Tag Archives: economics

Think Again: Drugs

A great roundup of the myths surrounding the Drug War, and the cogent arguments against continuing our ridiculous, harmful, and expensive policy of ideological prohibition.

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Is an Energy Transformation Afoot?

Almost immediately after we empowered Boulder to form a utility, a spate of articles appeared in the national press talking about the relative costs of coal and renewables, and the trends in those costs.  There was Krugman’s Here Comes Solar … Continue reading

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The capitalist network that runs the world

A team at the Swiss equivalent of MIT has revealed a dense knot of power and ownership interconnections within a particular subset of the world’s transnational corporations.  It will come as no surprise that these companies are overwhelming financial firms… … Continue reading

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Former Xcel CEO Dick Kelly would be fine with no more coal

Former Xcel CEO Dick Kelly would be fine with no more coal.  Unfortunately, the regulatory environment that his former employer works within in Colorado, and the company’s need to protect a couple of billion dollars worth of undepreciated coal assets … Continue reading

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Virtual prison labor gangs in China

China used prisoners in lucrative internet gaming work.  Prisoners are coal mining by day, gold farming by night… to the benefit the prison guards.  Don’t earn enough gold?  Get beaten with a pipe.  Yet another indication we are living in … Continue reading

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Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq.  I don’t know who could possibly be surprised by this, but it’s both nice and horrible to have unequivocal confirmation.  Goes a long way toward normalizing Donald Trump’s plan … Continue reading

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US Ikea workers complain about factory conditions

There’s some controversy over working conditions at an Ikea plant in Virginia.  Apparently wages start at $8/hr, with 12 days of paid vacation (8 of which are determined by the company).  Oh, and also you’ll often be informed Friday evening … Continue reading

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The Varied Costs of Catastrophe

Andrew Revkin notes on Dot Earth that the costs of an enormous earthquake in Indonesia, and in Japan are measured very differently.  In Indonesia (or alternatively, Haiti) the cost is measured in human lives.  More than 200,000 dead, but only … Continue reading

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Cornell refuses to sign journal pricing NDAs

Many academic journals require their library subscribers to sign non-disclosure agreements to keep their pricing structures secret.  This is obviously anti-competitive, and precludes any kind of free market from forming.  Cornell has decided it’s had enough of this, and will … Continue reading

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Moms market

Further developments in India’s commercial surrogacy market.  As the government mulls more detailed regulations, existing rules are already being neatly side-stepped.  For instance, sex-selection is not permitted in India, but it is in Panama, so the embryo screening is done … Continue reading

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