You used to not know a barbell from a bellhop. You used to watch TV for much of your waking (non-school) hours. You ran up a credit card balance just last year – one that you’re still trying to pay off. Your contempt isn’t just a cause of memory loss – it is a pernicious lie. You were *just* recently the same way these people are now. You didn’t lock yourself in a category of shame or judgment then, so why are you doing it to them?
Tag: money
9/11 Every Month — Where’s the Outrage?
The TL;DR: “Many Americans die every year because they need kidney transplants, in large part due to federal laws banning organ sales. … [A]n average of over 30,000 Americans have died each year, because the ban prevented them from getting transplants in time.” My preferred version of the headline: “The US government, as a matter of policy, kills 30,000 Americans annually.”
You Have No Right to Your Culture
Most complaints about immigration are declarative: “Immigrants take our jobs.” “Immigrants abuse the welfare state.” “Immigrants won’t learn English.’ “Immigrants will vote for Sharia.” One complaint, however, is usually phrased as a question: “But don’t people have a right to their culture?” When people so inquire, their tone is usually conciliatory, as if to say, “Surely, even you will accept this.” My considered judgment, however, is that this challenge is a true Trojan Horse. No one, no one, has “a right to their culture.”
Life By Subscription
The idea that a monolithic monopoly needs to provide all kinds of services whether we want them or not is stupid. It’s always been stupid. But it’s easier to see the stupid now that our lives are comprised of a growing web of voluntary subscription services and Amazon delivers everything for free.
Governing Least‘s Immigration Oversight
Dan Moller’s Governing Least barely mentions immigration. But it should have, because of its strong implications for this hugely important issue. Applying Moller’s approach, there is not only a moral presumption in favor of open borders, but a host of residual obligations that accompany even justified restrictions on immigration.
Governing Least: What’s Really Wrong with Utilitarianism
One argument against utilitarianism is that no one actually follows it. I call this the Argument from Hypocrisy. A better objection, though, is that even highly scrupulous utilitarians don’t comply with their stated principles; I call this the Argument from Conscience.
Dan Moller’s Governing Least
Michael Huemer’s The Problem of Political Authority is definitely my favorite work of libertarian political philosophy. Dan Moller’s new Governing Least, however, is definitely now my second-favorite work of libertarian political philosophy. The two books have much in common: Both use common-sense ethics to argue for libertarian politics. Both are calm, logical, and ever-mindful of potential criticisms. …
More Bang for Your Buck; or, Better Ways to Buy Your Happiness
Money has little effect on happiness. Ancient Greeks like Epicurus said it, and modern empirical psychology confirms it. Why do we have so much trouble accepting this? In part, because our immediate reaction to money is highly favorable – and that sticks in our minds. Before long, however, hedonic adaptation kicks in. We start to take our good fortune for granted… and then we largely forget that our fortune is good.
If You Want Clear Thinking, Get Money Involved
Ask a young person who’s tepid on the idea of attending and they’ll torture themselves trying to work through the pros and cons. Then say, “It will cost you $50,000. You’ve got to come up with that on your own.” All of the sudden, it looks like a ridiculously stupid deal. Because it is.
The Government is Hard at Work Keeping Tax Preparation Complicated and Expensive
“Congressional Democrats and Republicans,” reports ProPublica, “are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system.” Specifically, the House Ways and Means Committee just advanced a bill perversely called the “Taxpayers First Act.” If passed by Congress and signed into law, it would become illegal for the IRS to “compete” with private sector tax preparation services like H&R Block and Intuit (the owners of TurboTax) by allowing taxpayers to skip those middlemen.