The Puzzling Economics of Sports

In an article entitled "The Puzzling Economics of Sports'' by Allen R. Sanderson, he discusses how the public critcizes athletes for making a lot of money although they hardly make as much as movie stars, singers, and authors. It can come down to the law of supply and demand. People seem to prefer paying the bigger price to go to entertainment places, but won't spend the cheaper price on sports tickets. The public demands more for their money and the stars salaries come from the people who pay. There is a large supply of forms of entertainment: movies, tv shows, concerts. Sports tickets would be better off because they are set for inflation. Its amazing how the median salary for baseball players is 800,000 a year, while the cast members of Friends take home a milllion dollars per episode. People also complain about the team members driving up the cost of the game ticket, but they don't complain about the ticket prices at the movies which go up because of the stars of the movie. Also, the fans take into consideration how much parking, food expenses, and souvineers are going to cost when going to a sports event, but very little is thought about when people go to the movies. And at movie theatres, the prices have become rediculous. The fans are demanding more amenities in the ballparks which limits its own supply and ends competition. I completely agree with Mr. Sanderson. I think that athletes are looked upon as the bad guys when it comes to their salaries. Sometimes its rediculous how much money some athletes earn, but usually its minute compared to some actors like Ray Romano who makes about $50 million a year for only a half hour, once a week, for a couple of months. I also agree with the his last quote, "With apologies to F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, why is it that sports are apparently so different from the rest of society and the economy?" I really do not understand why. Another quote of Mr. Sanderson's that I liked was, "At least we ought to be consistant in our errors and hostility." By this he means that if we criticize one group, we should criticize others as well for pretty much the same reason. Like in this case, money. Another thing that Mr. Sanderson stressed was how people critcize athletes for using performance enhancers, but don't criticize celebrities for using botox and cosmetic surgery. It's sad that this takes place in our country. This article does mention the law of supply and demand. Overall I say we, the people, should criticize all groups when necessary and then everything will be fine. I know it wont happen because life is unfair, and Im gonna have to try and accept it when it goes against me.

Failing Ford Company

The Ford Motor Company is having some serious financial problems. People aren't buying the SUVs and trucks that they are producing. To try to make up for the loss they are offering buyouts and early retirement plans to 75,ooo employees. In the future they planned on cutting 30,000 more jobs and close down a couple more plants. Ford is the 2nd motor vehicle maker in the country. GM is 1st. Not only do they have to compete with GM, but also the smaller, more fuel efficient Japanese car makers. Not only are the production of SUVs and trucks hurting them, they are also selling cars on the old-style platforms. They are going to need to do a lot of things to get themselves back on the ball.

Pacific Ocean Weather

In the Pacific Ocean there is Tropical Storm Lane which is receiving hurricane warnings. Lane maybe caused by El Nino which is starting up this year and will probably last into 2007. As of right now the conditions aren't bad, but only time will tell. Apparently it will make our winter weather warm, which i dont have a big problem with.

Not raising hogs

1. The dilemma expressed by this letter is is that these people, the Plowrights don't actually
want to raise the hogs, just the money in order to do so.

2. The government is decreasing the small hog raising markets when they pay people not to
raise hogs.

3. The critics used irony against the government.

4. This story conveys that people want to make money by doing anything, sometimes even if it
doesn't make sense at all.

Costs and Benefits of College

Costs:
1. Average price for Private College - $31,916
Average price for Public College - $15,566
2. Time away from family, friends, and work
3. Giving up wants and desires to get the limited resources
4. Books
5. Food
6. Transportation
7. Entertainment

Benefits:
1. Earn more money
2. Get a good start on life
3. More jobs to choose from
4. Develop reasoning, tolerance, reflection, and commucation skills
5. Marketable
6. Intellectual Investment
7. Networking

Welcome Economists

Welcome to the Raginter Economics page. Im as you might have guessed, Raginter. From this day out i will be posting blogs on economic topics for all of you to read and quite possibly enjoy. Stay tuned for more information. Good night, and good luck.