While most laws are illegitimate, you can’t safely ignore them. Every law, no matter how seemingly trivial, is a threat to kill you if you are caught ignoring it. This threat isn’t usually carried out immediately; those enforcing the law must normally escalate their enforcement attempts a few times before that happens. Yet it does happen.
Tag: behavior
Edward Snowden: The Untold Story of How One Patriotic American Exposed NSA Surveillance
Edward Snowden might not yet be a historical figure, but he certainly is a hero. He is the whistleblower of all whistleblowers, the American who blew the lid off of Washington’s spying on private citizens. But Snowden’s leak revealed that it’s not just the U.S. government that is spying on virtually every American – big American telecommunications companies are also helping them to spy as well.
It’s More Than Just Willpower
It breaks my heart every time I pass someone sleeping in the street. I go through a mental process, wondering what circumstances, preferences, and choices get a person to a spot where sleeping on the sidewalk is better than the next best alternative.
Pork is Not the Problem
Congressional appropriations for 2019 include 282 earmarks, up from 232 last year. The cost comes to $15.3 billion, up from $14.7 billion. That sounds like a lot of money, and it is. But not nearly as much as one might think, in the scheme of things.
Trade, Tariffs, and some Basic Economics
Economics can be a complicated subject and many people don’t really understand why the economy works the way it does. That’s okay, but learning about economics and economic principles can also be very rewarding because it helps to explain so much about our world and about human behavior.
Accept Everyone You Can
I try to be accepting of everyone. This doesn’t mean I’m accepting of everything everyone does. Not every behavior is OK. There are lines in the sand I can’t cross, and that when crossed by others, I can’t support.
The Universal Basic Income: Newly Contentious
The main reason why classical liberals smile upon the UBI, I fear, is its elegant simplicity. If we adopt one straightforward poverty program, we can rid ourselves of all the rest. Unfortunately, as my presentation explains, the UBI’s cost is exorbitant, the side effects are awful, and the moral justification is ultimately flimsy.
Freedom vs. Liberty: How Subtle Differences Between These Two Big Ideas Changed Our World
The terms “freedom” and “liberty” have become clichés in modern political parlance. Because these words are invoked so much by politicians and their ilk, their meanings are almost synonymous and used interchangeably. That’s confusing – and can be dangerous – because their definitions are actually quite different.
We Still Haven’t Learned Voltaire’s Lesson
It’s fascinating how easily people accept something they would otherwise know is wrong when someone they view as an authority figure tells them it’s right. Voltaire observed, in 1765, “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” This truth has led to many of the worst horrors in history. People still haven’t learned the lesson.
Underwear in a Wad
I don’t even want to hear my opinion on the outcome of the Kentucky Derby, but here it is anyway. There are rules for voluntary participation. And sometimes the rules may be misapplied. But the basic rules of voluntary behavior are 1) end it, and 2) move on. Nobody wants to recontend the Derby, except those who have direct skin in the game.