Off To Work
Lynne Kiesling OK, girl’s gotta work. More on that later.
Two Of My Words Collide Through Marketing
Lynne Kiesling So I did a Technorati search to see the current links to KP, and I noticed something that I think is very cool. Here are two of the four sponsored link advertisements down my left column: MoveTX-connect your utilities online, where you can choose from a variety of electric and phone service providers …
Soaking The Rich Is Not The Paradigm Shift Germany Needs
Lynne Kiesling Tyler’s got a link to some information on Germany’s ruling SDP’s proposal to impose an additional 3% income tax for those earning above 250,000 Euros. The appalling claim, though, is that the putative objective of this policy is to rally disaffected voters, not to raise any meaningful amount of tax revenue. What is …
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Hahn And Sunstein On The Precautionary Principle
Lynne Kiesling Speaking of benefit-cost analysis, the new issue of The Economist’s Voice that came out yesterday has an article by Bob Hahn and Cass Sunstein on the precautionary principle. I have given it only a cursory reading, but it’s a good, readable argument about why the precautionary principle does not yield useful decision rules, …
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There Oughtta Be A Law (Apologies To Radley)
Lynne Kiesling OK, this is downright obscene: Starting Aug. 1, when the 2004 California Electrical Codes automatically take effect, residents will have to apply for a city building permits to replace or add wall, porch and ceiling lamps, light switches, electric receptacles, and other common do-it-yourself chores. So changing that noisy electrical switch with a …
Competition And Choice Benefit Those Who Exercise It
Lynne Kiesling Yesterday the Houston Chronicle ran a commentary from Texas PUC Commissioner Barry Smitherman arguing that retail choice and competition benefits customers: Consumers who actively shop for electricity are reaping the benefits of competition while those who, for whatever reason, remain with the incumbent provider are not. Lower electricity prices are available to all …
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An Eloquent Argument For Puhca’s Repeal
Lynne Kiesling I’m going to answer jdr’s comment about PUHCA from yesterday’s post about the Senate energy bill here instead of in comments. I am neither so foolish or so presumptuous that I think I can prognosticate the effects of PUHCA repeal, but based on some simple economics of organization and financial markets, I think …
Conflicted About Grokster
Lynne Kiesling I don’t have much to say about Grokster because I’m of many minds about it. Turns out I’m not alone; Tyler says economists should feel conflicted about peer-to-peer file sharing. One aspect of Tyler’s argument is what I call the “relevant and irrelevant externality” argument. Will file sharing reduce economic efficiency, leading to …
Energy Bill To Conference: Now The Tough Work Begins
Lynne Kiesling The Senate approved its version of the energy bill, which differs substantially from the House version. That means that the hard work remains to be done in conference. Many of the electricity provisions are common to both, so are unlikely to change. I have no great objections to the electricity provisions; I am …
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More Good Kelo Analyses
Lynne Kiesling Lest you think that I’ve become a one-trick pony and can think of nothing else except Kelo, I offer this justification for my attention to it: this is such a big deal that even people who don’t normally pay attention to such things are paying attention and are outraged. All sorts of people …