Center for Business and Economic Research - Ball State University


CBER Data Center
Projects and PublicationsEconomic IndicatorsWeekly CommentaryCommunity Asset InventoryManufacturing Scorecard

About

Commentaries are published weekly and distributed through the Indianapolis Business Journal and many other print and online publications. Disclaimer

RSS Feed

Disclaimer

The views expressed in these commentaries do not reflect those of Ball State University or the Center for Business and Economic Research.

Recent

Two Key Economic Lessons in One BillHoosiers face trade-offs and opportunity costs in the wake of SEA1.

Time to Fix Economic Development PolicyAllocating tax dollars to land development won’t cause economic growth.

The Unanticipated Effects of SB1Businesses, governments and households may all feel the effects.

The Stupidest of PoliciesThis whipsawing of tariff rates has unnerved financial markets, which on Wednesday, were toying with a liquidity crisis.

View archives

Top Tags

jobs and employment 261
economics 201
state and local government 188
education 186
economic development 171
indiana 171
budget and spending 145
taxes 144
law and public policy 142
workforce and human capital 139
Browse all tags
Reporter / Admin Login

November 1, 2010

These Elections and Opportunity Cost

The very first concept taught in every introductory economics class is the simple idea of “opportunity cost.”  This is the straightforward notion that the cost of an item is measured by what you give up to get it.  I think it is an idea that separates those who make decisions from those who want to talk about them, and in application, is an idea that distinguishes serious from unserious people.  As an economist, and more importantly a citizen-soldier, father and taxpayer, the one thing I am looking for in this election are men and women who understand the idea of “opportunity cost.”

In the coming years, we face a set of difficult policy decisions.  A delay in these decisions robs the best alternatives from us all. In truth a good many matters at issue in this election cycle are not yet really a crisis; the federal budget, energy dependency, health care and social security can be fixed now without life altering sacrifice.  Left unchecked, the options narrow, the necessary sacrifice grows and the future dims.  They are, however, a brewing crisis.  As this happens, many (on both the right and left) entirely miss the point.  

One aspiring presidential candidate on the right proclaims that the nation’s problems are a “moral crisis, not a money crisis.”  True perhaps, but I neither need nor want a president to help me raise my kids, improve my marriage or choose my church.  No matter how bad I am at these, no denizen of the White House is going to do better.  I want something far more from my president than helping me with my kid’s baseball practice, violin lessons and evening prayers.  I want a president who will keep us free and unburden my children from debt.   Mrs. Hicks and I, our family, neighbors and friends will attend to the rest.  

The left is no better.  We fight difficult wars in a half dozen countries, yet the sticking point in this year’s defense budget was repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”   Call me crazy, but caring for soldiers is more about buying body armor and ammunition, than easing an open discussion of their sexuality.  For the record, and this is a potentially costly admission, since I remain a serving reserve officer, I believe we should repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”  But we must wait until we have emerged with honor from our current wars; until then the opportunity cost of debating it is just too high. 

As they have reminded us frequently these past years, the current Congress and administration came to office with many challenges not of their making.  Yet, the heaping of enormous uncertainty onto recession made matters far, far worse.   As a consequence, this election will see many good folks lose their jobs in Congress simply because they followed a leadership with no sense of priorities.  Still, this election will send a clear signal of priorities.  And I, like many Americans will be voting for folks who understand the simple economic concept of “opportunity cost.”

Link to this commentary: https://commentaries.cberdata.org/537/these-elections-and-opportunity-cost

Tags: election, economics


About the Author

Michael Hicks cberdirector@bsu.edu

Michael J. Hicks, PhD, is the director of the Center for Business and Economic Research and the George and Frances Ball distinguished professor of economics in the Miller College of Business at Ball State University. Note: The views expressed here are solely those of the author, and do not represent those of funders, associations, any entity of Ball State University, or its governing body.

© Center for Business and Economic Research, Ball State University

About Ball State CBER Data Center

Ball State CBER Data Center is one-stop shop for economic data including demographics, education, health, and social capital. Our easy-to-use, visual web tools offer data collection and analysis for grant writers, economic developers, policy makers, and the general public.

Ball State CBER Data Center (cberdata.org) is a product of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University. CBER's mission is to conduct relevant and timely public policy research on a wide range of economic issues affecting the state and nation. Learn more.

Terms of Service

Center for Business and Economic Research

Ball State University • Whitinger Business Building, room 149
2000 W. University Ave.
Muncie, IN 47306-0360
Phone:
765-285-5926
Email:
cber@bsu.edu
Website:
www.bsu.edu/cber
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/BallStateCBER
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/BallStateCBER
Close