Sentencing Disparities

You think the disparity between cocaine and crack is bad? Try the disparity between regular Chicago dogs and bacon dogs.

45 days. In jail. For selling a bacon-wrapped hot dog.

She'd get five years easy if she offered mayo as a condiment.

It's a Gas, Baby

Pop quiz:

You own a gas station. Your cost for gasoline is 4-6 cents cheaper than the price on your pumps. Congresscritters, in their infinite wisdom, declare a federal tax holiday, reducing wholesale and retail prices by 9 cents per gallon (which it won't, but let's just say it does).

Knowing, then, that you can purchase gasoline at a retail price today lower than your wholesale cost in six months, and that any "taxes" collected on the sale of stocks purchased during the tax holiday and sold after it go in your pocket, not to the government, what do you do?

What do you do?

Extra Credit: While you have your supply and demand curves out, show, also, the resultant effect on the equilibrium price of storage tanks and fuel trucks.

Dumbing it Down for NYT Readers

Smart Guy: If you do those things, bad things will happen.

Stupid People: Aw, go piss up a rope.

Government: Now, now. Smart guy is really smart, so we should definitely use his catch phrases. We can do all sorts of amazing things if we use Smart Guy's names for the programs!

Stupid People: Baaa. Yes, I would like a subscription to the New York Times.

Smart Guy: Changing the name is just plain stupid. If you do those things, bad things will happen.

Government: Nonsense! We're using the catch phrases. What could go wrong?

-- bad things happen --

New York Times: See? Smart Guy wasn't so smart after all!