Nathaniel Ward » Dan Mitchell

Friday Links: How Well Are You Marketing?

Nathaniel Ward — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 11:33:27 +0000

Loren McDonald asks if e-mail marketers are sending too many messages and offers some ways you can tell if you’re over-sending.
Target Analytics has released its 2011 index of non-profit fundrasing performance, based on 83 organizations. Roger Craver wants to know what these organizations’ direct marketers are doing wrong.
You thought America had a real estate bubble? China’s central planners have built whole cities that now lie empty. Via Tim Cavanaugh.
Dan Mitchell passes on a slightly bawdy joke about unions.
Last but not least, Pierre LeBrun argues that Alex Ovechkin’s diminished numbers this year reflect a player newly committed to team victory over personal success. The Capitals, perhaps not coincidentally, have clinched the Southeast division for the fourth straight year.

Monday Links: Artificial Scarcity

Nathaniel Ward — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 22:08:25 +0000

Photo: Flickr/Jason Lawrence

How a cab medallion system is counterproductive: it introduces artificial scarcity and distorts drivers’ incentives.
Russ Roberts points out that Japan’s fuel shortages are no mystery and that the solution isn’t more regulation. Shortages are a result of price controls that keep a scare product artificially inexpensive.
Some fancy CSS work by Josh Brewer yields an impressive typographic result.
New York City’s parking “privatization” scheme is a bad idea that isn’t really privatization at all, Stephen Smith argues.
Last but not least, Dan Mitchell rounds up the late-night hosts’ cracks about Libya. My favorite, from Conan: “It’s being reported that Moammar Gadhafi is surrounded by an elite core of female bodyguards. In a related story, Charlie Sheen invaded Libya.”

Tuesday Links

Nathaniel Ward — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:16:18 +0000

President Obama has proposed a freeze on discretionary, non-entitlement, non-military, non-emergency federal spending. Yuval Levin says this is “a welcome tiny first step.” Dan Mitchell is more skeptical.

Newsweek says neoconservatism is alive and kicking.

CAP responds to Citizens United: “Indeed, with hundreds of billions of dollars of corporate profits at stake every time Congress begins a session, wealthy corporations would be foolish not to spend tens of billions of dollars every election cycle to make sure that their interests are protected.” Of course, it’s the fact that billions are at stake whenever Congress meets that’s the real problem. Ilya Somin, meanwhile, defends free speech rights.

And finally, Conan O’Brien stays classy in his final Tonight Show.