Economics

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Learn About The Debt Ceiling in a Short Video

Now that President Obama has been sworn in for a second term as the President of the United States, gear up for another fight between the President and Congress over the debt ceiling.

It’s not, as the Republicans or Fox News would have you believe, a means to limit future spending. The debt ceiling caps the total debt that the US Government can have in order to pay bills already incurred. It’s not like the limit on your credit card but the extent of money on the line of credit you use solely to pay your credit card.

To help you learn what the debt ceiling is actually about and to explain Congress’ role in the budget and debt ceiling fights, we found this handy video for you to watch. Continue reading →

4 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

The Economics of Video Game Development

call-of-duty-black-ops-2-wallpaperA few weeks back, one of the hot stories in the video game world was that Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 reached gross sales of $1 billion in only 15 days. What sounded like good news for publisher Activision was quickly reigned in by writers pointing out that CoD: Blops 2 sold fewer copies to reach $1 billion of gross sales than 2011’s CoD: Modern Warfare 3.

This raised an interesting question in my mind: How profitable are video games to make? Even if Blops2 sold fewer copies, shouldn’t Activision still have covered the sunk costs of development and marketing after paying for the variable costs of each unit sold? Continue reading →

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Sunday Link-Off: Toward the Cliff

anna-kendrick-trevorproject12-03It’s the end of the week which means it’s time for more links. There’s not too much planned for the week ahead. If the videos are ever uploaded to YouTube, we’ll have a VGA trailer roundup. We’ll also have our first indie game review later this week. For now, here’s Anna Kendrick. She might not be one of the blogosphere’s favourite women but she is one of ours.

With America ready to dive off the fiscal cliff, the question is starting rise as to whether the US and global economies would be better off with a Republican plan to cut social spending and “close tax loopholes” or letting the deal expire. (The New Republic)

The gun control debate is starting back up again. We’ve essentially reached the point where the battle lines are being drawn and people will have to pick sides. (The Shadow League)

On that note, given how much America spends on defence, isn’t it time that the defence budget is reduced? (Business Week)

After the jump, ESPN’s spin on plagiarism, some brief looks at the money of the video game business and a little bit of Metallica. Continue reading →

21 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Columns

Is Ronald Reagan Actually a Hero of The Tea Party?

If you talk to Republicans, one of their greatest heroes is actor-turned-politician Ronald Reagan. The 40th President of the United States is an icon for Conservatives. However, is it possible that Reagan’s policies of the 1980s would be politically left of those who claim him as a sort of demigod, the Tea Party? Could it be that the Tea Party is so out of touch with the policies that led to American prosperity under Reagan that he couldn’t win the Republican Presidential nomination if he ran in 2012? Continue reading →

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The Economics of College Bowl Games (Infographic)

Tonight is the BCS National Championship Game between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide. It will be the first time under the BCS system that two teams that have faced each other in the regular season have done battle in the national championship game.

Why would the BCS replay a game that we’ve already seen and fell asleep watching? For the money. As the following infographic shows, there’s quite a bit of money to be made from bowl games. Continue reading →