Posted in Distributive Justice, Equality, Politics, economics, tagged minimum wage on May 12, 2008 | No Comments »
Megan McArdle writes disapprovingly of the minimum wage:
Both at Crooked Timber, and in my own beloved comment threads, the suggestion has been made that the minimum wage is really swell because it gets rid of low-productivity jobs that only pay the minimum wage.
This sounds lovely–if you are the kind of person who has the skills [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, Equality, Politics, Rationality, economics, tagged conservatism, happiness, liberalism on May 8, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I wrote earlier about Pew research findings that Republicans are happier than Democrats, and, generally, conservatives are happier than liberals. Here was my explanation:
I think it’s likely that happy people are more likely to be Republicans, while unhappy people are more likely to be Democrats, for unhappiness gives one an incentive to seek change, [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, Equality, Politics, justice, tagged affirmative action, Obama, race on March 20, 2008 | No Comments »
Michael Goldfarb points out how amazing our current situation is:
What if I told you in 2004 that the Democratic party would run an African American candidate for president in 2008? I tell you National Journal will officially label this candidate the most liberal member of the United States Senate. This candidate will also have served [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, Education, Equality, justice, tagged Equality, justice, social work on March 10, 2008 | 3 Comments »
The National Association of Scholars has published a report on schools of social work throughout the country, finding that most are committed to ideological indoctrination rather than unbiased research: “Social work education is a national academic scandal.” Stephen Balch, NAS Director:
Defenders of the American university claim that the seriousness of the problem of [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, Equality, economics, tagged consumption, Equality on February 10, 2008 | 3 Comments »
They have more money. But they don’t really have all that much more stuff:
Looking at a far more direct measure of American families’ economic status — household consumption — indicates that the gap between rich and poor is far less than most assume, and that the abstract, income-based way in which we measure the [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, Equality, Politics, ethics, liberty, tagged diversity, Equality, freedom, happiness, Politics, responsibility on February 10, 2008 | 59 Comments »
The Washington Post reports:
Most studies show that wealthy people are marginally happier than poor ones. People with pets or children are no happier than those without. People with active sex lives are — surprise! — happier than those without. No single morsel of happiness data, though, is more intriguing than this: Republicans are happier than [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, Equality, economics, ethics, tagged Equality, gender, taxation on February 9, 2008 | No Comments »
Spain’s Popular Party has proposed that women receive tax breaks for… being women! Since parties to its left are likely to pile on board, Spain will soon have a tax system that discriminates on the basis of gender. There’s a radical feminist argument for this, but there’s also a utilitarian argument based on [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, economics, tagged economics, housing, Obama on February 9, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Victor Davis Hanson:
I was watching on television last week both Barack Obama and his wife Michelle speak about the supposedly depression-like conditions in the US, and a people strapped by students loans, near hungry, and without hope of betterment. Neither said anything of substance, though both were engaging, effective speakers. Still, never has so much [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, Equality, economics, regulation, tagged Health Care, insurance, mandates, regulation on February 3, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Many have noticed that the Social Security system is essentially a Ponzi scheme, a pyramid that depends on the entry of increasing numbers of people. People who entered the system early profited immensely. People entering it when I did are fated to receive poor returns, assuming the system survives. People entering it [...]
Posted in Distributive Justice, Equality, tagged polygamy, welfare on February 2, 2008 | No Comments »
Even though polygamy is illegal in Britain, residents who practice it can now get extra welfare benefits for their extra wives.
