Notable: October 23, 2016

• I Paid $2,500 for a ‘Hamilton’ Ticket. I’m Happy About It. By N. GREGORY MANKIW, The New York Times, OCT. 21, 2016. [The whole phenomenon of performers charging below-market prices, perhaps to avoid looking greedy, but only to make ticket scalpers rich, drives economists nuts. Here, Greg Mankiw says the obvious: "Mr. Miranda and his investors could find better ways to give back to the community than vastly underpricing most “Hamilton” tickets and enriching ticket resellers. Maybe fund scholarships for theater students." Lin Manuel Miranda had written in favor of legislation against the online ticket-buying bots that scoop up "Hamilton" tickets and resell them at a premium. I had posted that article on Facebook and had argued that the government should step in and _require_ the tickets to be sold at auction to the highest bidders, and promise to take any part of the revenues that "Hamilton's" owners feel morally unwilling to accept.]
• A New Biography Focuses on Karl Instead of Marxism By PETER E. GORDON, The New York Times, OCT. 21, 2016. [Review of  "KARL MARX: Greatness and Illusion" By Gareth Stedman Jones.]