Guest Archive

Gasoline in California

November 28, 2005 7:20 AM by Guest

With the rise of gas prices above the $3 a gallon psychological level, and the record quarterly profits of Exxon Mobil, accusations of price fixing, price gouging and profiteering abound. Big-oil CEO’s have been called before a congressional committee to answer for this “obscene greed�?. In a television interview following hurricane Katrina, Senator Schumer, one of the usual mouthpieces, opined – “I don’t see why California gas prices should go up because refineries in the Gulf are shut down�?.

This is not the first time that this issue has come up. In March 17th 2003, gas prices in California rose above $2 a gallon for the first time. A California Congressman wrote a letter to the Office of Oil and Gas of the Energy Information Association (EIA), an independent statistical and analytical agency within the DOE, requesting an investigation. The full text can be found here:

Continue reading "Gasoline in California" »

Bookmark/Share | Comments (3)

Assemble the Experts

July 27, 2005 4:17 PM by Guest

From Zenohockey

The Encyclopedia Britannica, once synonymous with knowledge, is apparently feeling threatened by the spread of free information on the Internet -- including sites like Wikipedia, where literally anyone can contribute anything. Britannica's brilliant idea for returning to the zenith of its prestige and influence? Says the Boston Globe) "[N]aming an advisory board, whose 15 members top editor Dale Hoiberg calls 'some of the smartest people on earth.'"

Continue reading "Assemble the Experts" »

Bookmark/Share | Comments (3)

We Want to Protect You from Wal-Mart

June 16, 2005 12:59 PM by Guest

A weblog titled "The Neighborhood Retail Alliance" offers what it calls the "Conservative Case Against Wal-Mart in NYC", an economic study for the case against Wal-Mart, which being served from a small business alliance, should make the reader question the inherent bias and accuracy in which they present the issues The "study" engages in the trade-deficit fallacy when discussing how the dollars are exported and thus diverted from the local economy.

That aside, they do make one compelling point regarding the subsidization of Wal-Mart's employment costs which happens because of existing nanny-state freebies such as healthcare, food programs, housing subsidies, etc (which absent of, the argument goes, Wal-Mart would have to raise salaries substantially to compense). Whether you hold that against Wal-Mart is an area of discussion I expect Austrians, libertarians and mutualists to clash ideas over.

If anyone is interested in preparing a rebutal, I would love to see it.

Bookmark/Share | Comments (13)

The Spillover Effects
2004.06.07 | Comments (0)

Tax Free in Dubai
2004.03.19 | Comments (5)

The Problem is Fed Activism
2004.03.02 | Comments (1)

Barnett's New View
2004.02.28 | Comments (8)

Mises on International Capital Mobility
2004.02.07 | Comments (0)

More on "Austrian School Flunks"
2004.02.03 | Comments (5)

Professor Engle's Contribution
2004.01.27 | Comments (9)

The Real Issue
2004.01.26 | Comments (25)

The Military and Bureaucracy
2004.01.22 | Comments (0)

We support a strong dollar
2004.01.20 | Comments (0)