A lighthearted parody political ad points out that the global polar bear population has doubled over the last four decades.Produced by the National Center for Public Policy Research and Citizens United.
Today’s Honolulu Advertiser is urging us to turn off our lights tonight for just one hour. According to the editorial, if we observe “earth hour” we will be doing a small part to save the globe. But why stop with just earth hour when we could follow the lead of those who observe earth year?
Posted by Harry Messenheimer
Update: check out this commentary by Professors Perry and Boudreaux.
From economist.com:
Hong Kong is home to 26 billionaires, according to Forbes magazine’s latest ranking of the world’s wealthiest individuals. Li Ka-shing, the chairman of Cheung Kong Holdings and Hutchison Whampoa, which have interests in property, ports and telecommunications, was named the richest local. He was 11th in the world ranking, with an estimated fortune of $26.5 billion. The next Hong Kongers were three of a kind: Raymond, Walter and Thomas Kwok, owners of Sun Hung Kai Properties, who have a combined wealth of $19.9 billion. Elsewhere on the list, Stanley Ho, a casino magnate, saw his wealth grow to $8 billion, thanks to the success of Macau’s revitalised gambling market.
The Teutonic smoking ban is temporarily up in smoke. From The Economist:
Berlin may have introduced a smoking ban at the beginning of January, but one month on, many cafés and bars had begun handing out the ashtrays again. The ban has proved unpopular with rebellious Berliners, with one angry smoker punching a waiter who tried to usher him outside. Although anyone found lighting up indoors may be fined up to €100 ($150), police will not be enforcing the rule until July. During this six-month grace period, the authorities are letting bar- and café-owners decide for themselves whether to allow smoking. Some bars have styled themselves as “smoking clubs”, though this will have no legal power to protect anyone, come July.
Might there be a lesson here for Hawaii and other states with similar smoking policies?
Productivity has been lagging in our government-run schools while it has been increasing rapidly in the private sector of the economy. Specifically, since 1992, Hawaii’s government-run schools have experienced a productivity decline of 22 percent while the private sector has increased by 41 percent. Details of my estimates may be found here.
I have long believed that home schooling will eventually be the source of increased productivity k-12 education. Maybe I should say “home schooling in combination with virtual charter schools. Guess who is opposed to the very thought of this kind of innovation?
Hat tip: Professor Newmark
Posted by Harry Messenheimer