PeakTrader.com

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PeakTrader said...

"What about tickets that are selling for 10 times below face value, wouldn't you consider that to be as objectionable as tickets that are selling for 10 times above face value?"

No, because a scalper may sell a $100 ticket for $1,000 and another $100 ticket for $10, for a $810 profit, which represents consumer surplus.

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The net gain of scalpers equals the net loss of consumers.

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Consumers lose whether they're willing or forced to give up consumer surplus.

Where do you think the net gain of scalpers comes from?

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Jon, I think, I found your problem:

Aggregate demand - Wikipedia

"Austrian School economist Henry Hazlitt argued that aggregate demand is a meaningless concept in economic analysis."

Aggregate demand is the summation of individual demand, which contain different equilibrium prices and elasticities, while aggregate supply is inelastic (i.e. fixed) in the case of tickets.

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What if you're the second person in line waiting to buy two tickets for the Olympics at $100 each and the person in front of you, George Soros, buys all the tickets.

Then George says I'll sell you the tickets for $200 each and you're willing to pay up to $200 for a ticket?

And what about someone else in line willing to pay $100, but not more than $150?

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Obviously, there will be winners and losers.

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Givemefreedom, if scalpers make a net profit (which is likely or they wouldn't be scalping), then there are still winners and losers.

Also, I stated before:

The net gain of scalpers equals the net loss of consumers.

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Givemefreedom, so, are you now saying it's OK for George Soros to buy all the Olympic tickets?

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"We know from basic ECON 101 that there are no losers from voluntary exchange."

So, you're a winner when you pay a higher price than you otherwise would, i.e. receive less consumer surplus?

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However, the battle between the scalper and the consumer is over consumer surplus.

When one gains, the other loses.

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Dr Perry, I don't have a position on this topic, because I don't fully understand why some allow scalping and others don't.

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http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28997633&postID=171002410597944930

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=28997633&postID=3957630285611870469

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PeakTrader said...

NFIB - Small Business Optimism August 2012 Survey
Small-Business Optimism Continues to Decline in July
Little Hope for Recovery Before November

Summary

"The Optimism Index gave up 0.2 points, falling to 91.2.

Owner optimism remains at recession levels and has stayed in a recession zone for years, oscillating between 86.5 (in July 2009) and 94.5 (February 2012) since the recession officially ended in June 2009.

Prior to 2008, the Index averaged 100, significantly above the current reading.

The Index has averaged 90 in this recovery, now three years old and is the worst recovery period from a recession in the NFIB survey history which began in 1973.

Nothing happened in July that would make owners more optimistic about the near term future."

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How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy?

Small firms (fewer than 500 employees):

• Represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms.
• Employ half of all private sector employees.
• Pay 44 percent of total U.S. private payroll.
• Generated 65 percent of net new jobs over the past 17 years.
• Create more than half of the nonfarm private GDP.
• Hire 43 percent of high tech workers (scientists, engineers, computer programmers, and others).
• Are 52 percent home-based and 2 percent franchises.
• Made up 97.5 percent of all identified exporters and produced 31 percent of export value in FY 2008.
• Produce 13 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.

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