The first ‘great experiment’ was secession from Britain. Yeah, some on the on the ‘NRx-sphere’ argue this was ‘bad’, but the data shows that secession succeeded, with the US economy not only surpassing Britain but becoming the biggest in the world, as well as a global military superpower. Fast forward a couple hundred years, the… Continue reading The Second ‘Great Experiment ‘
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What Martin Shkreli Says About America
I’ve mentioned Martin Shkreli a couple times here, posting some of his tweets. Martin Shkreli’s popularity is evidence we’re in a ‘smartist era’, where people’s intellectual contributions are more important than their character flaws. The synthesis of wealth and intellectualism is a defining characteristic of post-2008 America, culturally and economically, and few embody this synthesis… Continue reading What Martin Shkreli Says About America
He’s Right, Part 2
There’s a reason they call him Senile Sanders: @coach_irish was hoping he would buy an economics textbook — Martin Shkreli (@MartinShkreli) March 13, 2016 The graphs below show that wages for men have actually fallen more than for women, that the gender gap has narrowed since the 80’s, and that the decline was most likely… Continue reading He’s Right, Part 2
Marshmallow ‘deferers’ vs. ‘eaters’
Since 2008, economically and socially, we’re also seeing the rise of the ‘deferers’ – the high-IQ kids who deferred eating the marshmallow, now grown-up, and are reaping all the fruits of prosperity in our ‘new economy’, getting richer than ever while the ‘eaters’ are on the lower echelons of society, stuck with crappy, low social… Continue reading Marshmallow ‘deferers’ vs. ‘eaters’
National Review Writer: Working-Class Communities ‘Deserve To Die’
Online, there is a storm brewing over NRO’s Kevin Williamson’s derisive comments about working-class communities, with outrage from pretty much everyone. Here is the pertinent passage: “The truth about these dysfunctional, downscale communities is that they deserve to die. Economically, they are negative assets. Morally, they are indefensible,” More information here and here. You have… Continue reading National Review Writer: Working-Class Communities ‘Deserve To Die’
IQ: It Still Predicts A lot
The Bermuda Triangle of Science Nonetheless, the evidentiary base regarding the existence of general intelligence and its ability to predict important life outcomes — including health, longevity and mortality, as well as other key variables — is beyond compelling, it’s overwhelming. And if you find yourself feeling like you can do damage to this evidence… Continue reading IQ: It Still Predicts A lot
Stock Bull Market Continues, Seven Years Later
The 2009 bull market is third-longest in history: Seven-Year Anniversary: From the Depths of the Crisis, a Bull Run If you go back to the archives and other posts, you will see that I was among the few pundits who called for a continuation the bull market, even as far back as 2011, as everyone… Continue reading Stock Bull Market Continues, Seven Years Later
NRx and Capitalism
From Reactionary Future: Zizek nails it The very architects of the Cathedral have been “Randian” heroes. The idea that capital will flee the Cathedral is absurd, as is the idea that the elite will shut up shop and walk – they made this mess and they think it is great. Look at all the great… Continue reading NRx and Capitalism
The ‘Great American Article’
From Wikipedia, The Great American Novel: The “Great American Novel” is the concept of a novel that shows the culture of the United States of America at a specific time. It is presumed to be written by an American author who is knowledgeable about the state, culture, and perspective of the common American citizen. The… Continue reading The ‘Great American Article’
The Daily View 3/8/2016
Homework is wrecking our kids: The research is clear, let’s ban elementary homework And the Reddit discussion, which is more valuable than the article. A common thread among commenters, growing up, is that homework was tedious and useless, yet scored high on tests, which is a common trait among smart people, who tend to test… Continue reading The Daily View 3/8/2016