Felix Salmon, Thomas Friedman, and 401(k) plans
Last week, Thomas Friedman wrote a breathy column for the New York Times about how it’s a 401(k) world. The idea being that just as we have responsibility for our own retirement funds – which is good for some people – we have responsibility for more of our careers – which is also good for [...]
Money Smart Week: Cash flow versus return
I know about finance from several perspectives. I have a traditional academic background and teach traditional corporate finance (efficient markets, rational actors, time value of money). I worked for an investment company and two investment bank, so I have a real-world perspective (people are irrational, bubbles and crises are more common that you might think.) [...]
Income inequality in the U.S.
I spent a lot of time last week pulling up charts on income inequality in the U.S. to use in class.This chart is from the Congressional Budget Office and shows the difference in income distribution between 1979 and 2007. It doesn’t look good, and that was before the recession. The interesting thing is that there [...]
Free book: Calculus Made Easy
Last week, I interviewed a man who has degrees in both physics and economics, who taught economics for years and years, and who has great accomplishments in econometrics, the most quantitative branch of the field. Anyway, among other things, he mentioned a book that had been given to him in high school that he used [...]
Post-holiday thoughts on the value of gifts
The enormous holiday season is pretty much over; we went from Halloween to Elvismas with a whole bunch of fun and cookies packed in between. Another seasonal standby is the article about the value of presents, both in religious and in economic terms. Many cultures have different ways of compelling people to redistribute wealth and/or [...]
End of the Semester Stress Busters
UIC’s student wellness center has compiled a set of online stress-busting activities, in case you need some. I’m giving a final today, with plenty of stressed students.
An Accounting Practice Set
When I was teaching accounting this summer, I put together a Accounting Exercise to get students to practice journal entries. It is attached for anyone looking for extra practice. I have no solution sheet, but if you have questions, ask them here! (Unless, of course, you are a pathetic SEO spammer who wants to post [...]
There is no secret ingredient.
This photo shows a Taoist temple on Qingcheng Mountain, the birthplace of Po the Kung-Fu Panda. Kung-Fu Panda is big here in Chengdu, since Po is a native son, and I’m told that he is typical of people of Chengdu: friendly, loves to eat, interested in peace and not war. Ever since I saw the [...]
