economics

Book Review: The Price Of Everything

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The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do by Eduardo Porter
# ISBN-10: 1591843626
# ISBN-13: 978-1591843627

PROS:

  • Makes you think seriously about prices and economics on a variety of subjects.
  • Has fascinating historical and cultural insights, with plenty of references.
  • Asks – and answers – some hard economic questions.
  • Extremely readable and accessible.

CONS:

  • References are arranged in a hard, odd-to-use way.
  • At times the author's opinion intrudes on his analysis.
  • Discusses solutions to economic issues, but not in much depth.

SUMMARY: An accessible and thought-provoking look at how economics affects almost everything we do that's good for people who want a better handle on the psychology of our economic behaviors.

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Review: Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America by Matt Taibbi

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Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America
by Matt Taibbi

# ISBN-10: 0385529953
# ISBN-13: 978-0385529952

PROS:

  • Covers areas of financial fraud both well-known and obscure in the American economy over the last few decades.
  • Surprisingly deep and human treatment of the issues and the politics helps you understand the people and the issues.
  • Makes an attempt to explain the financial issues that often go unreported and mis-understood.
  • Attempts to keep a sense of humor about some of these things as horrible as they are.

CONS:

  • Explanation of economic issues really is not kept simple enough to explain to people without an interest in economics.
  • The author's mixture of humor, outrage, and swearing may turn some off (while others will enjoy it immensely).
  • Doesn't always dig deep enough into the patterns described.
  • Has little suggestion on solutions to the problems.

SUMMARY: Griftopia is a flawed, but interesting, examination of decades of financial fraud in America.  It is more for people who have the inclination and knowledge to dig further into the financial messes in the US.

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Late Breaking Economic Geekery

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As the resident Econogeek (say "Econogeek" it just SOUNDS cool), I of course consider it my duty to keep everyone informed of economic issues while not putting them to sleep.  Well we had a few things come up I wanted to post today:

The Wrecksas in Texas.  Remember how Texas was going to be the next big thing?  Turns out they've got a lot of budget problems too and I'm guessing there's not going to be a lot of effort to fix them in a manner that'll let the state grow.  If you don't think a state can do stupid things to its budget that constrain growth, then let me just mention I live in California, which is still pulling itself out of decades of bad choices.  An interesting description: Texas is Ireland.  (By the way, I'm not holding out hope for Florida either).

Goldman Sach's deal with Facebook.  This one has several repercussions, and frankly few of them good for Facebook.  Goldman's involvement has brought SEC attention which could force Facebook into an IPO.  Goldman does not have a good reputation among many after the financial meltdown, and it's involvement could tarnish Facebook.  Goldman is known for making all kinds of deals so they might draw Facebook into ventures, partnerships, and so on that aren't in the company's best interest.  Finally, Goldman's been known to be involved with "bubbles" before, and I wonder if their involvement might end up jacking up Facebook stock prices when it goes IPO – only to have a crash later.

Rudgers releases a study of a survey on workers here.  Some useful insights.

There's your quick economic blast!

– Steven Savage