Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
What Makes People Happy?
As John Stossel points out, it's not bigger government. Quoting economist Philip Booth,
"In fact, the bigger government is, the less happy societies tend to be. There is a direct relationship, stripping everything else out, between the government allowing people more freedom and well-being increasing."
Read the whole thing.
"In fact, the bigger government is, the less happy societies tend to be. There is a direct relationship, stripping everything else out, between the government allowing people more freedom and well-being increasing."
Read the whole thing.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Charles Murray on the New Upper Class
This go round, it's Time magazine. To be clear: "the rich" and "the upper class" are not the same people.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Q&A with Charles Murray in WSJ
Go here for a Q&A with Wall Street Journal readers and Charles Murray on his book Coming Apart and America’s Growing Class Divide.
The Overhyped Honda Hybrid: A Modern Parable
By this point, most everyone has heard about the woman in California suing Honda Motors over the mileage in her Civic Hybrid. But just about all media reports miss the main point of the story.
About a month ago, I first heard the details of this story on National Public Radio. A group of car buyers sued Honda, claiming the automaker "promised" 50 miles per gallon fuel consumption on their Honda Civic Hybrids, but that the actual mileage came in at a lower level.
Now even I--who buys a new car exactly once a decade, like clockwork (including a Honda product)--know that the MPG number on the sticker is just for comparison purposes, "your mileage will vary." But some take that number literally, and they sued Honda, and their lawyers were looking to settle for something along the lines of $100 each or a $1,000 coupon. At this point the story could have been about the need for tort reform, how plaintiffs get the shaft, while the lawyers get the cash millions, etc.
However, one Heather Peters opted out of the class action and took her case to small claims court in Torrance, California, where the maximum judgement is $10,000. In the event she was awarded a near-maximum $9,867. Now this story could have gone in any number of directions: (1) a consumer protection triumph for the little person, (2) corporate greed meets its match, (3) runaway "justice" in an increasingly decadent California, or any number of other tired storylines.
But then we would miss the real lesson here. In the original NPR story we learn a lot of interesting details. Ms. Peters reports that the Civic Hybrid would get, on a good day, only 41 to 42 MPG, and now she sees something closer to 30 MPG. (For Honda's part, they claim the 50 MPG figure is the only one the EPA will let them display.)
Six years ago, Ms. Peters bought her 2006 Civic Hybrid for $24,000, a premium of $8,000 to $9,000 over the price of a regular Civic, which MPR quotes at $15,000 to $16,000, at the time.
A Honda engineer did the math on the gas cost and as reported in the LA Daily News,
"the difference in cost to Peters, between the estimated mileage and her claimed mileage, was about $140 a year, or $800 to $900 since she purchased the vehicle."
Holy Smokes! That is the real story: you pay $8,000 extra, to save, at best, $140 a year? Even if you kept the car for twenty years, you would only get back a third of the premium you paid! Even worse, as the commenters to this UK Daily Mail story on the case pointed out, regular gasoline Honda Civics can get up to 40 MPG.
The real scam is not that Honda over-hyped the mileage figure. The real scam is that the hybrid option does not begin to pay for itself. What the buyer gets instead is the self-satisfaction that comes with conspicuous non-consumption. What author David Owen would call the Prius Fallacy, the hybrid owner demonstrates their ability to pay a luxury price for an option that will not, in fact, save the planet.
The modern parable to be found in the Peters story is this: "all that is green is not gold." So many of the claims behind "green" or "climate-friendly" products turn out to be vastly over-hyped. Caveat Emptor
About a month ago, I first heard the details of this story on National Public Radio. A group of car buyers sued Honda, claiming the automaker "promised" 50 miles per gallon fuel consumption on their Honda Civic Hybrids, but that the actual mileage came in at a lower level.
Now even I--who buys a new car exactly once a decade, like clockwork (including a Honda product)--know that the MPG number on the sticker is just for comparison purposes, "your mileage will vary." But some take that number literally, and they sued Honda, and their lawyers were looking to settle for something along the lines of $100 each or a $1,000 coupon. At this point the story could have been about the need for tort reform, how plaintiffs get the shaft, while the lawyers get the cash millions, etc.
However, one Heather Peters opted out of the class action and took her case to small claims court in Torrance, California, where the maximum judgement is $10,000. In the event she was awarded a near-maximum $9,867. Now this story could have gone in any number of directions: (1) a consumer protection triumph for the little person, (2) corporate greed meets its match, (3) runaway "justice" in an increasingly decadent California, or any number of other tired storylines.
But then we would miss the real lesson here. In the original NPR story we learn a lot of interesting details. Ms. Peters reports that the Civic Hybrid would get, on a good day, only 41 to 42 MPG, and now she sees something closer to 30 MPG. (For Honda's part, they claim the 50 MPG figure is the only one the EPA will let them display.)
Six years ago, Ms. Peters bought her 2006 Civic Hybrid for $24,000, a premium of $8,000 to $9,000 over the price of a regular Civic, which MPR quotes at $15,000 to $16,000, at the time.
A Honda engineer did the math on the gas cost and as reported in the LA Daily News,
"the difference in cost to Peters, between the estimated mileage and her claimed mileage, was about $140 a year, or $800 to $900 since she purchased the vehicle."
Holy Smokes! That is the real story: you pay $8,000 extra, to save, at best, $140 a year? Even if you kept the car for twenty years, you would only get back a third of the premium you paid! Even worse, as the commenters to this UK Daily Mail story on the case pointed out, regular gasoline Honda Civics can get up to 40 MPG.
The real scam is not that Honda over-hyped the mileage figure. The real scam is that the hybrid option does not begin to pay for itself. What the buyer gets instead is the self-satisfaction that comes with conspicuous non-consumption. What author David Owen would call the Prius Fallacy, the hybrid owner demonstrates their ability to pay a luxury price for an option that will not, in fact, save the planet.
The modern parable to be found in the Peters story is this: "all that is green is not gold." So many of the claims behind "green" or "climate-friendly" products turn out to be vastly over-hyped. Caveat Emptor
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Makers vs. Takers
A useful column from the InstaPundit Glenn Reynolds Makers vs. Takers, and how these days the Takers are winning.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Jevons Paradox and The Fallacy of "Benign Consumption"
This weekend's Wall Street Journal has a piece by author David Owen on "the Prius Fallacy: Pretending that more 'benign' consumption is good for the environment."
It has some wonderful illustrations of the Jevons Paradox, or how more efficiency leads to more, not less, consumption. It's short and worth reading through, but here are a couple of choice quotes,
"A favorite trick of people who consider themselves friends of the environment is reframing luxury consumption preferences as gifts to humanity. A new car, a solar-powered swimming-pool heater, a 200-mile-an-hour train that makes intercity travel more pleasant and less expensive, better-tasting tomatoes—these are the sacrifices we're prepared to make for the future of the planet. Our capacity for self-deception can be breathtaking."
and
"Even when we act with what we believe to be the best of intentions, our efforts are often at cross-purposes with our goals. Increasing the efficiency of lighting encourages us to illuminate more. Relieving traffic congestion reduces the appeal of public transit and fuels the growth of suburban sprawl. A robust market for ethanol exacerbates global hunger by diverting cropland from the production of food."
As for "reframing luxury consumption preferences as gifts to humanity," I developed a whole business plan using that theme.
It has some wonderful illustrations of the Jevons Paradox, or how more efficiency leads to more, not less, consumption. It's short and worth reading through, but here are a couple of choice quotes,
"A favorite trick of people who consider themselves friends of the environment is reframing luxury consumption preferences as gifts to humanity. A new car, a solar-powered swimming-pool heater, a 200-mile-an-hour train that makes intercity travel more pleasant and less expensive, better-tasting tomatoes—these are the sacrifices we're prepared to make for the future of the planet. Our capacity for self-deception can be breathtaking."
and
"Even when we act with what we believe to be the best of intentions, our efforts are often at cross-purposes with our goals. Increasing the efficiency of lighting encourages us to illuminate more. Relieving traffic congestion reduces the appeal of public transit and fuels the growth of suburban sprawl. A robust market for ethanol exacerbates global hunger by diverting cropland from the production of food."
As for "reframing luxury consumption preferences as gifts to humanity," I developed a whole business plan using that theme.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Magna Carta To Be Back on View
The only copy in the U.S. of the Magna Carta will soon be soon be back on view at the National Archives. The great document has been undergoing restoration and will be on public display Feb. 17th.
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Libraries are Rebuilding America from the Bottom Up
In building on this site's theme of "Rebuilding America from the Bottom Up," we come to the, perhaps unlikely, subject of libraries.
Over at New Geography, Michael Scott writes about "How Libraries and Bookstores Became New Community Centers", an encouraging sign in our post-literate world. As a "third place" in addition to home and work, Scott writes that libraries and bookstores serve a role "vitally important to the social fabric of communities because they facilitate the healthy exchange of ideas and provide a public venue for civil debate and community engagement."
Libraries and bookstores have been around for thousands of years, and like every other institution, are having to re-invent themselves for a new, digital age. In a less remembered episode from the gilded age, steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie gave away millions of dollars of his fortune to fund the building of Carnegie libraries across the country. At one point, Carnegie was responsible for creating half of the nation's libraries. His thought was that, by providing greater access to knowledge, members of the working class could improve their economic status. Carnegie himself was an immigrant and self-made man and wanted to give others the chance to achieve the success he had.
The libraries themselves were often a marvel of architecture. Here in Minnesota, the 1904 Carnegie Library of Little Falls is an excellent example of the genre,
At the other end of the size spectrum, but no less an exquisite example of architecture, are the "Little Free Libraries,"
(Photo: Minneapolis Star Tribune)
The "brainchild of Stillwater, Minnesota, native Todd Bol," Little Free Libraries are small, wooden neighborhood kiosks where local residents can exchange books. The size of birdhouses, these mini libraries have sprung up around Minnesota and other states and provide the same sort of community gathering place that Scott describes, except at street level. As reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, one user raves,
Over at New Geography, Michael Scott writes about "How Libraries and Bookstores Became New Community Centers", an encouraging sign in our post-literate world. As a "third place" in addition to home and work, Scott writes that libraries and bookstores serve a role "vitally important to the social fabric of communities because they facilitate the healthy exchange of ideas and provide a public venue for civil debate and community engagement."
Libraries and bookstores have been around for thousands of years, and like every other institution, are having to re-invent themselves for a new, digital age. In a less remembered episode from the gilded age, steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie gave away millions of dollars of his fortune to fund the building of Carnegie libraries across the country. At one point, Carnegie was responsible for creating half of the nation's libraries. His thought was that, by providing greater access to knowledge, members of the working class could improve their economic status. Carnegie himself was an immigrant and self-made man and wanted to give others the chance to achieve the success he had.
The libraries themselves were often a marvel of architecture. Here in Minnesota, the 1904 Carnegie Library of Little Falls is an excellent example of the genre,
At the other end of the size spectrum, but no less an exquisite example of architecture, are the "Little Free Libraries,"
The "brainchild of Stillwater, Minnesota, native Todd Bol," Little Free Libraries are small, wooden neighborhood kiosks where local residents can exchange books. The size of birdhouses, these mini libraries have sprung up around Minnesota and other states and provide the same sort of community gathering place that Scott describes, except at street level. As reported in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, one user raves,
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