You don't have to know everything, but when you criticise a major figure on a specific issue, you should do at least some of your homework. July 2014
These are familiar arguments to many of us, almost to the point of my not including this. But the reasoning behind the common beliefs about spree killings is woeful. What we are sold is almost completely backwards. July 2015
The Myth of Gandhi. Originally from 1983. Available via the Wayback Machine
How Laissez-Faire Made Sweden Rich. It was more strongly socialist from 1970-1990. It has a strong social safety net, which as I have mentioned many times, is much easier when everyone looks like second cousins. It's getting harder for them now. But even before that there was plenty of free-market in Sweden. October 2013
Depression-Era economic history and the National Recovery Act. Originally August 2009. I don't remember how I came across it.
A study showing Democrats are moving left faster than Republicans are moving right. October 2015. I suggest that has accelerated, though I haven't a study to give evidence of that.
Zerohedge is often rude and insulting. This is just 9 graphs about the Obama economy. September 2015
Don Surber mentions some Billionaires for Bernie and questions their motives. August 2015
I suppose Republican ex-Governor Rick Perry of Texas doesn't much matter anymore, but his economic miracle had a catch to it. September 2011, and related to this study from 2014.
I like these posts. There are a lot of older articles that I never read.
ReplyDeleteA few days ago I was reading about the origin of many of the social programs in Sweden -- "poor relief" was set-up by the Church of Sweden, and then mandated of the church by the government for consistency between parishes, and then taken over. "Sick benefit" clubs provided secure income in case of disability, and then these societies were taken over by the government. Likewise in 1934 the private unemployment-insurance collectives became regulated (stick) but also subsidized (carrot).
ReplyDeleteBetween the established church, the employment-unions, and private insurance through clubs and collectives virtually all of the "socialist" programs and employment practices were established voluntarily and independently of the Swedish national government, but after they became near-universal they were subsumed into the government either explicitly or via regulation&subsidy.
Nevertheless, 75% of the roads are still privately owned and maintained.
That reminds me of the statistics quoted by those who support more gun control that European countries have much stricter laws and also have lower homicide rates. The difficulty is that the homicide rates went down long before the restrictive gun measures came in. We often pass laws to require or forbid whatever everyone is already doing or not doing of their own accord, in order to get the stragglers in line.
ReplyDeleteNote: The Myth of Gandhi is a broken link currently.
ReplyDeleteDan Kurt
https://www.commentarymagazine.com/articles/the-gandhi-nobody-knows/ seems like the one I read long ago.
ReplyDelete"He sang the praises of Subhas Chandra Bose, who, sponsored by first the Nazis and then the Japanese, organized in Singapore an Indian National Army with which he hoped to conquer India with Japanese support, establishing a totalitarian dictatorship"
Thank you.
ReplyDelete