This article is going slightly viral: Talent Effects and Inequality It’s as if he just discovered the Matthew effect. People who are rich and successful tend to become richer and more successful. For example, Jordan Peterson and Ben Shapiro, both of whom have seen their popularity surge in 2018, even after large gains in 2017.… Continue reading Winner-take-all economics

In these online discussions about wealth inequality, a solution that frequently comes up is wealth redistribution. A utilitarian argument is often invoked that if the wealth of the very top were spread among many people, there would be ‘more good’. It’s pretty easy to demonstrate why this argument fails. As discussed in Elon Musk Schools… Continue reading The Wealth Inequality Debate: Why Wealth Redistribution is Not the Answer

Online, the wealth inequality debate rages on. Here are two recent stories that generated significant discussion: Jeff Bezos Becomes the Richest Man in Modern History, Topping $150B The Inequality Demagogues People want to know, will inequality lead to revolution? Will it keep widening? Is wealth redistribution the answer? To answer those: no, yes, and no.… Continue reading The Wealth Inequality Debate: Revolution & Living Standards

You can predict one’s ideology and overall perspective on the world by their opinion of China. Those who are optimistic about China tend to be more successful financially, and or subscribe to a neocon or neoliberal worldview. They tend to be optimistic about technology, markets, and human nature, although this is not the same as… Continue reading The China Test

Most Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of Putin summit Fifty-five percent of respondents said they disapproved of Trump’s handling of the summit, including 83% of Democrats and 53% of independents. Just 21% of Republicans disapprove — with 68% of Republicans saying the approve of how Trump dealt with the meeting. By ‘most’, they mean 55%,… Continue reading Putin summit nothingburger

With the S&P 500 finally retaking 2800 after a small sell-off in February, it looks like I was right again to buy the dip and to ignore the naysayers who predict crisis and recession and who have been constantly wrong since 2009, and will continue to be wrong for the foreseeable future. On February 12,… Continue reading The Stock Market Keeps Going Up: More Correct Predictions

Looks like I was right again, in early 2017 predicting Trump would not be impeached. As the Muller investigation showed, The DNC hacks had nothing to do with Trump’s campaign, but rather were the result of Russians hacking Podesta’s email account, although in Podesta’s defense, phishing emails are realistic enough that many cannot differentiate between… Continue reading Trump Impeachment Odds Now the Lowest Ever

As a follow-up to my earlier post moral nihilism, a question I kept pondering is, why should anyone be moral? After some contemplation, the answer is, within certain limitation, there is no reason to be moral. As echoed by Lion, sociopathy pays, but I will add the caveat that only up to certain point. Those… Continue reading Is Morality Overrated?

A 1996 speech by Peter Thiel, What is Multiculturalism Really About?, went viral: If not for the date, one would easily think he was talking about today, but it was over 20 years ago when he gave that talk. So that’s a pretty long time ago, and gives an opportunity to test how well his… Continue reading Peter Thiel: What is Multiculturalism Really About

This tweet yesterday from Elon Musk went hugely viral: According to the comments on Reddit and Twitter, by my estimate 90% are in agreement. The SJW-left (in contrast to the classical-liberal left) don’t understand that it’s the rich who create jobs. [1] That’s just an inescapable part of economic reality. But the good news is,… Continue reading Elon Musk Schools Twitter