Leecher

In its case against the FCC, Comcast argued that peer-to-peer file-sharing was hogging bandwidth. It was. But the most efficient way to allocate bandwidth among customers is to charge heavy users higher prices, which Comcast chose not to do. The real sin, then, was that the file-sharers wanted a service that Comcast did not care to provide. This is not a moral issue, but a market failure.

Quelle: Comcast v the FCC: Raze the mystery house | The Economist

Steuern

… The federal tax code, which was 400 pages long in 1913, has swollen to about 70,000. … even the head of the Internal Revenue Service, Douglas Shulman, gets someone else to do his taxes. …

Every wrinkle in the tax code represents a favour to some group. It could be a small group, such as loggers, or a huge one, such as homeowners. Politicians use the tax code to encourage things they like, such as driving hybrid cars, and to discourage things they don’t like, such as work. A typical loophole has passionate defenders but no opponents. Those who benefit from it, benefit a lot. Those who would gain from its repeal (ie, taxpayers in general), have never heard of it. So the mess gets ever messier. Happy April 15th.

Quelle: April 15th: The joy of tax | The Economist

Männermangel unter den Afroamerikanern in den USA

“I thought I was a catch,” sighs an attractive black female doctor at a hospital in Washington, DC. Black men with good jobs know they are “a hot commodity”, she observes. When there are six women chasing one man, “It’s like, what are you going to do extra, to get his attention?” Some women offer sex on the first date, she says, which makes life harder for those who prefer to combine romance with commitment. She complains about a recent boyfriend, an electrician whom she had been dating for about six months, whose phone started ringing late at night. It turned out to be his other girlfriend. Pressed, he said he didn’t realise the relationship was meant to be exclusive.

Quelle: Economist.com

Im Schnellzug in 48 Stunden von London nach Shanghai

As for high-speed railways, from a standing start China’s are the world’s fastest and longest. The government has plans to roll out a high-speed network across Asia and even Europe. It proposes three main routes to connect two dozen countries, from Singapore in the south to Germany in the west (with a tunnel from mainland China to Taiwan to boot). By 2025, if the railway ministry is to be believed, it will take two days to travel from Shanghai to London.

Quelle: Economist.com

Wie man früher nach Kriegen Besitzfragen klärte

WHEN the tribes of ancient Israel defeated the Midianites, the victors got the losers’ 675,000 sheep, 72,000 oxen, 61,000 asses and 32,000 female virgins (males and non-virgin women were slaughtered), as well as the gold and jewels. The biblical account suggests that, in that era at least, this was a standard post-conflict resolution of property questions.

Quelle: Economist.com