JimSwift.net

Recently, the UNEWS posted a letter to the editor that I disagreed with. It’s been a while since I’ve written to them, so I figured I’d share my thoughts. Enjoy.

To the Editor:

The September 23 edition of the University News contained a letter to the editor from Dr. Rottnek and Jesse Walls alleging that a recent eating competition was inconsistent with the mission of Saint Louis University. I disagree.

The authors quote a portion of the SLU mission statement that reads:

“[SLU] fosters programs that link University resources to local, national and international communities in collaborative efforts to alleviate ignorance, poverty, injustice and hunger; extend compassionate care to the ill and needy; and maintain and improve the quality of life for all persons.”

The competition provides a financial incentive to eat a burger with two beef patties, four strips of bacon, a fried egg, chili, four cheeses, fried onion strings and cheese sauce. The winner of the competition gets $250, and the rest of the proceeds benefit financially challenged students.

While Rottnek and Walls think such a competition is contrary to our mission, I think the opposite is true. The cattle and swine ranchers, egg producers, multiple dairymen, as well as the chili, cheese sauce and fried onion producers all clearly benefit from the decision to create such a delicious concoction. This collaborative effort helps alleviate poverty among the producers’ employees, and reduces the likelihood that they suffer from hunger. All while simultaneously providing for Billikens in need and improving the quality of their lives through education.

Let’s not forget — if they made the competition about who could eat one Boca-burger the fastest, that would be bad for the environment, too. Vegetarians are a big culprit of removing a mitigating force against climate change: carbon-dioxide ingesting plants.

Plus, Boca-Burgers are disgusting anyway.

JIM SWIFT
John Cook School of Business, Class of 2006
Fairfax, Virginia

I love birthdays. I mean, seriously, who does not love presents? Aside from physical presents there is something I’ve always enjoyed — no not 500 birthday wishes on facebook — but marketing emails from my favorite restaurants. The theme for my upcoming 27th birthday is “recession buster” because the party is at home. But seeing as people like to eat out, here are some freebies or discounts for birthday boys and girls.

Qdoba sent me an offer for buy one get one free burritos.
Arby’s sent me a coupon for a free shake with any purchase.
Hooter’s sent me a coupon good for one free entree up to $7.99.
Chili’s sent me a coupon for a free Brownie Sunday.
Capitol City Brewing Company sent me a $5 coupon.

Now, I am sure that as my birthday draws closer, I’ll get even more coupons, with some better than others. After all, it’s a recession and marketing is fierce. So, what other things can you get for free on your birthday? For one, everyone at least once in their life should spend their birthday at Humphrey’s and get a free plunger filled with a shot of liquor. What other freebies can you get?

Austin Grill offers a free meal on your birthday.
Baker’s Square offers a free piece of pie. Count me in. French silk anyone?
Buffalo Wild Wings (BW3) offers free dessert on your birthday, as does Chevy’s Mexican Restaurant, though you have to register.
Old Country Buffet offers a free meal, and you get a buy one get one for joining their e-club.
Denny’s offers a free grand slam on your birthday.
Famous Daves offers free desert when you sign up, and Firehouse Subs offers you a free sub on your birthday.
Fuddruckers? Free burger.
IHOP? Free meal with Lewis Black (kidding about Lewis).
Noodles&Co offers a free dish.
Macaroni Grill? Sign up and get discounts, and probably a free birthday meal.
Maggiano’s has an e-club but I’m not sure what you get on your birthday.
Outback offers free birthday desert, and a song, if you’re into that.
Red Lobster has a birthday club, but I don’t like seafood.
Red Robin? Free Burger
Ruby Tuesday has a birthday gift, but it’s not clear what they offer for signing up.
TGI Friday’s has an excellent reward program, as does Hard Times Cafe.

Now, you have no excuse for paying for any meals on your birthday.

I would actually pay to watch this debate. Prof. Don Boudreaux, one of my favorite economists, and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and chief opponent of free trade.

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
United States Senate
Capitol Hill
Washington, DC

Dear Sen. Brown:

Pleading for restrictions on American consumers’ abilities to spend their money as they judge best, you proclaimed yesterday in the Senate that you “would love to go anywhere in the United States and have a public debate to show the public and show the American people how much this [international trade] has undermined our sovereignty, our wealth, our manufacturing base.”

I’ll be happy to debate you.  You name the time and place.

You talk about our sovereignty.  Your policies are a direct attack on consumer sovereignty – the right of each of us to spend our money as each of us chooses, as long as our ends are peaceable.  Consumer sovereignty is essential to competitive markets, for only if consumers are free to switch their patronage from one seller to another will sellers work hard to serve consumers rather than to exploit them.

You talk about our wealth.  Your policies would reduce our wealth.  The evidence is overwhelming that freer trade means higher and ever-improving standards of living for ordinary men and women – and that the anti-competitive policies that you champion result in low and stagnant living standards for all but the privileged few.  For just one review of this evidence, see Dartmouth economist Douglas Irwin’s book Free Trade Under Fire, 3rd ed. (Princeton University Press, 2009).

This evidence makes sense.  How can policies that restrict output, reduce competition, shrink the size of markets, and intentionally raise the prices of consumer goods, as well as of inputs, in the domestic market not reduce our wealth?

You talk about our manufacturing base.  Look at the evidence, Senator.  That base is doing just fine.  Just before the current downturn – in 2008 – inflation-adjusted manufacturing output in the U.S. was 13 percent higher than it was in 2000, 52 percent higher than in 1990, 84 percent higher than in 1980, and 133 percent higher than in 1970.

Your party claims to be “reality-based.”  I challenge you to live up to that claim by looking at the evidence and abandoning your commitment to a thoroughly discredited 16th-century ‘theory’ that asserts that national wealth is enhanced by monopoly privileges.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030

Ever wanted to quit your job and run around the world with the one you love? St. Dominic and St. Ignatius Alumni Ryan Lally is doing just that. Make sure you check out his blog for stories filled with adventures!

Chipotle has totally wrecked my plan to bring my lunch every day, but that is OK. Chipotle is cheaper and more delicious than any cafeteria could be. In college, I started a petition to bring Chipotle to campus. That failed, but Chipotle started opening up locations in St. Louis the day I graduated in 2006. Irony.

Well, Chipotle opened up a location near work at Union Station over the weekend. I figured it was time to check it out. I ordered online, a first for me, and it was flawless. If you’re not a regular at Union Station, here is a helpful diagram on how to get to the restaurant (it’s near metro).

Here are some other pictures from my trip. I finished my burrito within 3 minutes.

It’s kind of one of those “heck of a job Brownie” kind of moments.

(I got the image from Ace, don’t know source.)

We almost lost another biker this morning. He was about 8 inches from becoming a hood ornament on my car. If you haven’t read my previous post on bikes in DC, check it out.

So, I drive down a one way street that merges sharply to the right. Once I make the turn, I immediately turn into my parking garage. This morning, some ass-hat decides to illegally drive his bike down the wrong way of this street, and makes the turn at full speed. I am making the correct and legal turn. This guy is not. Instead of typing this out, let me show you a quick telestrator view of how it went down.

Thankfully, the guy didn’t get angry, but then again, he would have had no right to. I would have stopped my car, chased him down on foot, and chewed him out. Let’s be honest, I would have just shouted at him because I would have had trouble catching him, but you can see how making that illegal blind turn is going to get you killed some morning. And I am sure the Washington City Paper would write a woe is the life of the bicyclist story, complete with a ghost bike.

Let’s not rush to judgement when bicyclists get killed or struck by cars. By all means, we should all stay aware on the road. However, we need to shake the notion that 100% of bicyclist injuries and deaths are the fault of drivers. While it’s unfortunate when anyone dies in such an incident, it may be that it wasn’t actually an “accident” — and the fault lies with the bicyclist. Just as it could have been this morning if I hadn’t swerved out of the way of this douchebag.

I have watched the last two Browns games (against KC and Baltimore) and my happiness about their pre-season performance, which is hardly an indicator, is fading — fast.

Here’s the big factor, in my opinion — the second half. In three games, how many of the Browns’ 41 points have been scored in the second half of all three games? 7. That’s right. One touchdown. In six quarters. By comparison, the Browns have given up 30 of our 57 opponents’ points in the second half of the first three games.

Our defense hasn’t been horrible, but you can’t get outscored by 21 points and expect to be winning lots of games.

Here are our current stats up until this point, and we haven’t done that bad. We just need some offense, particularly in the 2nd half. The Browns need Chuck “Chico” Kyle.

The Browns have scored 41 points to their opponents’ 57, being outscored by a total of 16 points for all three games. First downs? Comparable. Third down conversions CLE-35%, Opponents-40%. Opponents have gained 22 more yards than the Browns. We’ve had 14 less offensive plays with a higher average yards per play rating. Rushing yards, we’re behind by a total of 18. Though, we’ve run 18 less plays, and average .7 yards more per play. This means our opponents have taken more time off of the clock, thus denying the Browns time to move down the field. Passing yards? We’re behind by 4 yards total and we’re behind by 1 completion (with 5 more attempts). We have a rate of interceptions equal to our opponents, and average .5 yards less per play. We have 4 sacks to our opponents’ three.

Field goal wise, we are 1/3 while our opponents are 5/6. That adds up to 15 of the 16 points we trail our opponents behind. Even if we were 3/3, that would cut the deficit to 10. We still need touchdowns, heck, anything in the second half. Touchdowns? We’re even at 6 to our opponents’ 6. Time of possession wise, we’re off by about 4 minutes.

Of course, we can always use more defensive stops, but the key to the Browns losing record is due to a lack of offense, not defense. Something that plagued them last year has come back to haunt them — even with three new quarterbacks.

Time to turn it around, Brownies.

Friends who buy stocks.

Make sure you check this out.

Introducing new cost basis reporting methods

A new federal law requires that brokerage firms and mutual fund companies report their customers’ cost basis, gain/loss, and holding period to the IRS on their Consolidated Form 1099s when securities are sold. Currently, firms such as TD AMERITRADE report only sale proceeds.

The goal is to help ensure the accurate reporting of gains and losses, and to simplify your year-end tax preparation.

This law will be implemented in phases over a three-year period, to cover Form 1099 reporting requirements to the IRS:

The law will apply to equities acquired on or after January 1, 2011 — excluding those acquired via a dividend reinvestment, or DRIP, program, and regulated investment companies (RIC stocks).
It will apply to mutual funds, RIC stocks and equities enrolled in DRIP acquired on or after January 1, 2012.
It will apply to new fixed income, options, warrants, rights, derivatives and commodities purchased after January 1, 2013.