Teaching Economics

Ain't easy. There are some intuitive things that one either "gets" or does not. Your daughter does not yet "get" the concept of supply and demand. Well, she does, I think ... deep inside, but it's not yet taken hold in a tangible thought pattern. Does she do any trading with her friends at all -- in whatever currency little girls use -- CD's, doll clothes, whatever? If so, perhaps you can bridge the gap by tapping into her current understanding of "value" based on her own experiences. Paper money is just paper to her ... she probably doesn't understand that it's a mere representation of value, but not itself valuable. That itself is a slippery concept. Hence the question, "Why not print more?"

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Does that mean they are not accountable to anyone? Here in the UK their are "watchdog" bodies that regulate the activities of politicians - do you not have something like that in the USA?

There are all sorts of independent watchdog groups. But ultimately it comes down to the Congress being accountable to itself, with a nod to the Supreme Court which has supremacy in matters of interpretation of the Constitution.

Years ago, back when the Clintons first assumed the office, there was a big row over Hillary Clinton's nationalization of the health care system here. She proposed a massive bureaucratic structure. It was "good for America" she said. But apparently not good enough for Congress, who made she they were exempted from it. The whole thing collapsed under its own weight, thankfully. We need certain reforms; we don't need that.

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Blair seems happy to make millions for himself, his wife too. So clearly they are capitalists.

I'm not sure I see the connection between Blair's stifling imposition of government into the lives of the public, and their exploitation of their office to line their own pockets, with "capitalism." It sounds more like the classic Soviet model to me. :-)

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The one factor that might make a manned mission worthwhile is the imagination of children that such a mission captures. Once sparked this can lead the children to grow up wanting to go into science, which is a benefit to everyone.

In principle I might agree. But I think that's a gamble. For one, the kids may not have their imaginations sparked. They're a jaded lot nowadays, as I'm sure you're aware. Two, that is based on the assumption of success, isn't it? What happens if the whole thing falls apart, either due to technical problems, or lack of sustained interest, or some catastrophic event?

I agree with the research into asteroid deflection. Now that stirs the imagination!

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When I was a kid, aged 11-14 or so, I used to make little Airfix models of planes, you know glue them together, paint them, hang them from the ceiling etc. I must have made 75-100 planes in my time. The Concorde is probably the most iconic of passenger jets I think. And the Spitfire is the most beautiful plane I ever saw, still is.

I had a few of those things, but not many. I recall having a P-38 Lightning and a P-51 Mustang, as well as the gorgeous Spitfire. I agree wholeheartedly that the design of the Spitfire was classic. And yes, the Concorde was definitely an iconic figure for our age group. I saw that fly over Raleigh, NC back in the mid-80's. Pretty much the whole city stopped work to go outside and watch it go over. :-)