Was 2020 the worst year ever? The media keep saying that. We did have the pandemic, a bitter election, unemployment, riots, and a soaring national debt. But wait, look at the good news, says historian Johan Norberg. His new book, Open: The Story of Human Progress, points out how life keeps getting better, even if people just don’t realize it.
Tag: poverty
Social Desirability Bias vs. Tourism
Economically speaking, there’s a straightforward win-win case for these Mexican resorts: Not only do they make the tourists happier; they make the Mexicans happier by providing them with better opportunities than they have elsewhere in the Mexican economy. If you reconsider this verdict through the distorted lens of Social Desirability Bias, though, a radically different picture appears before your eyes. Once you forget economics, you could easily describe the resort experience in the following sordid way.
San Francisco Sees More Overdose Deaths Than Covid Deaths in 2020
Data show alarming trends in drug overdoses and suicide as people—especially young people who are least at risk from COVID-19—are forcibly cut off from friends, families, and communities.
Instead of Prosecuting Trump, Give Him the OJ Treatment
The Goldmans won their case on a “preponderance of evidence” standard rather than “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” In Trump’s case, there is no reasonable doubt: He’s on the hook for billions.
Reflections on the Yucatan
Socialist and nationalist revolutionaries are Latin America’s most successful criminal gangs, augmenting sheer brutality with fanatical ideology. The average person in these countries, however, craves tranquility and opportunity. Revolutionaries are a handful of wolves who make daily life hell, all the while vainly promising a heaven-on-earth that never comes.
African-American Jewish Mormon on “Privilege”
As a professor of mixed race (English, Scottish, African-American, German) who began life in poverty and then created success in many areas, I offer my perspective on “Privilege.” I created this video to show a sustainable way that all people can help re-imagine their own unique privilege to better “work” for their lives.
Private Charity Beats One-Size-Fits-All Government
Charities are free to help people who truly need help.
Antinatalism, Political Libertinism, & Poverty (23m) – Episode 432
Episode 432 has Skyler giving his commentary on the following topics: his original look at antinatalism, the belief that it is morally wrong to procreate; his lament that too many people are political libertines, the type of people who don’t consider moral principles as it concerns government action; why poverty is and is not the default state of mankind; and more.
Absurd Thanksgiving Guidelines Reveal an Astonishing Level of Government Overreach
When we get to the point where individuals find it “natural” for the government to tell us how to take turns eating our Thanksgiving turkey, a pandemic is the least of our concerns.
Harvard Researchers: Nearly Half of Young Adults Showing Signs of Depression Amid Pandemic
Mounting evidence shows that pandemic-related lockdowns and restrictions have inflicted much more harm on younger people than the coronavirus itself. A new report reveals that nearly half of 18 to 24 year-olds are “showing at least moderate depressive symptoms,” and for many the depression is severe.