Wanda Sykes describes how she tests her husband when he doesn’t even know he’s being tested. She’s okay with a sink of dirty dishes one or two days, but if it continues for much longer than she’ll extract her revenge (later in the clip she talks about how all the fury comes out when they’re having sex). This tit-for-tat behavior where one party waits for the other one can turn into a situation where both parties are eating off of napkins and no one is cleaning anything.
Ron White — The Death Penalty
Ron White describes how his state is different than California and one of those ways is through the use of the death penalty. In other states, they may be trying to cut back on the use of the death penalty for heinous crimes, but Texas appears to be trying to put in an express lane. The death penalty, while controversial, is often used by states as a credible threat and a deterrence mechanism in order to reduce future crime.
Ron White — Best Response
Ron White, in They Call Me Tater Salad, discusses an interaction with a fan who wanted him to know that it’s illegal to shoot someone in the back regardless of what crime they’ve committed against you. Ron quickly points out that you could just shoot them in the leg in order to get them to turn around, which means that the optimal strategy is to never turn around.
Jeff Dunham — Interest in Immigration Policy
In his 2007 special, Spark of Insanity, ventriloquist Jeff Dunham brings his trust “side stick” Jose Jalapeño on stage to discuss immigration. Jeff decides to ask how Jose feels about the increased presence of National Guard agents along the Mexico/US border, but Jose notes that he isn’t too concerned about it. Peanut quickly points on that Jose isn’t worried because Jose is already in the country. Increased presence of border protection doesn’t do much to curtail illegal immigrants already in the country.
Wanda Sykes — Someone Else’s Kids
Wanda Sykes describes how she treats her nephews is much different than how she would treat her own kids. She’s not interested in making sure they eat healthy or go to bed at a decent hour because they aren’t her children. This is a great illustration of the principle-agent problem in that the two agents, Wanda and her sibling, don’t have the same motives.
Ron White — Coupons
Ron White describes how he tried to buy a beer using actual money, but by the time he got to the front of the line he finds out that the vendor requires him to pay for his beer with coupons. Ron then has to go stand in another line in order to get coupons (for cash) so that he can then trade coupons for a beer.
Jim Gaffigan — Birthdays
Jim Gaffigan discusses the irrationality of gift giving in this stand up special. People continue to give clothing as gifts even though the received doesn’t like the item. Gaffigan makes a good point that he would rather throw away the gift than return it because then returning it creates an errand for him.
Christian Finnegan — What Kind of Monopoly Player Are You?
There are two types of people who play the game of Monopoly. There are a batch of people who have their lives together and pay their bills online, but then there are people like Christian Finnegan who are more present-oriented. The present-oriented players tend to be a bit riskier in the hopes of earning large payoffs early in the game.
Original Video here: http://www.cc.com/video-clips/9mxydo/comedy-central-presents-monopoly
Pat Dixon — The 5th Beer is the Best Beer
Pat Dixon describes how he loves the fifth beer because it makes him look good, which are good qualities for a day drinker. This clip can be used to teach about diminishing marginal utility and increasing marginal cost. For Dixon, the 5th beer is the optimal beer.
Jerry Seinfeld — Enough comedy?
Jerry Seinfeld asks where we can we ever have enough comedy on tv? Is there a point where diminishing returns kicks in and people no longer want any more chuckles?