Economics and Legalizing Drugs...

I came across this great article which talks about the negative economic effects from legalizing pot in California. It reminded me that when we talk about the effects of drug legalization on "the economy", we often only assume the effects on the transparent legal economy because it is recognized by our government. The flip side is that there is currently a less transparent "black market economy" that operates just like any other market, only not as easy to measure. Something game changing like legalizing pot will undoubtedly have effects on this black market that will likely reach into the so called "legal economy".

I love these types of articles because they force us to realize that the existence of a market does not depend on our ability to recognize it. We tend to forget about these underground markets just because they are not in front of us and we don't typically interact with them. The truth is that they do exist and they often play a more significant role in our everyday lives than we think. For instance, according to the cited article, if pot is legalized in California then the unemployment rate should increase by a measurable amount. This means that people currently on the job market in California enjoy the benefits from less competition because a large portion of potential job seekers are currently employed within the illegal pot market. I could rattle off a list of similar effects, but you get the point.

It has been a while!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! I have been working to get another blog set up with a friend of mine. We have decided that our lives just aren't that interesting so we set up a blog where we write about bourbon.

Please check us out

I'll try to get better about posting updates here now that I have The Bourbon Journal up and running!

-Blake

Summer Graduation and Fun Times!

It is official, my sister is a college graduate and I am rapidly becoming an old man! between the stomach ulcers and the 10:30 bedtimes I am starting to understand why 10% of my financial focus is on retirement. But enough about me, more on the sis...She graduated from the University of West Georgia at one of the most impressive graduation ceremonies that I have been to (I really haven't been to many, but trust me, it was pretty damn good)! The speaker gave a great commencement speech and about 80% of the crowd showed respect and reverence by holding the typical classless hoot-in-holler until all of the names had been read. As for the other 20%, well let's just say that there is still room for civil progress in this country.

Anyway, it was great to get back home and catch back up with friends and family. All the best to my sis on her next steps!

Best Places to Live

It is not uncommon to see Raleigh, NC mentioned as one of the top ten places to live in the US so I figured I would at least cite one respected article stating this fact so that you all can have the hard proof you are [but probably could care less] looking for.

Top Ten Cities by Kiplinger

Hopefully this might convince some of you to join us here in Raleigh rather than make us have to move closer to Atlanta [which is not even remotely on the list] when we have kids....Just a thought!

Google-nomics

Who knew Google was so in tune with economic theory?

As a side note: I used Hal Varian's book in grad school!

Tornadoes, Swine Flu, and the Facebook Revolution

Over the past seven days, I have been completely occupied between my job, dodging tornadoes, avoiding the Swine Flu, and trying to figure out why my entire family has suddenly decided to join Facebook. Turns out it's pretty difficult to find time to blog amidst that buzz of activity!

All in all, I can't really complain just because life starts getting interesting. I think that the biggest thing is that my whole family now has access to my digital adult life, which may be different than the life they pictured me living in their heads! I am sure there will be plenty of phone calls, Facebook messages, and wall posts to document the interest that gets generated by my photo albums! Ohh wait, I think I set my privacy settings so that only Will and Lindsey can see those pics....hmmm, curious!

I know this is a pretty boring post, but it is all that I really have to say right now. Things in Raleigh are going well for Lindsey and I. We are going skydiving next weekend so I will write up a detailed post to share that experience with you all. Lindsey was afraid that something would happen to us while we were skydiving but I assured her that the drive down there was much more dangerous than jumping out of an airplane with a giant tarp strapped to your back. The scary part is that it's totally true!

Graduation Season is Upon Us

The trees have all turned green and the air outside is heating up just in time for the ritual of dressing up in black robes, black hats, long sleeve shirts, pants, and any other non-summer friendly clothing for the sake of graduation! Oh, and did I mention that these events are usually forced to take place outside, in the heat, because that is the only place you can fit fifty thousand proud family members, each armed with air horns and fresh vocal chords? But that is all a negligible price to pay in order to witness those who have made the accomplishment of graduating from college.

I hear people say things like “these days everyone goes to college” and “so what, everyone graduates from college” and it makes me sick to my stomach. To make light of the fact that in America, the land of the free, the home of the worlds best post-secondary education system, 30% of our population is able to graduate from college. To put it in perspective, only 10% of the US population was able to graduate from college in 1970, which means we have tripled that number in only 40 years! So 30% of our population is able to earn a bachelor's degree or higher in what is probably the toughest, and certainly the most respected university system in the world and we look at it as if it were just another day when graduation rolls around? Shame on us! We should be jumping for joy and celebrating at the top of our spirits because for every college student that receives a diploma, it brings us all one step closer to maintaining our edge as the dominant country in the global economy.

So the next time you get an invitation to a graduation or you meet a person who has recently graduated, don't just say “congratulations”, say “thank you and God bless you for working your ass off to better yourself and the world that we live in”. Getting through college is tough and requires an immense amount of energy and commitment that only 30% of our country is willing to expend. While that number is higher than in any other country, it still warrants a ginormous pat on the back to those who walk that distinctive path.