March 30, 2008
Some quick thoughts on race...
So: When our government conducted studies, they found that African Americans were more likely to be given subprime mortgages than whites-- even when "race" was the only difference between the applicants. At the same time, when identical resumes are submitted, the only difference being the name up top, the "African American" name tends to be a large disadvantage.
These are just 2 of the many slights African Americans put up with-- not even counting the daily slings and arrows that American society reserves specially for minorities. Viewed in that context, its somewhat amazing that race riots aren't more common than they are. Certainly, they make Rev. Wright's comments meaningful...
Posted by Andrew at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2007
Where have you gone old McDonald, The Nation turns it's lonely eyes to you...
So: Industry beef is bad, causing the FDA to be created. The FDA protects eaters consumers by making sure that food won't kill us. Some farms don't like this, and The Nation complains
The basis of the complaint seems to be that... some farms are special. I dunno. From where I am sitting I most certainly do not want any food to evade inspection on the say-so of the farmer. Here's the thing: if the government starts making exemptions for the non-corporate farms, how long does The Nation think it will be until corporate farms start demanding the same "fair" treatment? I'd guess about 5 minutes.
Keep the health and safety laws on the books and enforced. Special privileges for certain farms will quickly become general privileges wielded by the rich. And then people start dying again...
Posted by Andrew at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2006
The rich are different from you and me...
In that they have freedom from Want. What the Rich want, as Py Korry explains is the same sort of things that you and I want...
I’m not sure that I share his sense that this is at all strange. By and large income inequality isn’t _so_ great that there are that many rich-only consumption options. Furthermore, as the book Trading up explains, often the middle class will show their aspirations to wealth by buying a single luxury good and making up for it with several lower-quality goods. So the Rich can be identified by the fact that they buy a lot of the same sorts of goods that you and I might buy a few of. Fascinating stuff...
The other thing to keep in mind is that individual’s tastes tend to stay the same. By and large American wealth is earned, rather than inherited. This will begin to change as the Inheritance tax is phased out, but for now Bill Gate’s isn’t passing all that much onto his children. So someone with middle-class tastes is going to have middle-class tastes until the day they die. Their children, though might be different...
We’ll just have to wait and see...
Posted by Andrew at 09:34 AM | Comments (1)
May 05, 2006
Quick hit
A rising tide that lifts only yachts - Los Angeles Times
I swear normal blogging will begin soon. But for now:
the median household was no more likely to move up the economic ladder during the 2003-04 expansion than it was during the 1990-91 recession. Think about that for a second — the average household's income was just as likely to increase during the last severe recession as the latest expansion. For most, the good times now are little better than the bad.
As I’ve been saying for a while, if we really want to see the economy start to zoom, we’ll simply raise the minimum wage to around US$8.50/hr. A lot of people who currently can scarcely afford rent could start affording DVDs, new shoes, books, and all sorts of consumer goods they currently cannot. That ought to be enough to get the whole economy humming again...
Posted by Andrew at 10:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 22, 2005
Sacred Cows
The global poverty rate is US$1.00 per day. That’s not much. When was the last time you bought lunch for a buck? I don’t know that I ever have. Roughly half of humanity doesn’t get even that dollar...
So, how much do you think the EU and it’s constituent governments pay for each Cow per day? More or less than the global poverty line? More? Twice as much? How about 2.6 times as much. Seems a bit excessive, doesn’t it? As, I am sure, my over use of rhetorical questions in this essay...
The thing is, the one thing poor countries can do is make food. Agriculture is the absolute basis of a developing economy. And if they can make food cheaper than industrial nations, they can earn much needed capital. That capital can then be used for basic infrastructural improvements and an educational system that is up to 1st world standards...
To even begin doing that, they need to be on anything like a level playing field with 1st world agricultural producers. The EU (and incidentally the US) has the power to do this. Doing so would save their governments a lot of money. Doing so would also tend to hurt politicians in vote-rich agricultural areas, so it might not happen any time soon. I wonder which nations have the moral leadership to make the first move...
Posted by Andrew at 12:30 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
September 11, 2005
Zimbabwe: still a mess
BBC NEWS | Africa | Zimbabwe's economy - still on the brink
Posted by Andrew at 12:22 AM | TrackBack
April 24, 2003
Mugabe the Monster
I remember the first time I heard of starvation as a political tactic by the Monster Mugabe, I shouted "fine, if they don't want the food, let them starve!" Some co-workers were horrified and I quickly amended it: "No, I take that back, only the monster who actually ordered the famine in the first place should die. The rest of the population should stay alive and healthy"...
I still feel that way, so it is heartening that the Zimbabweans agree. Of course, the co-workers of mine still don't. One of them actually attended the Durban Disgrace, so perhaps it shouldn't be too surprising...
(Via the I-Man)
I can't say that I am not in favor of taking out any shitty tin-pot dictator that crosses CNN. Indeed, I believe I have been quite clear on believing that to be America's historical mission...
Posted by Andrew at 11:48 AM | Comments (0)