For the little IP, some of the most important lessons for his understanding of American economics came through his first visits to an MLB ball park and a large airport.  Within a few minutes in each place, he noted how much more expensive were the food items and other “concessions.”  Like THEY are making a concession for us?  WTF?         

Anyhow, The IP thought about that supply and demand revelation when he read this recent piece in the New Yorker about the new Yankee Stadium:

As expected, nothing was cheap (Philly cheesesteak, $10.75; citrus slaw, $6), but the menu boards helpfully listed the number of calories in each item, and a winner emerged in the calories-per-dollar statistic: Moe’s Billy Barou Nachos, which can be found on the concourse of the upper deck. At nine dollars and 1,410 calories, they provide triple the value of a standard ballpark frank ($6 and 297 calories). Dieters, don’t be fooled by the Miller Lite. If you buy it in the souvenir-cup size ($10), you’ll consume more calories for your money than you would by drinking Peroni ($8.50).

And ever notice how the filthy rich are always trying to hide themselves from the general public?  They must know that their wealth is suspect and that the less “fortunate” others might not like them.  That’s why all the stadiums now have “luxury suites” that help protect the filthy rich and their friends from the masses (yet even today the “masses” have to be pretty well off just to be in the “cheap” seats). 

The IP bets there are even some TARP-funded NYC bastards that lease the above suites.  The ironic thing is that the above suite looks just like some room you’d see in a CEO’s McMansion or Trump condo; it’s like their own little gated community inside the stadium. 

Sure sure.  They had social and economic stratification back in the olden times, but all The IP can tell you is that when his older sister took him to Fenway in 1971, the hot dogs weren’t that expensive, even when considering inflation.

There’s a lot of communal pressure at a ball park or airport.  Everyone is saying “WTF?” and going ahead and spending a lot of money for things they could buy elsewhere for less than half the price; many moms and dads are probably tapping into their Christmas funds just to give their little kids a taste of “real” Americana.  At least the other people in the lines provide a little comfort…they normalize irrational behavior for everyone.  ”Holy shit!  I just spent $45 for some hot dogs and beer!  WTF!”

But the above examples of supply and demand do not represent an essential “law” of capitalism.  It’s more cultural than economic, and America makes room for a wide range of cultural economies.  Such a congruency of opposite capitalisms occurred when, just after The IP read about the $10.00 Miller Lite at the new Yankee Stadium, he read about free beer in Portland, OR:.

One accessory, however, was ubiquitous: as breakdance crews windmilled and as the Portland legend Fogatron did his human beatbox routine, every hipster — male, female or otherwise — carried a plastic cup full of beer. Free beer.

So there you have it.  Two different cities, two different venues, two different cultural economies.  The IP would opt for the free beer in Portland, thank you.