Last year, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta, signaling its shift from traditional social media to a big bet on the so-called metaverse. This network of 3D, online spaces is accessed through virtual reality headsets like Meta’s Oculus and promises to
Public Utility Research Center Articles: page 4
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Elon Musk Should Create a New Kind of Common Carrier
“Elon Musk created a stir by becoming Twitter’s largest shareholder and then offering to buy the company outright,” writes Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison. “He says he wants to create a public platform that is
Fact check: False claim that a 1997 boycott lowered gas prices by 30 cents a gallon in one day
Public Utility Research Center Director of Energy Studies Ted Kury shares his insights to help debunk a recent Facebook post claiming that a ‘gas out’ in April 1997 caused gas prices to dip by 30 cents a gallon overnight. Read
Would gas tax breaks make a big difference when prices are skyrocketing? We asked 4 experts
With gasoline prices trending over US$4 per gallon nationwide, politicians are feeling the heat. In response, Maryland and Georgia have temporarily waived their state gasoline taxes to reduce the burden on consumers. Other states are considering similar actions, and some
Break Up Big Tech? The Economics of Antitrust from Both Sides of the Question
The success of the digital economy has given rise to some of the wealthiest companies the world has ever known. Over the last decade or more, concerns have arisen among some economists about whether existing antitrust laws are adequate to
Rail Regulators Should Heed the Lessons of Aggressive Telecom Rules
Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison explains why a rule that could increase the economic cost of shipping by rail that the U.S. Surface Transportation Board (STB) is considering is a bad idea. Read his article
Meta and Oculus: Under the FTC’s watchful eye | IN 60 SECONDS
Meta has come under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission for supposedly anticompetitive conduct concerning the Oculus headset and App Store, despite the fact that virtual reality is still very new to the market and needs time to adapt to
Examining the scope and scale of PG&E’s plan to bury 10,000 miles of power lines
Pacific Gas & Electric came out last week with a cost estimate for the first phase of its plan to put thousands of miles of power lines underground, ballparking it at $9 billion to $13.5 billion according to the San
After a $500-million year, will metaverse real estate skyrocket or plummet?
Metaverse real estate sales surpassed $500 million last year, and nearly half of this amount came after Mark Zuckerberg’s October 2021 rebranding of Facebook to “Meta.” This year, the metaverse real estate market has continued to boom, with sales reaching
Market power doesn’t cause inflation
Public Utility Research Center Director and Gunter Professor Mark Jamison explains the country’s challenges with inflation, why scapegoating big business isn’t right and how government can help solve the program plaguing Americans. Read his take in this blog post from
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