Did you ever wonder why property values always (2008 aside) go up? It just feels like one of those economic truths we imbibe at a young age, probably before we even take an Economics class, for those of us who…
Pancakes Make Me Hungrier
That term: “pancakes make me hungrier” appears nowhere on the Internet as a phrase. Until now. I had pancakes for breakfast yesterday, the second time in about a week, at a place that New Orleanians seem to adore called the…
Moment of Reflection
Last night, I had a disquieting and somewhat absurd realization that most people think it’s fine for some people to be rich and other people to be poor. I was struck anew by how difficult I actually find that to…
In the Ballpark
New Orleans has brought me my first-ever NFL game and second- and third-ever NBA games in quick succession (and I have a feeling that, at those ticket prices, we’re going to become Pelicans semi-regulars). But it sadly lacks an MLB…
401(k)’s and IRAs are a Pyramid Scheme
The stock market is booming! On Wednesday, February 25th, 2015, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at an all-time record-high of 18,224.57 points. This is getting awfully close to triple the March 2009 lows and is, according to all the…
Rim to Rim to Rim Revisited
When I was in college, one of my closest college friends, Stina, spent the summer of 2000 working at a cafeteria in the Grand Canyon. It’s one of those quirky little facts of American life that you might not think…
For the Love of the Train
I took the streetcar home yesterday. I don’t always take the streetcar to and from work, like I did with BART when I worked at Glide in San Francisco. I often take the car, dropping Alex off on the way,…
The Unexpected Virtue of Mardi Gras
I’ve been trying to explain to people all week what I loved so much about Mardi Gras. For those who were here, or have been here, the explanation works a little better. I am here attempting to distill an explanation,…
The Sound of Silence
One of the great challenges of the modern age is finding sufficient solitude. By “modern age”, of course, I don’t mean the 1950s, which I guess took hold of that term a while back and didn’t let go. I mean…
Labor Force Participation Rates Falling Twice as Fast as Predicted
Contrary to what you might imagine about the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and its record-keeping on the purported unemployment situation, they are fairly aware of the impact of the crashing labor force participation rate on the overall employment picture.…