Misleading Statistics

Posted on March 25, 2008 | Comments Off on Misleading Statistics

Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson won an executive-of-the-year award today.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Greg Bedard asks if it is a kiss of death for the team.

Let’s leave aside the fact that the award has no cause-and-effect relationship on the outcome of football games.

Bedard writes that in the year after winning the award, “Only four times in those 13 years did the executives win the Lombardi Trophy.”

There are 32 teams in the NFL. Only one of them can win the Super Bowl. That’s a 1-in-32 shot.

Call me crazy, but 4-in-13 actually sounds pretty good.

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Posted in Fun with Statistics, Sports

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Pessimistic Bias

Posted on March 17, 2008 | Comments Off on Pessimistic Bias

“Nearly three-quarters of all Americans think the economy is in a recession, according to a national poll released Monday,” reports CNN.

The facts on the ground are quite different from what people think. GDP grew last quarter, therefore we are not in a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP.

Growth has certainly slowed recently. There’s a chance it could even go negative this quarter. Still, odds are that this year’s GDP will be higher than last year’s. By the way, that would qualify for an all-time record high.

Things could be better, for sure. Still, it is a pity that so many people systematically think things are worse than they are.

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Posted in Business Cycles, Economics

Reducing Frivolous Lawsuits

Posted on March 14, 2008 | Comments Off on Reducing Frivolous Lawsuits

A London man slipped on a grape in a store and sued for 300,000 pounds ($600,000).

He lost. This highlights a key difference between the U.S. legal system and most others: the man now has to pay his opponent’s legal costs. This is part of almost every legal system on Earth, except ours.

The “loser pays” system gives plaintiffs a powerful incentive not to sue unless they have a good case. This one reform alone would do much to reduce the amount of frivolous lawsuits in the U.S. Something to think about.

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Posted in Law

Pro-Market vs. Pro-Business

Posted on March 13, 2008 | Comments Off on Pro-Market vs. Pro-Business

People who hold pro-market views are often tarred as corporate shills. That epithet more accurately describes pro-business attitudes, which are very different creatures.

George Mason professor Don Boudreaux discusses this with his usual eloquence in his twice-monthly newspaper column. Well worth reading, especially for you non-economists out there.

Another thing about such name-calling is that it dodges argument on the merits; it is the highbrow equivalent of ending an argument by saying, “Oh yeah, well you’re ugly.” Which of course, has nothing to do with whether the arguments are right or wrong.

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Posted in Economics, Philosophy

Beyond Parody

Posted on March 12, 2008 | 1 comment

Florida’s legislature is taking action on one of the most pressing problems facing the state – the amount of toilet paper in restaurant bathrooms.

“State Senator Victor Crist, a Republican from Tampa, felt the problem was so important, a law must be passed to protect the backsides of anyone in Florida.”

1 Comment

Posted in Political Animals, regulation

Capitol Visitor Center

Posted on March 12, 2008 | Comments Off on Capitol Visitor Center

The Capitol Visitor Center began construction in 2000. It was supposed to cost $265 million, and open in January of 2005.

Eight years later, it is still unfinished.

Delays and cost overruns have so far resulted in a $621 million price tag and a November 2008 opening.

Congress is less than pleased. “Anything later than a November 2008 opening or more than a $621 million price tag isn’t going to cut it,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

She continued, “If [the opening] is delayed again, I will personally send the contractors a very strongly worded letter.”

Just kidding about that last part.

Kind of.

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Posted in Economics, Political Animals

The War on Drugs

Posted on March 12, 2008 | Comments Off on The War on Drugs

Mexico captures key Tijuana drug cartel operative

Tomorrow, another will take his place.

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Posted in Economics, prohibition

A New Record

Posted on March 11, 2008 | Comments Off on A New Record

It’s still up in the air if Gov. Spitzer will resign or not.

Here’s something that probably won’t help his cause. There are already “Client 9” t-shirts for sale. Less than 24 hours after the scandal broke.

Classy.

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Posted in General Foolishness, Political Animals

Anonymity and Free Speech

Posted on March 10, 2008 | Comments Off on Anonymity and Free Speech

In the Kentucky state legislature, “Rep. Tim Couch, R-Hyden, filed a bill that would require anyone posting on interactive Web sites to first register using their legal names, addresses and valid e-mail addresses.”

I can see Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay – known to history by the collective pseudonym Publius – rolling in their graves.

Fortunately, “Couch, however, said he won’t push the bill — he just wants to draw attention to the growing presence of anonymous and often mean-spirited comments on Web sites.”

I see his point, but couldn’t disagree more with the way he makes it.

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Posted in Free Speech, Law

Above the Law

Posted on March 10, 2008 | Comments Off on Above the Law

Some police officers in Montgomery County, Maryland, apparently feel that speeding tickets do not apply to them.

This is one thing if they’re responding to an emergency.

It is another thing when “The police union says officers shouldn’t pay because the citations are issued to the owner of a vehicle, in this case the county, and not to the driver.”

Too clever by half. If we have to pay citations from those Orwellian traffic cameras, then they should, too.

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Posted in regulation