Tag: supply and demand
Unmasking the true force behind the housing crisis
December 21, 2023 | Post
For the first time since the Great Depression, a majority of young adults in the U.S. aged 18-29 live with their parents.
The intensifying housing crisis across the United States and worldwide is a pressing concern, particularly for Millennials and Gen Z, who are often priced out of getting their own place for far longer than what has been the norm for previous generations.
Such a crisis inevitably prompts a blame game. But who or what is really to blame?
This Christmas, blame supply and demand for your expensive gifts
December 13, 2023 | Post
Even Santa’s elves can’t repeal the laws of supply and demand.
Why you’re just as greedy as a corporate CEO
August 7, 2017 | Post
It’s silly to think businesses and CEOs are evil and greedy, but ordinary customers are helpless victims.
This Valentine’s Day, the chocolate supply is in turmoil.
February 14, 2017 | Post
Learn how to drop the word “déblocage” into your romantic evening
Two minimum wage charts for the minimum wage supporter
January 7, 2017 | Post
The glowing claims about minimum wage laws don’t pass the most basic economic smell tests. Just look at the data from Europe.
Making college “free” will only make it more expensive.
January 3, 2017 | Post
Making higher education free of charge won’t make it free to provide.
A place where your vote matters
November 22, 2016 | Post
Have you ever stopped and looked around the grocery store? There are thousands of products neatly arranged and conveniently located just for you.
Why don’t we allow markets to dictate parking policy?
November 10, 2016 | Post
A market for parking free of government manipulation would reduce inequality, improve the environment, and make cities more livable.
Tired of expensive football tickets? Blame yourself
October 10, 2016 | Post
Can you really blame universities for charging high prices for football tickets when so many people are willing to pay for them?
Defending Middlemen
September 27, 2016 | Post
Each consumer is free, on his or her own, to visit farms and factories and processing plants in order to purchase items directly from producers. But, of course, such visits would be enormously time consuming and would cost quite a lot in airfare and other travel expenses. We know that retailers and other middlemen perform valuable services because we observe consumers, everyday, voluntarily paying for these services.
Here’s Who I’m Blaming for Hamilton’s Exorbitant Ticket Prices
August 16, 2016 | Post
The law of demand still applies even to overrated musicals.
Raising the Minimum Wage Cannot Benefit the Economy
June 13, 2016 | Post
In the current debate about the minimum wage, some argue that higher minimum wages boost the economy overall. If workers receive higher wages, the reasoning goes, then they will have more money to spend, and their increased spending will boost business all around. In this news video, for example, an activist in the citizen action […]
Repealing the Law of Supply and Demand?
March 17, 2016 | Post
With all the excitement of the 2016 presidential election ramping up, it’s even more important to think critically about proposed government policy. Not only are voters biased, they’re often swayed by policies which sound good, but which don’t always have good results. Randal O’Toole, a policy analyst at the Cato Institute, illustrates the careful balancing […]
On Demand Program of the Week: The Price is Right
February 8, 2016 | Post
Why does your iPhone cost $200.00? Why is the price of gas so volatile? What gives Uber the right to enact “surge pricing”? It’s easy to think of prices and profit as symbols of greed and corporate power, but prices are really just bits of compressed information that save you time and effort! What do […]
Minimum Wage and Employment: Debunking the Oft-Cited 1994 Study
December 17, 2015 | Post
Preston Cooper over at Economics 21 has written an excellent piece about minimum wage’s effects on employment. Economics teaches us that when you raise the price of a good, the amount of that good which is demanded goes down. This is true whether the thing for sale is ketchup or labor. Supporters of the minimum […]
High Prices Convey Information, not Criminality
November 6, 2015 | Post
Last month’s record flooding in South Carolina brought renewed crackdowns on price gouging. But higher prices simply convey information – in this case that consumers should conserve and producers should produce. In this way, prices allow the shortages that occur in natural disasters to be alleviated. In the new Learn Liberty video below, Towson University […]