Upbeat and Downstairs: Home of Daryl C. DuLong
The Corn Hill Waterfront & Navigation Foundation (CHN, for short) is a not-for-profit organization with a vision to improve and sustain Rochester’s (NY) waterways for current and future generations through awareness, education, and enjoyment. This year, CHN celebrates its 20th anniversary, which is a significant accomplishment in the non-profit world, as well as a testament to the work done and progress made.
Over the past several years, I have had the privilege of working with CHN in varying capacities, from being a deckhand in grad school (must pay the bills somehow!) to helping the organization with their digital media strategies to being elected to the Board of Directors and, last August, being elected as their Chairman. I will be honest, it has been a humbling experience serving as the Chairman of an organization with so much history and tenure, particularly in reference to the members of the Board. Our organization’s leadership is comprised of community leaders, city and county officials, business leaders, volunteers, and lovers of all things nautical. The founder of the organization, Ted Curtis, is also a prominent figure in the community, and it was his vision 20 years ago to find a way to provide a unique perspective of enjoying the community in downtown Rochester.
I recognize the idea sounds simple, but when you think back to that first conversation, whereby Ted asked if he could bring a boat downtown, there was no Corn Hill Landing, no dock, no development of any kind. The iconic bridge which now spans the Genesee River was an ugly overpass. For reference, even e-mail and web sites were laughable ideas at the time. If I think back, I can imagine it would have been easy to dismiss Ted’s vision.
The tenacity and persistence of Ted and his fellow supporters are what allow residents and visitors to partake in boat rides and educational cruises up and down the Genesee River and Erie Canal. He didn’t give up, and neither did the early leaders of Corn Hill Navigation. Their hard work resulted in not one, but two boats joining the Rochester waterway system, and spawning other operations in communities up and down the Erie Canal. Under the leadership of CHN’s President, Vicki Schmitt, the organization continues to grow and expand into new territories and offerings.
As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, I cannot help but reflect on where we will be in the next 20 years, and how exciting that will be! There will be a celebration on 15 July to cap a week-long dedication to Ted, the organization, and all of its supporters, complete with fireworks later in the evening. (Tickets are available, should you wish to join.) I am looking forward to the gathering and to meeting the task I have been elected to do — continuing the great work of the organization as we enter our third decade of operation.
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One topic I remember causing a lot of confusion in my Economics courses was the behavior of the underlying price for non-renewable goods, like oil and gasoline. Now that we’re feeling the effects of rising oil prices in the form of higher gas prices at the pump, the latest conversation is around when it will end and how to bring the prices down. I’m struggling to figure out an answer, and the general irrational behavior of consumers seems to be the culprit, rather than straight economic theory. Here’s why:
Fact #1: Understand that there is a correlation in prices. The red line signifies the price of crude oil, and the blue line is the US average price of regular unleaded gas. Over the past 6 years, there has been a fairly convincing trend between the price of oil and the price of products derived from oil. This makes logical sense.
Fact #2: Ignore fact #1. Seriously. Averages are convenient statistical ways to smooth data over time. If you look at a close up shot, say 3 months instead of 6 years, you’ll see that the latest trend for oil is flat, yet the price of gas continues to rise. Why?
Economist Sam Peltzman examined this phenomenon in a paper he published in 2000 entitled “Prices Rise Faster Than They Fall“. In conclusion, there is very little theory for why gas prices stay high when oil prices fall, except to simply say “they do.” As a matter of fact, Prof. Peltzman wrote it is “a serious gap in a fundamental area of economic theory,” which clearly explains why we were all confused in class.
Fact #3: It’s the fault of the consumers. And apparently we consumers don’t care! I found this reference on MSNBC to the most plausible theory:
Matt Lewis, an economist at Ohio State University, has been studying gas prices for more than a decade. He’s considered some of the usual allegations, like pricing fixing and collusion among stations. He doesn’t entirely discount those, but he thinks he’s found a better explanation for the fast rise/slow fall phenomenon. Here’s his theory in a nutshell: When prices fall, consumers are so relieved that they stop shopping around for the best price. That eliminates the normal downward pressure on gas prices and allows stations to squeeze out a few more cents of profit while prices slowly fall.
So, why do gas prices stay high after the price of oil falls? Because consumers get lazy and gas stations get opportunistic with pricing.
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