Welcome to the post-holiday lull, one of the few anomalous weeks in the year when even the United States slows down for a bit. The entire continents of South America and Europe are on holiday. Everyone in the office is still out on vacation, or they’re working remotely. And you have the week off.
Tag: money
Polite Pirates
A: “Greetings. How are you this fine evening?” B: “Well, I was good. Who are you, and why are you pointing a gun at me?” A: “I’m your friendly neighborhood car-jacker, and I will be robbing you tonight.” B: “Is this a joke?” A: “Oh, I assure you this is no joke. I’m a respectable…
Economics, Bigotry, and Sexuality
It might seem distasteful, but we predominantly hurt women by punishing sexual harassment. Our society tolerates this because women generally dislike women who use their sexuality to get benefits when it isn’t themselves.
Those Thieving Thieves and Their Schemes
If I get mugged, and manage to not have the thief steal as much as he might have stolen, I’m not going to be happy about the mugging, but I will be happy to have retained what he didn’t get.
Anatomy of a Tax Cut
I’ve watched the debate over the vanilla Republican tax bill closely during these many months. It’s been fascinating at many levels, not least sociologically. People reveal much about themselves — and their views of personal autonomy — in how they discuss taxes.
US Foreign Aid: Bad for America, Bad for the World
Supporters of foreign aid love to point out that it constitutes less than 1% of the federal budget. True, but that 1% comes with lots of strings attached for both parties.
The Simplicity Cycle: Returning to Paring Down to Find Your True Needs
Simplifying your life isn’t a single project that you can finish and be done with — it’s actually a cycle. At least, that’s what I’ve found in my decade plus of simple living … I’ve downsized numerous times, in all areas of my life, and I keep finding myself coming back to the process of simplifying.
Optimality—the Mainstream Economist’s Holy Grail
Politicians are not philosopher kings, not dedicated social engineers selflessly focused on the public interest (itself an elusive concept). They know how to gain election or appointment to public office, and hardly anything else.
There’s a Due Process Problem with Homeschool Regulations
The biggest problem with the often-cavalier way citizens and lawmakers suggest regulating homeschoolers – who receive no public money but still pay local property taxes to fund schools – is that it is an invasion of privacy and a violation of due process.
A Crowdfunding Proposal: UFOs Deserve Better and More Public Investigation
Among the public, opinion on UFOs runs the gamut from belief that the whole idea is a product of fevered imaginations to conviction that Earth is frequently visited by extraterrestrial beings possessed of technologies beyond our ken. But all along that spectrum there remain good reasons to investigate UFOs.