Dennis Santiago of Institutional Risk Analytics reports that in the first seven days of the joint IRA/Huffington Post/Roosevelt Institute Move Your Money campaign, about 340,000 people searched 16,631 zip codes to find community banks in their neighborhoods that are rated healthy by IRA. Well, maybe not 340,000 people—340,000 searches. …
Equity and prosperity, part 2
Like me, Jonathan Chait also liked parts of Jim Manzi’s epic right-leaning prescription for combining competitiveness with social equity. But Chait also identifies a major problem with a pillar of Manzi’s argument—that the U.S. has dramatically outperformed Western Europe economically since the dawn of the Reagan era:
[S]ince 1980, the
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Shocking News: Infomercial Products Are Crap
Consumer Reports takes a close look at the Snuggie and all sorts of things that slice and dice and somehow convince TV viewers that they need them.
Are You Experiencing “Next Great” Whatever Fatigue?
You just bought an HDTV, an iPhone, and a Kindle, but now there’s 3-D TV, Google’s Nexus One, and the Kindle 2 (or the Nook) that all want you to take them home too. Can’t the marketers and innovators at least wait until we’ve gotten used to all the gizmos and features of our current great “new” devices before they introduce the new-new ones?
From Chicago School to just another (excellent) economics department
Whoops, sorry. I got so caught up in a must-write-column trance today that I forgot to blog. I did briefly consider saying something about John Cassidy’s edifying and entertaining New Yorker piece on Chicago School economics, which I read while eating breakfast and making Curious Capitalist Jr.’s lunch this morning. But when I looked it …
Car Insurance: Proof It Really Pays to Shop Around
There’s not much rhyme or reason to how and why car insurance rates vary so widely, but vary widely is exactly what they do—for the same coverage, same driver history, and so on. This is why you’ve got to go through the rigamarole of getting multiple quotes.
It’s a Deal: Up to 80% Off from Converse
A post-holiday sale from Converse (thanks Bargainist) discounts apparel and footwear for men, women, and kids (including some trademark Chuck Taylor models) by up to 80%.
Getting Literally Nickeled and Dimed at the Grocery Store
Go reusable or pay up: The movement to charge shoppers for plastic bags at supermarkets, convenience stores, liquor stores, and anywhere else you’ve been asked “paper or plastic?” is gaining momentum.
In the Future: No More … Well, No More Lots of Things
When the calendar changes, it’s a natural time to look back and look forward, to gauge trends, scratch one’s head, and make predictions that will appear laughable in a few years. According to various prognosticators, because of new technology, rising costs, changing cultural attitudes and spending habits, and the ever-present desire to …
Is Blu-ray Technology Worth Paying a Premium For?
The marketplace seems to be saying absolutely not. A couple years ago, Blu-ray players cost like $1,000. Until very recently, Blu-ray DVDs cost $40 and up. But after pathetic sales trickled in, Blu-ray players have been knocked down to under $100, and new DVDs go for under $10.
It’s a Deal: $20 Feeds a Family of Four at Fuddruckers
The Fuddruckers Family Fudds Deal (thanks to Citiesonthecheap) includes two kids’ meals and for the adults, two one-third-pound burgers, fries, and a drink—even beer.
How Some Guy Named Jorge Made $6,000 Selling Zhu Zhu Pets on eBay
One man in southern California jumped with both feet into the game of snatching up the holiday season’s must-have, can’t-find toy, buying something like 500 robotic hamster Zhu Zhu Pets, which he then sold to desperate parents on eBay for handsome profits.
Check out the story on CNET, so that you can be disgusted and/or learn what to …