Relativity - In Pricing

You may have learned this line somewhere along the way in English class.

O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!
Sir Walter Scott

It turns out, it doesn't hold in retail sales.  Shoppers seem to prefer dishonesty in the pricing approach!  They want to get good deals, even when it really is no deal at all.  The linked piece explains this and makes for a good read.

We Forget That Everything Is Relative - Behavioral Scientist via kwout

Another obnoxious Yankees post

#JudgeandDrury

Sharing The Marbles Revisited

I thought this piece was interesting.  The underlying question is which poor people are deserving of of receiving government subsidies and transfer payments.  Note that at present the unemployment rate is quite low by historical standards, near 4%, but the labor force participation rate is also quite low by historical standards.  Are there people out of the labor market who really should be looking for work?  If so, what is the way to determine who these people are?

A particularly troubling case, not considered in the article, is that of veterans who are now homeless.  When you think through your own views on these matters, you might try to apply those views to the case of homeless veterans and see what you concluded there.

Who’s Able-Bodied Anyway? - The New York Times via kwout

Discussion Group

We're now meeting on Fridays at 1:30 in BIF.  If you'd like to join us, please do.  But drop me a note ahead of time so you can get caught up and participate in the conversation.