Tuesday's Assorted Links
Congestion pricing, minimum wage increases, US-China trade, grocery budgets, and Wicked
Hi y’all! Here are five stories from this week that contained some neat applications of economic principles or are related to teaching:
Congestion pricing finally begins in New York City [NPR | MME Coverage]
Lawmakers across 21 states and 48 cities and counties marked the first day of the year by raising their minimum wage floors [National Employment Law Project]
A great chart tracking 30+ years of US-China trade [Axios]
A new study finds that consumers taking drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy cut grocery spending by 6% [Food Dive]
Wicked brought in a record-breaking $5 million during the week of Christmas, marking the highest weekly gross in history for any Broadway show [The Hollywood Reporter]
Remember when cars came in every color under the sun? Lime green Beetles, tangerine Thunderbirds—the roads were like a rainbow on wheels. These days, 80% of cars are shades of white, black, gray, or silver. So, what happened? It’s a story about economics.
Why Aren’t Cars as Colorful as They Used to Be?
One of my favorite things about flipping through old photos is spotting the vibrant car colors that used to fill the streets. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, you could roll into a dealership and order a Ford Thunderbird in Aquamarine, Yosemite Yellow, or Monte Carlo Red
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I wonder how long we'll have to wait before the inevitable outcry as people in those 21 states and 48 cities realize the real minimum wage is zero