Barro Got it Right...

Perhaps the most entertaining section of Barro's Getting it Right was his "The Power of Economic Reasoning." Whether he was discussing school choice, second-hand smoke, or baseball salaries, his insight as an economist on those subjects certainly put each topic in a new light. Who ever thought about term limits from an economist's point of view?

But my personal favorite - and one that I'm sure will cause controversy with Hillary - was his section on the "Best Monopolies in America." I don't think the NCAA really should win the "contest" though I do think that Barro's argument is spot on.

The NCAA is a monopoly. Period. It restricts the quantity and quality (defined as money given to a student-athlete) of athletic scholarships in our colleges and universities. In other words, it is a price setter. What more do we need for it to be considered a monopoly? Barro is right.

He's also right that the NCAA's "moral high ground" is false. Yes, student-athletes should put academics before athletics - but why restrict the amount of money they make? The idea that the NCAA is there to remind the athletes that they are not professionals is paternalistic. Why not let them make their own decisions, and reap the benefits of their own talents? What about the student-athlete that has to quit his (or her) sport so that he (or she) will have the time to make some money? How does the NCAA help this guy?

Barro's language may have been off, but his argument right. Unfortunately, it's the poor who are going to have to suffer from another government supported monopoly.