End of Day 1

End of Day 1. Many of you will be glad that we went to Octoberfest. It was nothing like I had imagined. It is really a full fledged festival - somewhat like Mardi Gras does King's Island. The people were dressed in traditional German dress - frauline dresses and the shorts outfit for men. There were amusement park rides, lots of food and of course their favorite beverage. Sorry to disappoint but I did not partake. There are betwen 400,000 - 600,000 people each day and it lasts 3 weeks. We were invited into one of the clubs that hosts an inside get together. There were between 3,000 - 4,000 people. Our tickets so that we could have a seat at a table were 100 Euros - or approximately $130 American. For my Economics students you hear the news shows talk about the economic impact of the Indy 500 or the Super Bowl but this is more than that many people for 3 weeks straight. My students will like this because it is so "Ervinish". We were seated at the opposite side of the room from the exit and upstairs - trust me our fire marshall would not have approved - and I was thinking "so this is how people burn to death in other countries" I know - only me. So the next time you hear people complain about the government just remember that some of the regulation is needed because of market failures. They were making a lot of money and so the more they can pack in the greater the profit. Without government regulations many business owners would pursue a profit - which is what our market economy values - over safety regulations. So the free market is good but it does have some failings. The shops are all closed here on Sunday but you can buy liquor - at home we can go to the shop on Sunday but we can't buy liquor. Totally opposite. The Indiana State Legislature held hearings last week on this very topic. Indiana has what are called "blue laws" and one of them is no sale of alcohol on Sundays. The blue laws were based on religious beliefs but many feel they are outdated. The box stores (Meijer, Walmart, Kroger) are lobbying hard for Indiana to repeal this law. The owners of liquor stores contend this will put them out of business. We will see what happens over the next few months. The image is of the Catholic Church that is next to where I am staying. Regardless of your religious beliefs you have to admit it is a beautiful cathedral.