The general consensus by economists and policy makers is that the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum (brexit) will have negative consequences: IMF says Brexit ‘pretty bad to very, very bad’ The Brexit delusion Brexit is a needless complication, an attempt to fix something, that while flawed (especially about immigration), isn’t yet sufficiency broken… Continue reading Preventing Bad Policy
Tag: policy
Improving Society and Policy
From Jim: Fixing housing, health, and education. The fundamental problem is the misallocation of public resources. Replace costly, time-consuming diplomas with SATs, Wondericks, and other IQ-like proxies, to signal competence. Employers realize that GPAs are becoming diluted due to grade inflation. This also explains why there is a push by the left to make these… Continue reading Improving Society and Policy
Utilitarianism and Consequentialism
There is some renewed debate about whether ‘Friendly AI’ can blackmail, also known as the Roko’s Basilisk problem. More information about it can be found here, here, here, and here. I’m kinda amazed by how much attention this has gotten, with stories even on Business Insider about the thought experiment. Roko’s Basilisk addresses an as-yet-nonexistent… Continue reading Utilitarianism and Consequentialism
Individualism Vs. Thede
There is a schism on ‘alt right’ (as well as the ‘mainstream right’) about individualism vs. ‘thede’ or state, and how to strike a balance between the two. First, an article about the radioactivity of individualism …which is contrasted by an article about the ‘borg’, denouncing the ills of too much collectivism. There is the… Continue reading Individualism Vs. Thede
He’s Right
From Yahoo finance Martin Shkreli is actually a great guy He’s right: Hard to accept that these imbeciles represent the people in our government. — Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) February 4, 2016 A ‘kakistocracy’ is defined as a government run by the incompetent, the opposite of a meritocracy or technocracy, which is the situation we have… Continue reading He’s Right
Free Speech, Democracy, and Crime
From iSteve: Kinsley on the Advantage of a Written First Amendment European countries, obviously, do not have a statute protecting ‘free speech’. The result is people are occasionally apprehended (severty of punishments vary, from being detained for a few hours or days or, in exceptional cases, imprisoned for years) for communication deemed ‘incendiary’ or a… Continue reading Free Speech, Democracy, and Crime
Consider Contraception
From iSteve: The Economist: Free Contraception for Africa Would be a Great Investment This an example how HBD-based policy can help curb social problems, be it entitlement spending, overpopulation of at-risk groups, or crime. Republicans need to get over this belief that every unborn life is sacred or is worth saving and instead consider HBD-based… Continue reading Consider Contraception
The Hivemind, Immigration, and IQ
From ricochet.com, A Review of Hive Mind: How Your Nation’s IQ Matters So Much More Than Your Own From the reviews on Amazon: The book’s primary and most important contribution is to document the following empirical regularity: Suppose you could a) improve your own IQ by 10 points, or b) improve the IQs of your… Continue reading The Hivemind, Immigration, and IQ
Classical Liberalism, Democracy, Libtertarianism, Nihilism, and NRx
From Peter A. Taylor The Resurrection of Classical Liberalism Here’s what I think happened. The US began as an expression of classical liberalism. The founders were steeped in John Locke’s ideas about natural rights, as modified and popularized by writers like James Otis, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson. What actually made it into the American… Continue reading Classical Liberalism, Democracy, Libtertarianism, Nihilism, and NRx
Public Policy and Obesity
seem oblivious to basic awareness of GMO, HFCS, refined sugars, fluoride, aspartame,… In the past, it was liberals who made a big deal about food additives, but interestingly, with the post-2013 rise of Red Pill, neo masculinity, and ‘gym culture’, and with the backlash against fat acceptance, conservatives are becoming the new ‘health nuts’, which… Continue reading Public Policy and Obesity