“Maybe I Am A Welfare Queens” Wonders Cliven Bundy (by Sam Seder) Sam Seder comments on CNN interview with Cliven Bundy and points out that he actually more of a thief then a welfare queen. The ranchers that get subsidized grazing are the welfare queens. (Source: https://www.youtube.com/)
Red-biating Rises Again
Piketty himself is a social democrat who abjures the Marxist label. But as his title suggests, he is out to rehabilitate and recast one of Marx’s key ideas: that so-called “free markets,” by their nature, tend to enrich the owners of capital at the expense of people who own less of it.
On the right, being insufficiently worshipful of capitalism as they define it is now the same as being a Marxist. It doesn’t matter how you reach your conclusions, it doesn’t matter if you disagree with 90% of Marx. If you do not follow the right-wing party line on capital, it’s the same as being a devoted Marxist.
The Piketty Panic
what’s really new about “Capital” is the way it demolishes that most cherished of conservative myths, the insistence that we’re living in a meritocracy in which great wealth is earned and deserved.
In the warped little minds of the hard right, the real problem isn’t capitalism (which they redefine as needed) but crony capitalism (which they also redefine as needed) where the very wealthy use the state to steal wealth. But we also can’t tax those people because that’s theft and will reduce the incentive for them to work hard. And pointing out the contradiction is Marxism.
Is David Brooks an idiot?
If you are a young professional in a major city, you experience inequality firsthand. But the inequality you experience most acutely is not inequality down, toward the poor; it’s inequality up, toward the rich.
You go to fund-raisers or school functions and there are always hedge fund managers and private equity people around.
Is Mr. Brooks an idiot? Does he realize that for 98% of the population, this is simply not true.
The inequality problem is not between the 90->99% and the 1%. To think that is to basically discount 90% of the population. The 90% plus of the population that simply doesn’t see the inequality first hand and his eyes, isn’t even worth bringing into the discussion.
emphasize that the historically proven way to reduce inequality is lifting people from the bottom with human capital reform, not pushing down the top. In short, counter angry progressivism with unifying uplift.
Piketty argues that r > g, that return from financial capital is greater than overall economic growth. Brooks totally ignores this point in his criticism of Piketty.
He argues for unifying uplift; a phrase that sounds like it comes from an American Apparel bra ad. What exactly is unifying uplift? If he is talking about increasing social spending, why not actually say that? Is he really just saying we can stop the formation of vast oligarchies if we come up with the right platitudes?
Southerners Don’t Like Obamacare. They Also Don’t Want to Repeal It.
Southerners Don’t Like Obamacare. They Also Don’t Want to Repeal It.
Despite strong dislike of President Obama’s handling of health care, a majority of people in three Southern states – Kentucky, Louisiana and North Carolina – would rather that Congress improve his signature health care law than repeal and replace it, according to a New York Times Upshot/Kaiser Family Foundation poll.
I can’t wait until i start reading about red states where they want government to stay out of their obama-care.
Welfare Queens in Cowboy Hats
Let’s dispense with niceties: Bundy is a freeloading scofflaw, a welfare queen in a Stetson who claimed what wasn’t his. He took subsidies from U.S. taxpayers and refused to pay the $1.2 million he owed for using federal – make that our – land.
Nice to see someone say the obvious.
There Are 10 Times More Mentally Ill People Behind Bars Than in State Hospitals
There Are 10 Times More Mentally Ill People Behind Bars Than in State Hospitals
Putting the mentally ill in jails instead of hospitals isn’t saving the government any money. … The average stay for an inmate at Rikers is 42 days. Mentally ill inmates get stuck there for an average of 215 days.
The stigma of mental illness isn’t helping anyone. It costs us more, it puts us in danger and it creates really dangerous conditions for people who need help.
Formula E’s first public tests to begin in the UK on July 4th
Formula E’s first public tests to begin in the UK on July 4th
Organizers of the Formula E Championship, the world’s first fully electric race series, have confirmed that the first official team tests will be hosted at the circuit, which will also serve as home for all 10 of the race crews during its inaugural season.
Ha-Joon Chang: Economics Is A Political Argument
Ha-Joon Chang: Economics Is A Political Argument
I am seeking to debunk this widespread view, propagated by the current generation of economists, that somehow you can neatly separate economics from politics.
I don’t agree with everything he says, but he makes some amazing points. I agree with his main point. Worth a read.
Politics by Subpoena: How Darrell Issa Abuses His Power, and Why
Politics by Subpoena: How Darrell Issa Abuses His Power, and Why
Issa has been engaged in nonstop investigations since taking power after the 2010 election, drilling into everything from the Fast and Furious operation to Benghazi to Solyndra to Freddie and Fannie to the alleged politicization of the IRS to the botched rollout of Healthcare.gov. He’s talked of finding “Obama’s Watergate,” but that’s never happened and his investigations come up empty handed again and again.
What is so frustrating is that rather than investigate clear and admitted lies by NSA and CIA spokespeople, Issa is spending time and tax payer money on nonsense issues he imagines will look good on fox news.