness, Law, Political Animals

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More on the Broken Window Fallacy

Posted on March 13, 2011 | Comments Off on More on the Broken Window Fallacy

The Independent Institute’s David Theroux has a valuable post on the broken window fallacy. He links to Bastiat, Hazlitt, and last and least, me. Worth a look.

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Posted in Economics

Tsunamis Are Not Stimulus

Posted on March 11, 2011 | Comments Off on Tsunamis Are Not Stimulus

Tragedy struck Japan this morning. It will be some time before we know just how many lives the tsunami took, and how much damage was done. But pundits are already saying dumb things.

Larry Summers, who should know better, committed the economists’ cardinal sin this morning: he fell for the broken window fallacy. The sunny side of the destruction is that it will boost the economy. Just think of all the jobs that will be created by the rebuilding process!

Over at the Daily Caller, I gently correct Summers. Natural disasters are bad for the economy. All the rebuilding activity in the next few years will only get Japan back to where it was. If the tsunami had never happened, all that energy could be put to creating new wealth. Disasters are just that: disasters.

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Posted in Economics, International, Publications, Stimulus

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$6 Billion More in Cuts

Posted on March 11, 2011 | 1 comment

On Tuesday, the House will probably vote on a Continuing Resolution to avoid a government shutdown. Republicans are asking for $6 billion in spending cuts as part of the package. If they succeed, this year’s budget deficit will go from about $1.6 trillion to $1.594 trillion.

Never let it be said that congressional Republicans don’t think big!

1 Comment

Posted in Economics, Political Animals, Spending

CEI Podcast for March 10, 2011: Keeping Private Data Private

Posted on March 10, 2011 | Comments Off on CEI Podcast for March 10, 2011: Keeping Private Data Private

Have a listen here.

Associate Director of Technology Studies Ryan Radia talks about how to prevent data privacy violations in the Internet age. Your data may be safe if it’s stored on your personal hard drive. But if it’s in the cloud, as with Gmail or Dropbox accounts, you can’t count on the Fourth Amendment to protect you against unreasonable search and seizure. Radia suggests some reforms to outdated laws to better reflect today’s technological realities.

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Posted in CEI Podcast, Technology

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