Philip Brewer
I write science fiction and fantasy stories.
I also write about personal finance and frugality for Wise Bread.
I speak Esperanto, and use it to communicate internationally. Esperantistoj, legu mian esperantan hejmpaĝon.
Personal finance articles (at Wise Bread)- Interesting stuff
Category Archives: Economics
The huge win of moderately high-speed trains
Since there scarcely any thought of building them in the US, it’s silly to worry about the downsides of real high-speed trains, but it’s the sort of thing I tend to worry about. After all, the math is kind of … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Energy, Local, News, Policy
Tagged amtrak, Champaign, Chicago, commuting, high-speed rail, Illinois Terminal, public policy, trains, Union Station, Urbana
3 Comments
Champaign considers allowing backyard chickens
The News Gazette had an article yesterday saying that the Champaign City Council has agreed to “schedule a study session” on the topic of legalizing backyard chickens. Tom Bruno, who was the guy who offered me some encouragement when I … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Local, News, Policy
Tagged backyard chickens, Economics, sustainability
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The wonderful Spurlock Museum
A hundred-odd years ago, a lot of towns and cities had their own museum. In those days, international travel was beyond the reach of ordinary people, and museums saw it as part of their mission to bring the great artistic … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Local, News, Photography
Tagged art, museums, public art, sculpture, spurlock museum, Wise Bread
1 Comment
New expectation on the debt ceiling
During the debt ceiling crisis back in 2011, I suggested that it would be no big deal if the government just “prioritized” spending so as to match revenues for however long it took Congress to get its act together and … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, News, Policy
Tagged debt, debt ceiling, Economics, Fed, Federal Reserve
2 Comments
Dressing for . . .
It was on my first trip to England that I came to understand that what we think of as formal wear, business attire, and sports clothing was originally designed to be the most comfortable possible clothing for the circumstances. The … Continue reading
New growing regions less fertile
One utterly predictable consequence of climate change is that the price of northern farmland will rise as growing regions shift north. Tobias Buckell yesterday shared a report that just this sort of price shift is now occurring—interesting to me because … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Energy, News
Tagged climate, climate change, collapse, crops, farming, financial disaster stories, growing regions, markets, prairie, public policy, security, sustainability, tall grass prairie
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Interviewed on Navigating Your Money
Mike Tierney of the Navigating Your Money podcast interviewed me last week and has already put the show up. Listen to me natter on about frugal living here: Episode #19: Live Like You Have More, On Less I haven’t actually … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, Media, News
Tagged interviews, mentions, money, my work, Wise Bread
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Dancing on the edge of the fiscal cliff
The tea-party right was willing to risk the hard stop in spending that would have resulted from running up against the debt limit—a game of chicken that neither the Democrats nor the sane fraction of the Republicans could take the … Continue reading
Posted in Economics, News, Policy
Tagged financial disaster stories, fiscal cliff, government, government spending, money, public policy, public services, taxes
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What do taxing districts do?
The town of Savoy, just south of Champaign, makes a point of having lower taxes. They do so by not providing many of the amenities that Champaign and Urbana provide—no bus service, no public library, etc. Residents, since they can … Continue reading
Another view on frugal living
One of my fellow Wise Bread writers, Nora Dunn, has been posting some of the financial details of her travel-heavy lifestyle, including this post on her 2011 Income. (It’s got a link to her earlier post on her 2011 spending, … Continue reading