1.
The idea behind U.S. antitrust laws is to
1. Preserve market competition.
2. Protect current competitors.
3. Protect consumer interests.
4. Protect producer interests.
5. Both A and C.
2.
What are the advantages of auctioning off new rights?
1. The government can use the proceeds to fund worthwhile projects.
2. The winning bidders are likely to be the most efficient users.
3. The winning bidders can easily flip the rights for instant profits.
4. All of the above.
5. Both A and B.
3.
The original government intention of limiting taxi licenses was to
1. Make cab rides too expensive to force passengers into using mass transit systems.
2. Guarantee reasonable earnings to taxi operators in exchange for government regulation on safety and quality.
3. Create windfall profit for taxi operators.
4. Inflate license and fare prices.
4.
Milk in the U.S. is unnecessarily expensive because
1. government-supported price discourages vertical integration of the milk industry.
2. there is an excess demand for milk.
3. milk prices are subject to price control.
4. milk farmers do not produce enough milk.
5.
In what ways is occupational licensing similar to single pricing?
1. It excludes all those who cannot meet that minimum skill or price level.
2. It confers too much benefit to those who have no difficulty in meeting the minimum skill or price level.
3. There is no similarity between the two.
4. Both A and B.
6.
Collusion among producers to raise price and restrict output is likely to be successful if
1. The number of producers is small.
2. The product is homogeneous.
3. There is no anti-trust law against it.
4. All of the above.
5. Both A and C.
7.
Attempts to reduce excess capacity through mergers violate (may violate) U.S. antitrust laws if
1. there is no increase in concentration.
2. they are likely to result in higher prices.
3. the takeover attempts are hostile.
4. The Justice Department is ideologically sympathetic.
8.
Government regulation
1. does not confer any legal immunity to the regulated industries.
2. is never needed in a free market.
3. is generally welcome by industries.
4. may benefit larger firms who are better able to shoulder the burden of regulation.
9.
Price-fixing
1. is a form of capacity reduction.
2. is not against the U.S. antitrust law.
3. is a survival strategy for mature industries producing homogeneous products with large scale-economy and excess capacity.
4. increases consumer surplus.
10.
Trade protection
1. Is likely to be temporary.
2. Is consistent with the principle of comparative advantage.
3. Has made domestic industries stronger.
4. Benefits the few at the expense of the many.

chicken coop?

I couldn’t find anything directly on that, just this general comment from yesterday, which says in part:

“These past few weeks have provided an unfortunate opportunity to discuss inflation. The dollar index has reached new all-time lows. The total money supply, M3, as calculated by private sources, is growing at a disturbing 17% rate. The Fed is pumping dollars into the economy at an alarming rate. Just recently the Fed announced new loan auctions totaling $100 billion. That is new money created from thin air. If these money auctions, combined with the bailout of Bear Stearns, continue to be the trend, we are in for some economic stormy weather. The explanation lies in understanding the basics of money, and why it is dangerous to give government and big banks control over it.

You cannot create more wealth simply by creating more money.
You see, the Fed creates new money and uses it to purchase securities from banks. Flush with funds, these banks seek to put this money to use. During the Fed’s expansionary period, much of this money went to home loans. Through a combination of federal government inducements to lend to risky borrowers, and the Fed’s supply of easy money, the housing bubble took shape. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were encouraged to purchase and securitize mortgages, while investors, buoyed by implicit government backing, rushed to provide funding. Money that could have been invested in more productive, less risky sectors of the economy was thereby malinvested in subprime mortgage loans.

The implicit guarantee from the Fed is quickly becoming explicit, as those institutions deemed “too big to fail” are bailed out at taxpayer expense. Wall Street made a killing during the housing bubble, reaping record profits.
Now that the bubble has burst, these same firms are trying to dump their losses on the taxpayers. This approach requires more money creation, and therefore debasement of all dollars in circulation.

The Federal Reserve, a quasi-government entity, should not be creating money or determining interest rates, as this causes malinvestment and excessive debt to accumulate.

The end game for this policy of monetary inflation is that the money in your bank account loses purchasing power. So, by keeping failing banks afloat, the Fed punishes those who have lived frugally and saved.”

And Bush’s idea is to give MORE leeway to the fed.

Has anyone seen a direct response by Ron Paul to the plan? Links would be appreciated.

http://www.house.gov/paul/tst/tst2008/tst033008.htm

Also, what are your thoughts on Ron Paul’s comments, above?
Seems Ron Paul will be on Glen Beck discussing this tomorrow night. Don’t know how deep he’ll be able to get in that forum, but glad he’ll have the platform.

The federal government received more than $5.9 million through a competitive auction on oil and gas leases in the Ouachita National Forest and in two other states.

Gary A. Monroe of Fort Smith paid $343,971 for a 1,423.44-acre parcel in Johnson County. The government said there were four parcels in Johnson County that received a bid of $270 per acre, the highest per-acre bid of the auction.

The government also leased land in the Pete Marquette State Forest in Michigan and the Bienville and Homochitto National Forests in Mississippi. The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management oversaw the transactions.

Arkansas accounted for the largest