Risk of Unintended Consequences At least to economists, the question of whether the minimum wage should be increased — and by a lot, as many on the political left advocate — is tricky. In a perfect world, the higher the minimum wage — hell, all wages — the better: higher pay = more disposable income...Read More
From Steep Premium to Discount In the wake of the 2008 Financial Crash, rates on jumbo mortgages (over $417k in most parts of the country) skyrocketed to 7% or even higher. Assuming you could find one. Fast forward to Fall 2015, when jumbo’s can now be had for as little as 3.75% — a slight discount to...Read More
Second Home Selector, or “Hello, Palm Springs!” That’s not just a map (above) of how much February, 2015 global temperatures departed from global averages the last 30 years. If you live in Minnesota, it’s a 2nd home (or winter vacation) selector. So, if your principal residence is in a purple area experiencing temps -5º below...Read More
Sell High, Buy Low — & Look Out For Competitors Being an ardent free marketer at heart, I don’t think government should do anything — at least directly — about airfares that remain at nosebleed levels even as airlines’ fuel costs collapse and their profits soar. Instead, I think government should focus on steps to increase competition....Read More
From a Seller’s to a Buyer’s Market? The catalyst(s) and pace may vary, but the dynamics of a housing market shift — most recently from a Seller’s market to a (nascent) Buyer’s market — are unvarying. And that’s regardless of locale or calendar (i.e., it describes Las Vegas 2007 as well as Orange County in...Read More
Supply, Demand, and the Price of Electricity “Xcel Energy reported a 17 percent jump in earnings per share for the third quarter, but warned that electricity sales remain slack, and that it will seek a Minnesota rate increase.” —Star Tribune (10/26/2012). OK, so it’s been 30(!) years since I studied economics in college. And I...Read More
