Cheaper Colleges

             

There’s no reason college cannot be cheaper;  if colleges were under pressure to reduce costs.

                     

Take a  study done by Christopher Matgouranis, Jonathan Robe, and Richard Vedder, a Professor of Economics at Ohio University, and the director of the Center College Affordability and Productivity group. Reporting data at the main campus, at Austin of the University of Texas, the study said tuition fees could be cut in about half by asking 80% of the faculty with the lowest teaching loads to teach half as much as the 20% with the biggest loads. The top 20% now cover 57% of the teaching.

                     

Many professors simply do not teach but spend time on research, much of questionable utility. Also, student- teacher ratio standards make little sense, while college bureaucracies are in need of major cost-saving overhauls and streamlining which can reduce tuition levels. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Why Sue Securities Advisers

        

I have no sympathy for advisers who often charge clients for services the clients may well do themselves. But why sue such advisers who have no crystal ball and who cannot see if an investment will fail?

                     

And yet many clients, including pension funds, have  sued advisers who could not see a downturn in the mortgage markets a few years back.

                     

This lacks common sense on the part of the clients, other than a ruse to collect money from any source available. Hoping a judge and jury will not be conversant with how legitimate securities markets work? (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

A Job Interview Tip

               

I started and assisted the operation of a profitable major employee- contracting business for 17 years. The company’s assigned employees varied from ordinary clerks to nurses and physicians.

Lots of suggestions get thrown about on this important subject of securing a job.  Let me tell you one that makes more sense than others I see being professed in the media. Try the following technique with a prospective employer AFTER the interview:

Now that we have had our discussion, do you have any reservations about me that you would like to have me explain or answer?

That helps get into any problems that may be about to stymie your efforts. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

A Temporary New Federal Regulation Ban?

  

There should be a year’s moratorium on all new federal regulations until an independent audit can be arranged to evaluate what we now have.

                     

I can guarantee the U.S. economy and political system will not spin out of control. But we will get a handle on duplications and such inanities as spilled milk on farms being treated as “oil spills.”

                     

And while we’re at it, an audit of the massive Federal Register to reduce it’s ridiculous size. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

State Budget Problems

 The media often gets aroused over Wall Street’s salaries and bonuses. Government salaries get only slight attention.

                     

While we know about Uncle Sam’s spending these days, state and local outlays are also beginning to get commentary because severe budget problems are a tremendous source of problems for states and cities.

                     

I  refer to exorbitant pensions held by millions of active and retired state and local public employees.They represent at least three quarters of public employees who have what is called defined-benefit retirement plans.

                     

They have the ability, unfortunately, to organize voters and thus control politicians who keep adding to taxpayer burdens until there are not enough taxpayer funds to support funding.. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Effects of Future Inflation

               

A 2003 report by the Federal Reserve calculated the effects of government debt and its impact on long-term interest rates. It was done before the current weak “:recovery” and the spending of the Administration.

                     

The report concluded: "A percentage point increase in the projected deficit-to-GDP ratio raises the 10-year bond rate expected to prevail five years into the future by 20 to 40 basis points. Similarly, a percentage point increase in the projected debt-to-GDP ratio raises future interest rates by about 4 to 5 basis points." In other words, the effect of inflation in the form of higher interest costs.

                     

Inflation induced by heavy deficits does not arise rapidly during a recession, but it jump-starts once recovery gets going. Then it quickly gets out of hand.

                     

All the theory economists use as remedies get stymied by politicians who know the medicine will cause economic belt-tightening. Those remedies will be over-ruled by political considerations. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)

Crowd Predictions

               

The assumption that the masses can be correct may arise from a theory that there is a certain wisdom in crowds. There has been some limited research on this to explain how a form of futures market can explain, for example, how the public may predict future election winners.

                     

Practical results from the use of such theory has been non-existent. No real futures market has ever resulted from past attempts to implement such theories.

                     

The problem here is that if crowds were prescient, there would be no booms and busts and no economic manias as have existed over past centuries. All securities markets would then be predicable.

                     

On the contrary, evidence over the years suggests the opposite; crowds are invariably wrong. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at Twitter.)