I am just finishing up the absolutely gut-wrenching book from Frank Dikotter, Mao’s Great Famine. Words cannot do it justice. Just as the Hiroshima story and the Auschwitz story and the slavery story must be told and retold and taught to our children, it would be unconscionable for all of us not to be very well […]
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Posted in Caring, Disingenuous, Inequality on Sep 5th, 2018
Realtors are quite well known for trying to make their properties sound good, and use language and discuss amenities that potential customers find attractive. If inequality were such a huge concern, how come we don’t see reports of Gini Coefficients in real estate listings, or some other such similar measures? Now, sure, this is my […]
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Posted in Inequality, Knowledge on Feb 25th, 2017
Pardon my weekend thought. The post title tends to come off as more curmudgeony than I want it to, but my thinking is this. Suppose we move heaven and earth for the next several decades to make sure that every single person in the United States gets the very best and most equal education. In […]
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A very good and underappreciated site is Put a Number on It. Here, from a recent post on inequality, is not something many are familiar with: Transfers comprise social security and the rest of welfare. I gave $5,700 to every person over 65 and spread the rest based on number of children and distance from […]
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I next propose a tax on marriage homogeneity! Why? Well, Tyler Cowen points to some new research: Assortative mating is returning to Gilded Age levels … Patterns of intermarriage between persons who have varying levels of educational attainment are indicators of socioeconomic closure and affect the family backgrounds of children. This article documents trends in […]
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Posted in Classical Liberalism, Economic Illiteracy, ethical foundations, Extended Order, Government Thuggery, History, Immigration, Inequality, Institutions, media, Politics on Nov 24th, 2015
Of course, I will not share my thoughts at Thanksgiving … but here goes (start at 1:14 if you don’t like stories. One reason I love folk music is the stories): Please do NOT interpret this to suggest that I think this is an open and shut issue, or that there are not legitimate questions […]
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Posted in Inequality, Institutions on Oct 27th, 2015
In this interesting article on whether “we” want more equality or something else, the author includes a discussion of an idea that is very common: People might be troubled by what they see as unjust causes of economic inequality, a perfectly reasonable concern given how much your income and wealth are determined by accidents of […]
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Posted in Economics Problems, Inequality on May 19th, 2015
The reason we are talking about inequality is because we are talking about inequality. I suppose the SJW can take credit for “raising awareness:” Misperceiving Inequality by Vladimir Gimpelson, Daniel Treisman – #21174 (POL) Since Aristotle, a vast literature has suggested that economic inequality has important political consequences. Higher inequality is thought to increase demand for government […]
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Posted in Inequality, labor markets on May 8th, 2015
Check out this paper on one of the major challenges facing minorities in poverty: And these are findings for the United States. What do you think the impact of widespread automobile ownership around the world would be not just on employment, but on general levels of satisfaction? Pardon the pun, but your mileage may vary […]
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Posted in Inequality, labor markets, Socialism on Jan 26th, 2015
Via Scott Alexander: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel goes up to the counter and gives a tremendously long custom order in German, specifying exactly how much of each sort of syrup he wants, various espresso shots, cream in exactly the right pattern, and a bunch of toppings, all added in a specific order at a specific […]
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