Scott Summer vs. Brad Delong, and Other News

By Filed under Interesting Links on May 30, 2012 with 4 comments

Scott Sumner responds to Brad Delong: Yes, government did cause the Great Depression.

Why do airlines charge $25 for checking bags, but not for bringing huge bags on the plane?

The purpose of locks, a locksmith said, is to protect you from the 98% of mostly honest people who might be tempted to try your door if it had no lock.

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  1. Devon Herrick says:
    May 30, 2012 at 3:11 pm

    I’ve always had the same question… why not charge extra for what people already want to do and not charge for what people don’t want to do — if what people don’t want to do actually facilitates quicker boarding.

    Boarding is one of the activities that slows down air travel and reduces the daily carrying capacity of each airplane. It makes perfect sense to charge for carry-on luggage because it reduces airplane turn around and to offer free checked baggage because it’s more efficient (but less convenient) for air travelers.

    From the article…

    Two years ago, [New York Senator Charles] Schumer got five big airlines to pledge that they wouldn’t charge passengers to stow carry-on bags in overhead bins. The promise came after Spirit Airlines became the first U.S. carrier to levy such a fee.

    Why Sen. Schumer would involve himself in whether airlines charge for carry-on luggage is beyond me.

  2. Buster says:
    May 30, 2012 at 3:25 pm

    The purpose of locks, a locksmith said, is to protect you from the 98% of mostly honest people who might be tempted to try your door if it had no lock.

    The Wall Street Journal article was written by Dan Ariely. Professor Ariely compared the stated income and height of men on the dating website, OK Cupid. He concluded that men fudged the truth slightly. He found the income (and height) curve tracked closely in shape to the general population. But men claimed to be something like two inches taller, on average, and about 30 percent richer than they actually were (that, or OK Cupid attracted men who were taller or richer than the average, but that’s unlikely).

  3. Paul H. says:
    May 31, 2012 at 8:47 am

    I agree with Scott.

  4. Brian says:
    May 31, 2012 at 11:28 am

    Big government is precisely what made the Depression so bad and prolonged.