Sunday, March 09, 2008

Economic Potpourri


Several good articles today in the Times.


Wonder why food is costing more? Competition because of demand from Developing countries.


Does money buy happiness? Well, only relative wealth.


Our favorite comedian/economist, Ben Stein, (a committed Republican) urges John McCain to raise taxes on the rich if he is elected.


And no wonder the only way I can get my daughter to listen is when I send a text to her. lol.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to agree that Americans do eat a lot. But I am happy that the economy in agriculture is doing better.

Anonymous said...

I do not think that money buys happiness, but I am sure that it helps people be more joyous and optimistic. There is that joke that goes "Money does not buy happiness, but it buys drugs that make you happy." That could be one factor in the idea that money buys happiness. But the more probable thought could be that the more money you have allows you to occupy your thoughts on ideas not money related. People with less money will always think about the financial aspects of something before they do it, but people with money will not think of this, or if they do will only briefly consider it. So yes, money can indirectly buy happiness.

Anonymous said...

i actually read the entire article and found it pretty interesting, but not really something i didn't know. i mean, take a look at 9th period. prior to you (mr. rood) enfourcing the rules, people texted left and right in your class. in any class. i think it sucks that teenagers are so embedded in technology that they can't even get through a class without texting someone that they "had a ham sandwich for lunch, what did you have?" or whatever they are mindlessly talking about. if parents are really so concerned about texting, here's a thought: turn off the texting capabilities on the phone. my dad did, and some how my sister and i have managed to survive on calling people alone. yes, i do wish i could text, but i know i wouldn't use texting to further degrade the human brain with useless information about the button i lost off my coat.

-shannon murphy

Anonymous said...

GDP is associated with the wealth fare of people. According to this article Having a higher GDP will cause people to have higher social tolerance levels and public support for the economically disadvantage. Countries with higher GDP's tend to not stress as much about problems then lower GDP countries. Yes we have seen higher GDP's over the last decade but this article makes a point that we have to take into consideration inflation. This means that people aren't just getting happier as the years pass but the quality and technology of things makes a person's standard of living higher. This concludes that happiness can be in fact, some what measured by wealth.