Late Night Commentary

The late night comic roundup after last week’s Democratic turnaround:

With the Democratic victories in Congress, Nancy Pelosi, she becomes the speaker of the House, which makes her the most powerful woman in America. She is third in line for the presidency.

So the line of the presidency now goes: Cheney, Cheney, Pelosi. That’s how it works.

— Craig Ferguson, Late Late Show

It’s ironic, ’cause the Republicans have always said they wanted to appeal to minorities. Now they are one. That’s ironic.

— Jay Leno, The Tonight Show

This was an amazing week. Democrats won in places they were never even competitive before. Like America.

— Bill Maher, Real Time

Election Cycle

2006 Mid-Term Election Cycle Some people may have seen an e-mail (or in the case of the election cycle two years ago, I received these mailed to me on campaign literature) with the following fallacies:

** In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
** In 1649, one vote caused Charles I of England to be executed.
** In 1776, one vote gave America the English language instead of German.
** In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union.
** In 1875, one vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.
** In 1923, one vote gave Adolf Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.
** In 1941, one vote saved Selective Service – just weeks before Pearl Harbor was attacked.

None of those events actually happened. But, not to dishearten those who want to know the value of their vote, the following one vote events are, in fact, true:

** Andrew Johnson retained his office by one vote. The final tally against him was 35 to 19, but a two-thirds majority of the votes cast was needed to oust him from office, thus a 36-to-18 result was required. [The vote was not to impeach Johnson (which had already been done); the vote was to remove him from office. Folks have come to think of these terms as interchangeable, but they’re not. President Clinton was recently impeached, but he was not removed from office either.]

** In 1839, Marcus “Landslide” Morton was indeed elected governor of Massachusetts by one vote. Of the 102,066 votes cast by the good people of that state, he received exactly 51,034. Had his count been 51,033, the election would have been thrown into the Legislature, where he probably would not have won. [“Landslide” also made the record books in 1842 when he won the same office again by one vote, this time in the Legislature. In those days, Massachusetts governors were elected for terms of one year.]

So, to those readers in the United States… Go vote on Tuesday!

Halloween: An Economic Nightmare

Boo! Here are some excerpts from an article published yesterday for Bloomberg by Kevin Hassett, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research:

The National Confectioners Association estimates that 2005 Halloween sales were $2.1 billion, easily making Halloween the biggest candy season. This year, sales will certainly be higher.

What percentage of those sales end up providing candy that individuals don’t really like? If my own careful scientific study of Halloween bags is any guide, perhaps about 75 percent.

It’s not the dead that concern me about Halloween. And it is not the impact of all that sugar on the weight of our kids. No, it’s the dead-weight loss, or pointless lost utility of the entire enterprise. That likely has a dollar value that exceeds $1.5 billion annually. American citizens squander more than a billion and a half dollars a year on an economically inefficient holiday.

So let’s do something to reform Halloween. The first step would be for Halloween donors to give kids money instead of candy. Kids could then go to the supermarket the next day and binge on the candies they really like. That solution would get an A-plus in economics.

So, his argument is that the first law of economics would be that lump-sum transfers are more economically efficient than in-kind transfers. If you are going to give a gift to somebody, you should just give them the money. They will be a better judge of the best way to spend it. I guess the same theory applies for birthdays and religious holidays as well, but money is just so … impersonal.

He continues:

Many schools prohibit children from taking Halloween candy onto the premises. That is exactly the wrong policy. Schools should encourage all children to bring their entire haul to school, and allow them a lengthy period to trade candies among themselves. That way, the Take 5s and the 100 Grand bars will find their way to individuals who cherish them.

Of course, nobody will take the Charleston Chews, so we should also consider a federal block grant to local school districts to support environmentally friendly disposal of the candy.

And Halloween used to be such a simple holiday!

The Dutch Love to Shop

Here are two photos from last week’s adventures in Amsterdam. The Dutch really love to shop! (Or maybe those people in the photos are tourists…) And, as you’ll notice, everyone walks in the same direction while browsing. Such efficiency.

Shopping in Amsterdam 1
Shopping in Amsterdam 2