Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Why We Need Government

This post at Cafe Hayek is excellent (link below). The answer that is provided by the biased government agency to the question of "Why we need government" is so ludicrous and ignorant of private property rights, market dynamics, the principles underlying the founding of our country, and other economically explicable phenomenon that counter its explanation that we would essentially be lost little children without government. It's well worth reading the comments section where readers offer their suggestions for a better explanation.

Why we need government

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Should NCAA Football Players Get Paid?

I know it has been a while...I am going to try to be better about getting over here to post a bit more. That being said, I had to share my thoughts on an article a friend shared regarding the paying of college players. The article is here. (HT: Dave Hebert)

And these are my thoughts on it:
Cam Newton (the subject of the article) is paid...a full scholarship. And I'm sorry, but $3,000 a year in extra expenses is a pretty paltry Stafford loan amount. So they graduate college with an education and $12,000 in school loans (and a chance at playing in a league with a minimum salary of $310K (2010)). Or, they leave early with the guarantee of being drafted into that league. Pretty sure that'll cover their expenses.

This author actually did the right thing in calculating per-player "earnings" but doesn't draw the right conclusion, imho. $17,000 per player is less than many tuitions these days (BCS Champs Auburn's out-of-state tuition is $21,916 in 2010-11). They are getting a bargain. Plus, they get exposure and a proving ground, helping them towards the potential big payoff in the NFL.

I'm certainly not for the draconian rules that Pryor, et al. violated...they should get to keep and profit off their personal effects from their accomplishments. But I'm not going to feel sorry for these football players not getting "paid."