From

Source http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2010/11/qe2-ditty.html 

"It's Called Quantitative Easing

I heard it in the headlines
It's news all over town
We might be double dippin'
Green shoots have all turned brown

It's a balance sheet recession
With a housing overhang
But they've got a brand new program
And it will start you with a bang

And it's called, quantitative easing
They say results are always pleasing.
When liquidity all starts freezing
Just warm things up with quantitative easing

I will say it straight and simple
It's clear, just like a bell
There's some long term bonds to buy
There's some short term bonds to sell

Don't talk about the good times
Don't ask me where they went
Just move your inflation target
On up to three point five per cent

And it's called, quantitative easing
This ain't no joke, it ain't no teasing
When the GDP starts wheezing
Treat with a shot of quantitative easing

Good and magic things will happen
It might take a week or three
Unemployment plunging downward
Recovery shaped just like a V

You'll see Nobels at the Treasury
There'll be rock stars at the Fed
It'll take hair off of Krugman's face
Put it on top of Ken Rogoff's head

And it's called, quantitative easin'
This ain't no scam, so don't call no policeman
When the engine of commerce starts seizin'
Just add a quart or quantitative easin'

Show no mercy to the critics
Don't let no one stop your nerve
You can mock Ricardian Equivalence
You can laugh at the Laffer Curve

Tell that guy at the Minneapolis Fed
To shut up, or you'll break his legs
And if the Bond Vigilantes don't like it?
Well, they can go suck eggs

And it's called quantitative easin'
You know I say this for a reason
When the economy just sits there squeezing
Loosen things up with quantitative easing"

Genius, just needs a beat behind it now!

Partying With Models

"The Federal Reserve's job is to take away the punch bowl just as the party gets going." -William McChesney Martin
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The last alternative.

You cannot walk out the door without hearing about the cuts in UK at the moment, and it won't be long till we will all be feeling the cuts directly. One of the first cuts was to the Arts council, but to plug the gap is the ultimate form of sick-inducing-branding that is the Big Society. My opinion is not yet formed on what I think of this reliance on the private sector to plug the gap in the future for the cuts that are happening now. My one worry is that the private companies are going to be too slow at financing institutions, and particularly institutions that are not distinctly profitable.

I am a self confessed lover of the arts. Studying fashion and art up to Foundation Level, I have truly made the most of New Labours free entry to museums and galleries. So I was relieved to see that this will continue under the post-recession coalition. However the rest of the industry has not been so lucky, such as the British Film Council. I am afraid that institutions that add a great deal to our country culturally will be sent into a downward spiral, and forced abroad because their investment returns are not high enough. Art inspires creativity and innovation, it provides a reflection on every part of our psyche, and provokes question on all parts of life. Art is priceless.

There is definitely a case for the government to be in charge of protecting and developing our cultural identity. Responsibility has to be taken by someone, a countries culture cannot be out-sourced.

Philanthropy is only set to increase in the UK, and it does seem to work in countries such as the US. At the same time, do we really want our identity to develop in the same fashion as the United States of America?

http://m.independent.co.uk/;article=2/news/

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Best Graph Ever

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Customs and Cannabis

I saw recently in the in the Independent that HM Customs and Revenues have had a reduction in about a half of cannabis seizures. The official documentation can be found here.

This is very interesting, why has there been such a big decrease? and can we think of cannabis seizures as a proportion of the imported drug that makes it into the country?

Well I think it is fair to say, if their is demand, black-market items are always going to make it to market, so i think it is true that the amount of seizures can be a proportional representation of how much makes it into the country.

I can now come to answering the first question. The first thought that comes to mind is that it is has been recession times, and drug takers must have budgets too. Well does this make sense? It might be worth looking at an item that can be analysed more easily. Alcohol, also a drug, with arguably a similar addictive-ness, a non-essential item, that serves much the same purpose as cannabis, seem to be a perfect candidate for comparison. So what do the figures say? There has been a sharp decline in demand for alcohol since 2009, amounting to 6%. So a reduction in income doesn't seem to make much sense of the massive decline in cannabis seizures.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11170814
it doesn't seem likely that demand would disappear that fast, and drastically, that demand for cannabis is extremely elastic to income, or even to confidence for the future.

Another possibility, is that there is a chance that Customs workers are more susceptible to bribes by the importers. After all it is still recession times, things are very hard. There is also a large cut in the public sector being undertaken, so these pressures could be adding up. So it could be that the statement i posed might not be true, that seizures represent a proportion of imported cannabis.

I will leave it there for now. Nevertheless the large drop is very interesting!

Introduction

By no means is this written in the pretense that I am an expert in economics. My aim is to set up a dialogue with others who study economics, work in economics, or anyone that has at least an informed (however well formed) opinion in economics.

I will be largely commenting on current affairs, but as I am reading Economics and Philosophy at Leeds University, I believe that it is highly likely that the course will influence the topic I will be discussing.