Could legalizing marijuana solve California's budget woes?

Guest blogger Matthew Kahn looks at the tax benefits of legalizing marijuana and the future of electric vehicle purchases.

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Julie Jacobson / AP
Demonstrators show their support for the use of medical marijuana, Jan. 12 in Las Vegas. About 25 people protested outside the Federal building in response to recent federal raids on dispensaries, cultivators and referral services in Nevada and Michigan.

I am back. I'm not thrilled by my Governor's budget choices. Slashing $500 million from the University of California budget is likely to affect my quality of life. I have a budget suggestion for Jerry Brown. Let's legalize pot in California and export it around the world. At $300 an ounce, we would merely need to export 2,083 tons per year to zero out our deficit. There must be sufficient demand for this product around the world?

Switching subjects, I had the opportunity to speak at the World Bank earlier this week and had a great time. I also reunited with an old Scarsdale friend who I hadn't seen in 30 years. It was great to see him. I humbly suggest that you try to reunite with old friends. It is never too late.

Switching subjects: who is likely to buy electric vehicles? The Sacramento Bee offers some evidence here. I was shocked that these guys didn't cite my work.

Hasn't the whole world read my my first hybrid demand paper? or at least the classic Kahn and Vaughn (2009)? Note that the Sacramento Bee talks about political ideology as a predictor. Sound familiar?

Attention green companies, if you seek a profiler to help you identify market segments of customers likely to buy your products --- you know where to find me!

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The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. This post originally ran on greeneconomics.blogspot.com.

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