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Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson testified before Congress in opposition to Republican proposals that would crack down on immigration without helping immigrants.
At America, John Carr weighs on on the discussion about what Pope Francis can and should say when he addresses Congress.
File this article in this morning's Washington Post in the file "why economists don't get it." Tyler Cowen, economics professor at George Mason University, thinks most restaurant owners don't really want their patrons ordering desserts because desserts have a higher food cost than other menu items. Butter, sugar, cream. chocolate, these are expensive ingredients and so while that $12.00 plate of chicken quesadillas might only cost the chef $4.00 to produce (a 33% food cost), that $7.50 dessert might cost the chef $3.75 to produce (a 50% food cost). But, only an academic would fail to note the obvious fact that I am sure did not escape most readers: You don't put percentages into the bank. The dessert yields almost as much in real dollars as the quesadillas. The other thing the economist fails to take into account is that some patrons want desserts, so you have to have them on the menu, and they are, like all foods, perishable, so once you get them in, you want to sell them. In a poorly managed kitchen, throwing away spoilt food can actually be as large a contributor to food cost as the expense of the ingredients. Gotta love those academic economists.
