The present rate of technology adoption is nearly a vertical line —@blackrock https://t.co/3oS3YAI4ld—
Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) January 22, 2016
The ‘hollowing’ of the American middle class
04 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in economic history, labour economics, politics - USA, poverty and inequality Tags: child poverty, family poverty, technology diffusion, The Great Enrichment
More proof of the unreliability of renewable energy
01 Aug 2016 Leave a comment
in energy economics, environmental economics, politics - Australia Tags: hydroelectric power, reading myths, renewable energy, Tasmania
The Lake Pedder dam is full for the first time since 1988. A few months ago, Tasmanian hydroelectric lake levels were 13% with 6% the level at which the entire system shuts down.
Just how anti-science are the @NZGreens?
01 Aug 2016 2 Comments
in economics of regulation, environmental economics, global warming, health economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: Anti-Science left, anti-vaccination movement, climate alarmism, fluoridation, global warming, GMOs, New Zealand Greens, vaccinations, vaccines
One out of four for accepting the consensus position in the sciences of climate change, GMOs, vaccines and fluoridation. A rather disappointing scoreboard for the New Zealand Greens.
Let us start with the good: the position on climate science from the Greens policy platform:
We must act according to credible science on climate change, which demands urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible, and sustained action to safely remove excess greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
Let us move on to the bad which is GMOs, quoting from their platform
The Green Party believes that Genetic engineering should occur within a contained laboratory setting only. Our food and our environment must be kept GE Free. To this end, the Green Party will:
Ban the commercial release and field trials of GE organisms.
Prohibit field-testing or production of GE foods within New Zealand.
Work towards a ban on GE food imports.
Require safety testing for any imported GE food or commodity that is allowed to enter the New Zealand food supply.
Allow gene technology in secure containment to continue to be used subject to assessment by the Environmental Risk Management Agency.
Now let us move on to the ugly which is vaccinations, again quoting from their platform, which is not to mention it at all. Greens health spokesman Kevin Hague said
Our official position is influenced by the fact that we do not have a firm policy on it as we don’t have consensus from our members. However there are some key points on which we all do agree;
- Immunisation is an individual medical choice, and should never be mandatory. Nor should it be promoted in a way that makes people feel pressured into being immunised, or immunising their children.
- Parents should have access to impartial information which provides them with information about the risks and benefits of immunisation, so that all individuals (and parents in the case of children) can make an informed decision about immunisation.
- Parents should not be penalised for not immunising their children, nor should there be incentive payments or rewards or access to other goods and services, or any linking of immunisation to benefit entitlement.
- Some parents will choose to have their child immunised against some diseases, but not others. No parents should be forced to make a decision between their child having all immunisations or having none.
That strike two so now let us move on to the decidedly ugly which is fluoridation
The presumption that parents know the best interests of their children requires very strong evidence before it is overturned. Of course, you do not have too tolerate their unvaccinated children coming to school to infect your children. It is another thing for the Green Party of New Zealand to see both sides of the fluoridation argument:
C. Fluoridation of Community Water Supplies
The issue of fluoridating community water supplies requires a difficult balance between the public health effects and the rights of individuals to opt out altogether or avoid excessive intake. The Party membership has indicated that when considering fluoridation proposals, the Green Party caucus shall:
- Have particular regard to the public health benefits of fluoridated community water supplies.
- Have particular regard to the potential public health risks of excessive fluoride consumption via community water supplies.
- Have regard for the ability of individuals to opt out.
The Green Party will:
- Support the use of ‘opt-out’ options by local authorities for residents living in areas with fluoridated public water supplies, where shown to be feasible.
- Commission an independent study on the impacts of fluoridation to public health.
- Support education initiatives to advise caregivers of the potential for babies to develop dental fluorosis when mixing formula with fluoridated water
One out of four is not good enough considering how prissy this Greens are about scientific consensus on climate change.
#feelthe bernie debunked by #MiltonFriedman
31 Jul 2016 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economics, politics - USA Tags: 2016 presidential elections
Political leanings of American professors @robhosking
29 Jul 2016 2 Comments
in economics of education, labour economics, occupational choice, politics - New Zealand, politics - USA Tags: academic bias
Sociologists are rather level-headed compared to that hotbed of political bias, which is American history professors. Hardly any of them see themselves as a Republican. I must take back a few nasty things I said about political bias and sociologists.
Source: THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL VIEWS OF AMERICAN PROFESSORS Neil Gross and Solon Simmons, Working Paper, September 24, 2007
Film review: All the Presidents Men (1976)
28 Jul 2016 2 Comments
in movies, politics - USA Tags: Watergate scandal
This movie was on late-night TV. I have not seen it before so I thought I give it a look.
There are a number of big films from that era that I missed because I was too young when they are first released; later on I always ended up borrowing something else at the video shop. It helps to be an American political junkie because you understand much better who are number of the people are.
The reviews of the time describe it as spellbinding. For me, I found it rather chaotic where these two junior reporters splashing around in the dark, often relying on the fact that they knew someone who is the boyfriend or girlfriend of somebody junior in the organisation they are interested in. How a journalist of 9 months experience acquired Deep Throat as their source is not explained well. If it was, it was quick and I missed it.
The film starts with a simple report of the arrest of 5 burglars who broke into the Democratic National party headquarters in early 1972.
For all the CIA training of those involved, they never heard of hiding in plain sight. They immediately attracted suspicion because of the big end of town lawyers representing some burglars including one who gave his occupation as a retired CIA officer. The 5 burglars should have accepted court-appointed lawyers especially as their lawyers turned up despite their not making any phone calls to ask for an independent lawyer.
There is a tremendous amount of grunt work in the film. Countless cold phone calls and even going to the Library of Congress to check every book the White House asked for by going through thousands and thousands of paper request cards manually themselves.
Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) was highly competitive and a little more experienced than his partner Bob Woodward (Robert Redford), who was very ambitious and a dog for details.
The film is complicated with the step-by-step way in which they linked the burglars back to high people in the White House by the time in which the Republican bench and nominated Nixon. Most of the time they simply ask questions of people who answered even though they had no reason to do so.
Late in the movie one of the editors expressed scepticism about the whole conspirac theory because he could not work out why the Republicans would do it.
George McGovern, who was a far left candidate, was self-destructing before their eyes around the time of the burglary. 1/3rd of Democrats could not bring themselves to vote for him; Nixon won by a landslide. I believe it is on tape that Nixon first found out about the burglary, he asked who was the arsehole who authorise that.
@metiria house prices won’t drop 40% by raising taxes, banning foreigners
27 Jul 2016 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, politics - New Zealand, urban economics Tags: housing affordability, land supply, New Zealand Greens, RMA, zoning
Just increase the supply of land. Extending the capital gains tax and banning foreigners from buying land will do no good. An average house price 10 times the average income in Auckland is not a demand-side problem.
Source: Is Your Town Building Enough Housing? – Trulia’s Blog.
There are plenty of examples of US cities with different land supply restrictions but common national surges in demand for housing such as prior to the GFC. Cities with liberal land supply experienced only small increases in house prices.
Source: Regionally, Housing Rebound Depends on Jobs, Local Supply Tightness – The Long-Awaited Housing Recovery – 2013 Annual Report – Dallas Fed from Federal Housing Finance Agency; Bureau of Economic Analysis; “The Geographic Determinants of Housing Supply,” by Albert Saiz, Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 125, no. 3, 2010, pp. 1253–96.
The Greens should follow ACT and the Labour Party in calling for the abolition of the Auckland urban limit and changes in council finances so they can fund the necessary infrastructure quickly.
Gary Johnson and William Weld on Hillary, Trump, and Why You Should Vote Libertarian
27 Jul 2016 Leave a comment
in libertarianism, politics - USA Tags: 2016 presidential election
A far right populist contradicts the median voter theorem
25 Jul 2016 Leave a comment
in constitutional political economy, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: British politics, left-wing populism, Leftover Left, median voter theorem, right-wing popularism, Twitter left
Hanson, Trump, UKIP, Alternative for Germany, Marine Le Pen, and the anti-immigration but pro-welfare state populist parties in northern Europe are all smeared by the media as far right parties but also are described as right-wing populists. Media bias is still constrained by the median voter theorem.
You cannot be on the far right but win lots of votes because the extremes of the political spectrum account for few votes. What do you think left-wingers stay within the Labour Party despite wanting its leader to be tried for war crimes.
Even in proportional representation systems, few far right and far left party set up on their own two feet and survive because of thresholds to win seats. There are Communist parties in European parliaments but their representation is small except for the Bundestag.
You cannot get into the 2nd round of the French presidential election, come 2nd in 40 British Labour Party seats, win the safest Labour Party seats in Queensland, and be attacked from Ted Cruz from the right and still be a far right winger.
All right-wing populist parties combine that heady brew of nationalism,opposition to immigration and free trade, and staunch support of the welfare state. Not surprisingly, something like 40% of their votes come from the traditional labour parties and social democratic parties.
Countering their appeal to the electorate cannot start with saying that anyone who votes for them is weird because the secret ballot allow secret malice.
The left is surprisingly bad at playing catch-up in identity politics. As one UKIP supporter said, I am a white working class Englishmen not on the benefit so Labour does not speak for me.
An inquiry established by Labour’s former policy chief, Jon Cruddas, MP found that Labour needs to
“stop patronising socially conservative Ukip voters and recognise the ways in which Ukip appeals to former Labour voters”, the report says, adding: “Labour is becoming a toxic brand. It is perceived by voters as a party that supports an ‘open door’ approach to immigration, lacks credibility on the economy, and is a ‘soft touch’ on welfare spending.”
At present, the report argues, Labour is “largely a party of progressive, social liberals who value principles such as equality, sustainability, and social justice.
It is losing connection with large parts of the voter population who are either pragmatists in their voting habits or social conservatives who value family, work, fairness and their country.” It adds: “Labour is becoming dangerously out of touch with the electorate and … unwilling to acknowledge this growing estrangement.”
Gary Johnson on Bill Maher
24 Jul 2016 Leave a comment
in politics - USA Tags: 2016 presidential election
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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