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Markets in Action

I was at the Verizon Center on Sunday when George Mason beat UConn.  As UConn’s last shot went awry, there appeared to be the equivalent of a moment of silence as people realized that the shot wasn’t going to go in, the time had expired and GMU had actually won. Then the place exploded in a roar of exultation. People were jumping up and down, hugging, high-fiving and screaming. I turned around to take in what was going on in the stands behind me and saw a man ten rows up holding up a t-shirt in triumph.  It was beautifully printed in color with all kinds of logos and designs and announced that George Mason was in the Final Four.

I wonder who had the courage to take a risk and print those shirts. Twenty seven bucks on the spot. Cheaper today, I assume. (Get one here for $18.98) But wonderful that they could be had at any price within seconds of the game ending.

James Schlesinger, America’s first "energy czar," once mocked free-marketers as people who believed that if you jumped off a cliff, there’d be someone half-way down to sell you a parachute. I always figured that if enough people jumped off cliffs unprepared, someone would find a way to sell them a parachute. I hope Schlesinger was at the Verizon Center on Sunday.

Here’s
the nicest tribute I’ve seen yet to George Mason, the man.

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