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The State and the Superstar

Posted on by alazowski
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The shock of Lebron James leaving Cleveland has worn off by now for basketball fans. I don’t know the first thing about basketball and don’t know if in terms of the sport he made the right choice. I do, however, know a thing or two about economics and believe that he made the right choice. Economically speaking that is.

Due to Florida’s friendly tax laws, James stands to take home more of his paycheck. Even though he is earning less than what he made playing in Ohio, he will be able to keep more of what he does earn. What’s not to love about that?

James isn’t the only one moving to a state that has friendlier tax laws. Millions of average Americans are doing the same thing. Many Businesses are also doing the same thing, too. Businesses and people are going to follow the money. States like Ohio and others hit hard by the recent recession, like Michigan, could stand to learn a thing or two from James. If these states want to keep their people, businesses and possibly sport superstars, they need to lower taxes.

The Butcher, the brewer and the oil spill clean up

Posted on by alazowski
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After the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, one would expect to see people running out of the Gulf coast as fast as possible. So many jobs have been affected by the oil spill and people are not working. However, many people are coming down in droves with new inventive ways to help clean up. Why would anyone want to come down and clean up? It’s simple. There are profits to be made. While this may sound shallow, Adam Smith wrote on this very topic:

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.

The Gulf coast sure could use some more self interest right about now…

Up in Smoke

Posted on by alazowski
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Michigan businesses are fighting back on the smoking ban with a lottery boycott and it’s about time. Since the ban went into effect on May 1st many businesses have lost revenue. The smoking ban has had many unintended consequences. There may be less smoking in public due to the ban, but there is also less spending in this already ailing economy because of it.

The ban was done to curb individuals’ bad decisions, but the cure may be worse than the disease.  It really isn’t the government’s job to save us from our bad decisions. If an individual chooses to make bad decisions, they have to deal with the consequences alone. When legislators make bad decisions, everybody has to deal with the consequences. 

If the Michigan legislators truly cared about protecting people from bad decisions, they would stop making laws that violate people’s rights and pocketbooks.