Myths about the rich

The 2007 edition of the Forbes 400 wealthiest Americans was released last week. As in years past, it's one of the more useful economic annuals when it comes to laying bare the folly of antitrust, worries over the wealth gap, and perhaps silliest of all, the assumption that the rich became that way for exploiting the non-rich

A lesson in supply and demand

The ethanol boom of recent years — which spurred a frenzy of distillery construction, record corn prices, rising food prices and hopes of a new future for rural America — may be fading.

Only last year, farmers here spoke of a biofuel gold rush, and they rejoiced as prices for ethanol and the corn used to produce it set records.

But companies and farm cooperatives have built so many distilleries so quickly that the ethanol market is suddenly plagued by a glut, in part because the means to distribute it have not kept pace. The average national ethanol price on the spot market has plunged 30 percent since May, with the decline escalating sharply in the last few weeks.

Shift your demand curve to the right and watch equilibrium price and quantity rise. Then, push your supply curve to the right far enough so that price falls (by 30%).

Outsourcing; Is it really a problem?

When the politicians begin complaining about outsourcing in the American economy, have them read this article.