Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers
@platypuseconomics
Economists call this diminishing marginal utility. The first dollars change your life. The billionth doesn't. So the argument stops being about consumption and starts being about power.
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“There is no price tag in the economy as tall as gas prices, and that you pass as often.” Visibility matters. Economics isn't just about prices; it's about attention. Gas prices shape how people feel about the economy because they're impossible to ignore.
If there’s a water shortage, don’t subsidize showers. If there’s a blackout, don’t make AC cheaper. If there’s an oil shortage, don’t cut gas taxes. Prices are helping signal scarcity. A gas tax holiday weakens that signal right when it matters most.
Consumer sentiment is near a 75-year low. But increasingly, these surveys may be measuring partisanship as much as economics. In other words, they may be asking “Do you like the president?” as much as “Do you like the economy?”
A 60-year low in sentiment is a big deal because the baseline is already tough: this survey has lived through recessions, inflation, wars, and financial crises. And yet this is worse. Read the full analysis on Substack: https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/consumer-sentiment-hits-a-record
A windfall profits tax sounds great as a one-off. But once investors expect it to happen again, it's no longer a windfall tax—it's just a profits tax. And that can discourage the investment you actually want.
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A gas tax holiday talks about 18.4¢ while ignoring the $1.50 problem. That's politics, not policy. And half of it likely goes straight to oil company profits. Congress knows this. Some just hope you don't.
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If men's job growth is lagging, one response is straightforward: move toward the occupations that are growing. Labor markets change. Successful workers and societies adapt to those changes. Check out the full analysis: https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.com/p/the-pink-collar-economy-is-here
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