Isabella Sassi – Sound Economics

The Incoming Lombard Street Toll

Posted on April 24, 2019 by Isabella Sassi — No Comments ↓

Tolls in San Francisco are high and unavoidable. From most places in the bay area, the only way to get to San Francisco is to cross a bridge, and every bridge has a toll associated with it. Another thing worth noting is that according to rent reports, San Francisco is the most expensive city to live in. On Monday, a bill proposing a toll to drive down the infamous Lombard Street in San Francisco passed the Assembly and Transportation Committee in an 11-3 vote. This is monumental as the street has always been free. While Lombard Street is typically a Continue reading The Incoming Lombard Street Toll→

Gun Control: New Zealand Did It… Why Can’t We?

Posted on April 11, 2019 by Isabella Sassi — No Comments ↓

Yesterday, NPR announced that New Zealand passed a law making most semi-automatic weapons illegal. This doesn’t only prohibit the selling of these weapons, but also prohibits owning these weapons and states that everyone who has one currently has until the end of September to return their weapons through a buyback program. This comes less than a month after a terrorist attack on mosques which lead to 50 people killed. Meanwhile, in the US we have already had 80 mass shootings just this year and we have yet to make any legislative progress in regards to gun control. Perhaps this is Continue reading Gun Control: New Zealand Did It… Why Can’t We?→

College: At What Cost?

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Isabella Sassi — 1 Comment ↓

On March 5th, 50 people were prosecuted for paying extravagant bribes so their children can get into well know, elite colleges. The most famous of these 50 include Mossimo Giannulli, his wife Lori Loughlin who is Aunt Becky in “Full House,” and Felicity Huffman. There were two ways that these bribes worked. The first would be to improve their child’s SAT or ACT scores and the other would be to manipulate the requirements the children had to meet to get into specific schools. William Singer organized this fraud as the CEO of a college prep business called The Edge College Continue reading College: At What Cost?→

Econ of the Anti-Vaxxer

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Isabella Sassi — 1 Comment ↓

On January 25th of this year, the state of Washington declared a state of emergency because of a measles outbreak. Following this, and previously to this, vaccinations have been a large part of the local and national conversation. I have to start this post by saying that I am a biased source in the sense that I believe everyone should get vaccinated, but I am going to try to look at this topic from purely an economic standpoint. In order for vaccinations to be effective and prevent an outbreak, the vaccination rate needs to be about 90-95%. Unfortunately, vaccination rates Continue reading Econ of the Anti-Vaxxer→

Thesis Corner: Ellen Knowles

Posted on March 5, 2019 by Isabella Sassi — No Comments ↓

Welcome to Thesis Corner with Ellen Knowles! Q: What was your thesis about? For my thesis, I looked at how homeowners are able to apply pressure on local governments to restrict the quantity of housing through zoning. From there, I looked at how this affects the rental prices of multi family units. Q: How did you pick your topic? I heard about this issue while listening to a Planet Money podcast and found it interesting. Q: What were your results? I found that there was a positive correlation between the amount of political pressure homeowners place on local governments and Continue reading Thesis Corner: Ellen Knowles→

Optimizing the UPS School Year

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Isabella Sassi — 2 Comments ↓

This year, UPS is ending this semester’s classes and starting next semester’s classes a week later than usual. There were mixed reviews to this shift. In regards to starting classes later in the fall, there are less strong opinions and there is more general confusion. Changing the end date has caused more controversy, though. Supporters are glad that graduation is no longer on Mother’s Day, which was a common complaint from students. That said, when graduation was on Mother’s Day, those who weren’t planning on staying for graduation could be home in time to celebrate. Now, Mother’s Day is the Continue reading Optimizing the UPS School Year→

What’s the Deal with the Green New Deal?

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Isabella Sassi — No Comments ↓

The Green New Deal has been the talk of the town this last week, with strong opinions from both democrats and republicans. The majority of democrats are in support of the Green New Deal, as it asks for a fight against climate change and social inequity, two priorities that democrats have. Meanwhile, republicans are in strong opposition as this is an extremely radical plan with little plan for an actual execution. Republicans also do not believe climate change is a priority and think the government should be spending money on other things. These opinions seem to be widely broadcasted at Continue reading What’s the Deal with the Green New Deal?→