Legalized ticket scalping needs to be abolished

When I was in my early twenties, I used to get up in the morning in the summer and decide whether I wanted to go a ball game or not. Rarely did I have tickets, but I loved the art of trying to buy tickets on the street, (illegal scalping, is the art of selling a ticket to an event above face value). In a daring exhibit of manhood, I tried to get the “scalper” to lower his ticket price, while keeping an eye out for undercover police officers who would take your tickets away. I do not know what was more exciting the game or the art of securing a cheap ticket out on the street.


Scalping is still illegal in most states outside a venue, but in today’s day and age we now have legalized scalpers. They are called ticket agencies. Ticket agencies buy season tickets and charge exorbitant amount of money above face value. Most of these agencies advertise as they are considered a legitimate business. What I do not understand is why they are allowed to operate.

Going to a ballgame is a wonderful experience for a family, but with today’s tough economic times it is hard enough to go to a game without taking out a loan, if you could get one from a bank nowadays. The average ticket price for a major league baseball game is over seventy five dollars and a professional football game averages over one hundred dollars per ticket. The ticket agencies charge well over four times the face value of these tickets to these events.

A Red Sox fan fed up with the stratospheric price of second-hand baseball tickets had his lawsuit tossed by Massachusetts's highest court last week. Colman Herman, of Dorchester, Ma, filed suit against the Admit One Ticket Agency in 2006, claiming that the agency's $415-dollar markup of a 2005 Sox ticket violated state anti-scalping laws.

The state law cited in Herman's complaint limits ticket markups to no more than $2 over the original face value. Herman, the suit's plaintiff, however, was unconvinced. He told the legislature that erasing limits on resale prices would limit Red Sox attendance to the wealthy, leaving the average ball fan out in the cold. Herman was exactly right.

Several musicians have tried to stop the resale of tickets with little or no success. They see what many of us see, a deep segregation of the have and the have not’s in our culture when it comes to going to events. How can an average family pay seven hundred dollars to take their family to a U2 concert?

Why are ticket brokers allowed to sell well above face value against many state laws. The government does not want third parties to profit off of other businesses. While scalping tickets does effectively help cover the portion of the "demand" market, it does so at the expense of making a dollar on the company. Overall, this aids in causing the demand to go down and the prices for the business to drop over the long run. Does that make sense to anyone? It certainly does not make any sense to me. Never did I pay four times the amount above face value when I went purchased tickets on the street as a twenty year old.

The secondary market for high-demand, limited-seating-event tickets always exists and creates the opportunity for ticket scalping. The secondary market occurs because seats are sold in advance of events. When a line is expected, ticket scalpers are present because time may not be a readily available commodity for some purchasers. Those buyers would prefer to pay with more money. Typically, those consumers have a high opportunity cost of time and view scalping as a legitimate market exercise. Scalpers are simply time brokers who perform a useful service.

However, it is crucial to recognize that even when a line is not expected when tickets first go on sale, either because an event is not a sellout or because the printed face value clears the market perfectly and a sellout is achieved, scalping is inevitable. Some consumers with tickets will decide not to attend. They want to get rid of their tickets. Others are in the market for (good) seats up to the time of the event. Reallocation is the natural outcome. Reallocation at a huge price mark up to the consumer is just flat out wrong.

Nevertheless, unregulated freelance scalping at the event is still illegal in most population centers. While enforcement remains sporadic and results in few convictions, there is something quite troublesome from a free-market perspective about restricting resale activities just before an event. The essence of the market for those types of limited-seating, one-time events is their here-and-now nature. The time when the greatest fluctuation in price is often most necessary is immediately before an event so that those who most want to attend and are most willing to pay can indeed get access. Ticket agencies who “buy up” all the good seats only to create a higher market needs to be regulated.



Follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/drcchasse

E-mail me at drcchasse@verizon.net to get on our mailing list.

Please forward to your friends and colleagues to enjoy. The more readers I have, the more money that is raised for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

voice 206-350-6437

Illegal Aliens and Healthcare

California Congressman Mike Honda is leading the charge of about 20 Democrats who say it is unfair to prohibit illegals from receiving health care coverage. Honda said, "Undocumented [residents] if they can afford it, should be able to buy their own private plans. It keeps them out of the emergency room." Sure Congressman!


During President O’bama’s much-anticipated prime time address to Congress, President Obama made the case for health care reform. One ostensible goal of the speech was to correct misinformation about the bills proposed by Congress. As someone who studies both health care and immigration (and sometimes the intersection between the two), I’ve grown increasingly frustrated with the misconceptions surrounding this issue — and I very much hoped the President would deflate the myth that health reform would provide federal benefits to undocumented immigrants.

Of course, when President Obama made this very point (”The reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally”), he was greeted with a heckle from South Carolina Representative Joe Wilson, who shouted “You lie!” Although Rep. Wilson later apologized for his “lack of civility,” he didn’t recant the basic factual assertion, making clear that he still disagreed with the President’s statement that health reform doesn’t cover undocumented immigrants. Of course, the media has jumped on this story, but perhaps unsurprisingly, few bothered to clarify the underlying factual dispute.

Neither bill published by the House or Senate covers undocumented immigrants. In fact, both bills state in pretty plain terms that they don’t do it. The House bill, titled America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, states in Section 242 that those not lawfully present in the United States are not eligible for insurance subsidies or tax credits. To make it even more clear, Section 246 is titled “No Federal Payment for Undocumented Aliens,” and states “Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.”

Likewise, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee’s bill, titled the Affordable Health Choices Act, states in Section 3111(h) that “Nothing in this Act shall allow Federal payments for individuals who are not lawfully present in the United States.” The Senate Finance Committee has yet to release its bill, but it’s a good bet that undocumented immigrants similarly will be excluded.

Although nothing in the bills apparently would prohibit undocumented immigrants from purchasing health insurance in the new national marketplace (called an “exchange” and a “gateway” in the House and Senate bills), it’s not clear why anyone would take issue with immigrants purchasing insurance on their own, without federal subsidies. Moreover, although nothing in the bills seems to alter federal funding for emergency care provided to immigrants, nothing creates such a benefit either — thus undercutting Rep. Wilson’s contention with the President.

This controversy should remind us that immigrants remain in a sort of health care purgatory, caught in our two most dysfunctional systems — immigration and health care. In the mid-1990s, Congress severely limited immigrant access to programs like Medicaid as part of welfare reform, making it difficult for even lawful immigrants to enroll. In fact, even lawful immigrants aren’t eligible for Medicaid for five years after entering the United States — and various peculiarities of immigration law often push this waiting period to ten years. At the same time, immigrants do receive indirect federal funding for health care through the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires hospitals with emergency departments to screen and at least stabilize patients presenting with emergent conditions. Thus, hospitals must provide emergency care regardless of the patient’s immigration status.

Most immigrants are ineligible for means-tested public insurance programs like Medicaid. This regulatory framework has led to “medical repatriation,” in which hospitals effectively deport immigrant patients to unload expensive long-term care burdens. Of course, hospitals — most of which are run by state and local governments — complain about unfunded federal mandates like EMTALA. Hospitals can be “stuck” treating immigrants whose medical needs have shifted from acute to long-term (as with the car accident victim who needs neurological rehabilitation and nursing care).

Certainly, there are more humane ways to handle health care for immigrants. California, for example, legalized cross-border health insurance, thus allowing immigrants living in the state to purchase insurance with lower premiums and deductibles that covers care provided in Mexico. Arizona and Texas have considered similar legislation, to no avail. Recently, UCLA researchers estimated that over 950,000 people travel from California to Mexico for medical care every year. For a population being left out of health care reform, traveling to Mexico for care may be the future — whether voluntary or not.

Web Surfing

When I was in the corporate world, I often wondered how much time is lost at the workplace when employees spend their workday on the ESPN or Fox News websites when they should be doing what they are paid for. We are working longer hours to do the work that should be done in a forty hour work week. Imagine the work that could be done if the web was not so easily accessible at work.


Employee misconduct investigations, often involving workers accessing news, sports or pornography from their computers, grew six fold last year inside the taxpayer-funded foundation that doles out billions of dollars of scientific research grants, according to budget documents and other records obtained by The Washington Times. Taxpayer money that is wasted on employees who would rather check up on the news.

The problems at the National Science Foundation (NSF) were so pervasive they swamped the agency's inspector general and forced the internal watchdog to cut back on its primary mission of investigating grant fraud and recovering misspent tax dollars.

"To manage this dramatic increase without an increase in staff required us to significantly reduce our efforts to investigate grant fraud," the inspector general recently told Congress in a budget request. "We anticipate a significant decline in investigative recoveries and prosecutions in coming years as a direct result."

The budget request doesn't state the nature or number of the misconduct cases, but records obtained by The Times through the Freedom of Information Act laid bare the extent of the well-publicized porn problem inside the government-backed foundation.

There are an incredible amount of tools out there to prohibit unauthorized use of the web and also to institute a big brother type of policy in the workplace. Why this is not done in more businesses is totally beyond me.

The internet can be an addiction to some people. For some it is a way to do their work productively. Regardless of why you use the web at work it is part of our lives in the work place.

Without exception, it is completely legal for an employer to monitor an employee’s online activity and information on a computer that is provided by the company. During working hours, after working hours, data saved to a “private” folder on the hard drive, emails sent from a work-provided email address, and even emails sent from a personal email address using said computer. This information is all legally accessible by the employer – even if it is password-protected.

Even after an employee leaves a company, the employer is within its rights to access and review activity and information from said employee’s computer during her tenure. This 2008 Techdirt.com article reiterates the fact that “anything on the computer is fair game for the employer (even if it's password protected. But it is important to know the facts: Financial information can and may legally be accessed by her employer if you are using any website on your work computer. Even if you manager condones you taking 5 minutes to do some personal budgeting during the day, another unscrupulous colleague could very well be accessing your personal information

While it is legal for employers to monitor and access the activity and information noted above, it goes without saying that many do not. It’s just important to know that they can. The majority of employers I have had, as well as those of my family, colleagues, and friends, will not admonish a competent and productive employee for spending some personal time online during the work day or at home on a work-provided machine. Let’s face it: Most of us work upwards of 40 hours per week and there are bills to be paid, news headlines to be read, and personal correspondence to attend to—and just not enough hours after work to manage all of it. In addition, more and more employers are encouraging their employees to spend some time online each day in non-task-related/billable activities—social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter or company blogs being examples of potentially positive ways to gain knowledge, share information, and promote the company via nontraditional methods. Sometimes it is alright to use the web and sometimes it is not.

Follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/drcchasse


E-mail me at drcchasse@verizon.net to get on our mailing list.

Please forward to your friends and colleagues to enjoy. The more readers I have, the more money that is raised for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
voice 206-350-6437

POLANSKI'S AWARDS DO NOT PROTECT CHILDREN

Roman Polanski is complaining about getting arrested for molesting a 13 year old girl thirty years ago. The arrest of director Roman Polanski more than thirty years after he was accused of having sex with an underage girl has reopened the drama of the troubled director’s life.


Polanski, 76, began his career in film in the 1950s. After his 1968 film “Rosemary’s Baby” won critical and commercial success, Polanski suffered a disturbing tragedy when his pregnant wife and several friends were murdered by notorious serial killer Charles Manson’s “family” in 1969.

Polanski has never recovered from the death of his beloved wife and his friends. Polanski went into a self described exile after the tragedy as all of us would.

Eight years later, Polanski was arrested in Los Angeles for and pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor after a 13-year-old girl accused him of rape. Polanski, then 44, was released after a 42-day psychiatric evaluation, at which time he fled to France. Since then, Polanski has been considered a U.S. fugitive, with an outstanding arrest warrant dating back to 1978.

Regardless of the whether Polanski did or did not do what he is accused of the bottom line is that he did not face the music and fled before his plea was put into record. On September 26, Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he attempted to enter the country for the Zurich Film Festival.

The entertainment industry seems to ignore that Polanski was accused of molesting a thirteen year old girl. During his years as a fugitive, Polanski continued to make several award-winning films and remained one of the most critically acclaimed directors in both American and international cinema.

Image the outcry if it was an athlete or if it was a politician. Hollywood is in its own world when it comes to things of this nature. Just think of how the parents of that little girl have had to go to sleep every night knowing their little girl’s innocence was taken away. No amount of money can give that innocence back.

Does this bother anyone besides me? Does it matter to us that an adult male took advantage of a thirteen year old girl?

There has been a public outcry against predators using the web as a way to attract both young boys and girls into compromising situations and even with the public’s outrage there has not been enough done. Children are the most precious things on earth and the way we are not joining together to protect them is extremely sad.

Take a deep look into the Catholic Church scandal and see just how little the church did to correct their wrongs. While I certainly believe in forgiveness, I do not believe that rewarding Cardinals, like Bernard Law, with “promotions” is what forgiveness is all about. Lives were destroyed by the one group of individuals that should have been protecting the children. If you need to see it for yourself you could do worse than seeing the movie Doubt with Meryl Streep.

As a parent, protecting your child should be the number one responsibility in a parent’s life. Showing the world that what Roman Polanski did was alright, does not send the right message to our children. Giving Polanski awards for his work is a very bad precedent. Promoting clergy who knew about the abuse in the church and did nothing about it is just as bad if not worse.

The leaders of France and Poland are begging the Swiss to put him out on bond. Hasn’t he skipped out on this once before? How is it that most of these defrocked priests still get to live in retirement homes? Instead of watching Polanski’s movies, how about spending some time trying to deal with the issue of protecting our children.

Follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/drcchasse


E-mail me at drcchasse@verizon.net to get on our mailing list.

Please forward to your friends and colleagues to enjoy. The more readers I have, the more money that is raised for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

voice 206-350-6437

Weekly Thought Bonanza Sept 27

On Sunday, I produce a column called “The Weekly Thought Bonanza”. The column is based on all of the random thoughts that run through my head all week, and trust me there are a plethora of them. I will try to share as many of these thoughts as I can, so each one of my readers can think just a little bit extra over the weekend.


Does Any Know How to Use Half the Things In Microsoft Office? Why is it so complicated when you just want to make a simple spreadsheet or to type my column?

Coaching children is a very noble thing to do, but it should not be about the coach living vicariously through the children. Whether it is on the soccer field or on the basketball court the games are about the children. Play to win but play everyone, it is the right thing to do.

I hate rain. I know it serves a purpose, but I hate it anyway.

Rhode Island drivers were voted the worst drivers in the United States. I must tell you, I need to stay out of Rhode Island then because if they are ranked lower then Massachusetts drivers, I will never go there again. I want to live, thank you.

Ever see a television commercial for prescription drugs? The list of, “Taking this medicine could cause….” keeps me away from all drugs. Please do not tell me the reactions that it could cause.

Vince Vaughn movies are funny stuff.

The New York Yankees clinched the American League East today with a weekend sweep of the Red Sox of Boston. Red Sox nation will blame everything and everyone as usual.

It might be just me but is Jay Leno’s new show is a lot like his tonight show?

If you are trying your hand at making pies try a combination of pears, apples and strawberries. I do not know why it tastes so good but it certainly does.

It is time to get rid of Indian Mascot names please!

I have a poll up on the website if it is time to get rid of the United Nations from the United States. We let leaders in from all these nations who have done great evils to the United States only to watch them get speaking engagements at one of our colleges. What a country we live in.

Read some of the blog comments about Elizabeth Edwards. People, having your husband cheat on you, father a daughter and make you a laughingstock to the nation while on chemo is enough to give her a pass. Lay up folks.

Police say they believe they have recovered the body of a woman whose suicidal jump from the Tappan Zee Bridge in suburban New York echoed her stepfather's plunge 15 years ago from the same span. State Police Sgt. Todd Parent says they believe the body found on Sunday afternoon in the Hudson River belongs to Anne Morell Petrillo.

Petrillo was the daughter of slain newspaper heiress Anne Scripps Douglas. Stepfather Scott Douglas leaped to his death from the bridge in 1994 after killing her mother. The family founded The Detroit News.

She was struggling financially, hitting the bottle hard and flirting with death in the years before her suicide, family and friends said. Witnesses saw Petrillo stop her car on the bridge and jump Thursday. What a terribly sad story

President Obama, who has a sixth-grader and a third-grader, wants schools to add time to classes, to stay open late and to let kids in on weekends so they have a safe place to go. I would wholeheartedly support this if teachers were paid like lawyers and doctors.

The “Weekly Thought Bonanza of the Week” is; People say that 40 is the new thirty. If 40 was the new thirty then why do I have creaky joints, thinning hair and growing everywhere but where it is supposed to and oh yeah the ever expanding waistline if I eat one bad thing during the week. Forty is just plain old forty.

Follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/drcchasse


E-mail me at drcchasse@verizon.net to get on our mailing list.

Please forward to your friends and colleagues to enjoy. The more readers I have, the more money that is raised for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

voice 206-350-6437