Arrete:

I did research on provincial competition that got me invited as a supplementary lecturer to a class studying economics. The little darlings were dismayed I went into practicalities.

What I did in the survey was compare the price of an A&W Teenburger across Canada. Since A&W freighted all supplies regardless of distance at the same cost any difference in customer cost would be to local financial effects (cost of business, employee cost, that sort of thing). The survey gave me numbers I could use to stress a point I’ve made often on Motley: investment and talent moves to where it has the greater return and moves away from where it has the lesser return.

In my lecture I pointed out an A&W Teenburger cost $2.55 in Ontario and $1.90 in Alberta. So where then goes investment and talent? Since the economic conditions in Alberta are such then investment would flow to that Province.

However, the little darlings in the class thought the use of a hamburger was not ‘suitable’ in the discussion of economics. Preferable were abstract banking numbers that could be pondered. If the numbers involved pickles then not so.

So I wasn’t a hit and didn’t get re-invited.

MichaelR