From Last Night's 60 Minutes on CBS

Captain Renault is shocked.

Rent-seeking 101

Here's an editorial from today's edition of The Wall Street Journal that describes the process simply.

Rent-Seeking, Public Choice and Margarine

Mark Perry offers this post on Carpe Diem about butter, margarine and opposing interest groups.

I actually believe I had heard this before, but I must have forgotten it.  It does sound familiar. It's an excellent example of rent-seeking by interest groups; and Mark brings it around to discussion about trade issues and why special interests can do a better job seeking protection and a beneficial position in the marketplace at the expense of consumers.

I recommend you give it a quick look and see if might serve you as an example for your classes.

Competition, Rent-Seeking and the Role of Government

This has to be a quick post.  In today's edition of The Wall Street Journal (free content at this writing), there is a great story on food trucks in Chicago. The owners are trying to compete in slow economy. Existing restaurant owners are bringing pressure to bear on local government. And the city council is trying to decide whether and how to change the existing laws to allow trucks to prepare food in the vehicle. Current law says food must be prepackaged and not altered in any way. 

This is a great little piece to bring together a trio of topics for your class.

Possible Rent-Seeking? Captain Renault Is Shocked

USA Today provides this story.  This is a good time to discuss coincidence, correlation and causation.  Regardless, Captain Renault is shocked...shocked.