Free to Choose - 1990 - The Tyranny of Control
Thursday, November 30th, 2006
From Milton Friedman, part in a series:
Archive for November, 2006
Will Online Retailers Start Collecting Sales Tax?
Thursday, November 30th, 2006Next year, with Democrats in charge? “The stars are lined up better,” says Harley Duncan, executive director of the Federation of Tax Administrators, which represents state tax officials.
It’s not just the change in partisan control that has raised the states’ hopes. They also believe they can make a stronger case for new collection authority now that the SSUTA, which is designed to harmonize and simplify sales tax laws, is finally operating. As of Jan. 1, 15 states will be full participants in SSUTA, meaning they’ve adopted the required changes to their own laws. State officials spent years haggling over such issues as whether bakery bagels should be considered groceries, which few states tax, or prepared food, which is widely taxed. (The conclusion: If a bakery provides a utensil with your bagel or heats it for you, it counts as prepared food.)
Free Services For Your Cell Phone
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006Free directory assistance, answers from Google (see also Google Mobile), free international calls, free price comparisons, etc.
Read the article at The New York Times
Christmas Costs Rise Due to Inflation in the Pear-Tree Market
Tuesday, November 28th, 2006Total cost of the 12 Days of Christmas this year: $18,920.59 according to the PNC Christmas Price Index, as reported at money central:
The annual PNC Christmas Price Index, based on the cost of the items in “The 12 Days of Christmas,” rose 3.1% this year, with the sharpest increase coming from the 44% jump in pear tree prices.
How Do Networks Project That Yellow First-down Line onto the Field?
Monday, November 27th, 2006Howstuffworks.com has the answer. I’d post part of it here, but it doesn’t really make sense without reading the entire article. Interesting stuff…
History of the Federal Reserve
Monday, November 27th, 2006BYU Vs. Utah
Monday, November 27th, 2006
BYU 33 Utah 31
4 in 10 US Children Born Out of Wedlock
Tuesday, November 21st, 2006Now here’s a sad statistic:
CNN.com reports, “Out-of-wedlock births in the United States have climbed to an all-time high, accounting for nearly four in 10 babies born last year, government health officials said Tuesday.” Although the story does make mention of the fact that, “Just because a mother is not married does not mean the father isn’t around,” the main point of the findings can be summed up in another quote, “The overall rise reflects the burgeoning number of people who are putting off marriage or living together without getting married.”
Sad.
Global Rich List
Friday, November 17th, 2006How rich are you compared to the rest of the world? Find out from this site, via greg mankiw’s blog.
Mourning the Loss of Milton Friedman
Thursday, November 16th, 2006Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists in history, died today at the age of 94.
Mr. Friedman died of heart failure after being taken to hospital near his home in San Francisco, his daughter, Janet Martell, said today. His wife Rose Friedman, who co-authored many of his books, survives him.
…Mr. Friedman was awarded the Nobel prize in 1976. He has long championed the cause of political and economic freedom and the links between the two. He has originated, or been associated with, many breakthroughs in economics since the 1950s. He is best known for explaining the role of the money supply in economic and inflation fluctuations. He also, with this year’s Nobel prize winner Edmund Phelps, developed the theory in the 1960s that policy makers couldn’t achieve a permanent tradeoff between lower unemployment and higher inflation, and that efforts to do so would simply result in the same unemployment rate and higher inflation, a view that holds sway at major central banks today, including the Fed.
What an incredible lifetime contribution to the field of economics. He will be missed.