If you’ve ever watched Star Wars and wondered:

Doesn’t the Empire take a huge economic loss from the lost productivity of an entire planet? They were presumably paying taxes and providing resources to the rest of the Empire. Presumably the loss of that planet’s output would have to be made up by increased output from other planets that were either slacking in productivity due to rebellion or threatening to rebel and withdraw from the Empire altogether. It doesn’t seem to make good economic sense.

Then this article is for you. Read the rest of this entry →

The Federal Reserve Bank is known for not giving out much information except some statements explaining any new decisions it has made. However, breaking from tradition, the Fed held a press conference today. Why? Read the rest of this entry →

A country’s demand for goods tends to correlate to the strength of its economy, and beer apparently is no exception. As a country’s economy strengthens, it’s citizens start to drink more. However, there comes a point where demand levels off and then starts to decrease. This point is Read the rest of this entry →

In an article on the Freakonomics Blog, Stephen Dubner overviews a paper written by a Notre Dame economist on the relation between religion and education. For an additional year of education, it was found that the effect on religious participation was Read the rest of this entry →

Every year Forbes publishes a list of the 15 richest fictional characters. Ever wanted to know if Scrooge McDuck has more money than Montgomery Burns? Or if Wayne Enterprise could purchase Stark Industries? The methodology used to calculate the net worth of fictional characters is surprisingly sophisticated.

Topping the list with a net worth of $44.1 Billion is Read the rest of this entry →

Slate magazine recently presented their own plan to cut the budget deficit. They suggest that the best way to bring the deficit under control is for the government to do nothing. Confused? Read their plan here.

They note that:

Doing nothing means the Bush tax cuts would expire, as scheduled, at the end of next year. That would cause Read the rest of this entry →

In the middle of the financial crisis, comedy website Cracked took a look at some of the more interesting economic meltdowns in history. Read the article here. Who knew that there could be a speculative bubble in tulips 400 years ago? Read the rest of this entry →

Is your computer worth the amount of money that you paid for it, or is it worth a whole lot more? An article by Slate Magazine takes an interesting look at the question. Read more after the break. Read the rest of this entry →

The United States Postal Service has a history of misprinting stamps. Their approach to solving these problems has changed over the years. After their most recent mistake on millions of dollars worth of Lady Liberty stamps, what will the US Postal Service do this time? Find out more after the break. Read the rest of this entry →