Tuesday, August 29, 2017
On Capital Punishment
Saturday, August 26, 2017
Tax Reform
As I am not running for office, I can tell the truth: we need to collect more tax revenue. Why? So that our National Debt doesn’t reach Mars before we do. No politician ever won an election saying that he wants to raise your taxes, even though it is what we must do (and in your mind, if not your heart, you know I speak the truth). But I am not running for office. So, here goes nothing.
It
is the case that in the last 15 years, the federal government has run deficits,
not surpluses, in every year. It is the
case that in the last 47 years, the federal government has run deficits in all
but 4 years (so, 91% of the time). It is
the case that since 1952, in the last 64 years, the federal government has run
deficits in all but 7 of those years (so, 89% of the time). We are addicted to deficits because we don’t
want to pay for what we want to have, but we never elect anyone who wants to
raise our taxes so that we could pay
for what we want.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Planet of the Apes
I love the Planet of the Apes
movies, especially the recent ones with Andy Serkis playing Caesar, the first
of the “smart” (or chemically modified) apes.
We root for the apes
against the humans, don’t we, not because they are different, or inferior, or
stupider. We root for them because the
humans treat them unfairly, for whatever reason (“they are only apes”). I think this is true for every movie where the
“star” is non-human (Bambi, Flipper, King Kong, ET); and humans always treat
them as expendable, worthless. But we in
the audience relate to them as though they are human, as though they are victims,
and as though they are heroic and worthy of our respect, and our love.
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
At a Loss
I just bought a box of 100 “caplets” of OTC drug xxx (none of your business!) from Target, their generic store brand Up&Up, for $5.99. Right next to it was the same exact drug, same store brand, in “softgel” form, with a count of 24, for $7.39! The shelf labels accurately displayed the “unit cost” (per 100), $5.99 for caplets and $30.76 for softgels! Softgels were more than five times more expensive than caplets, the same damn thing, 5x as expensive. The cost for a year: $21.86 for caplets and $112.27 for softgels. $90 / year difference, for an inconsequential item!
Thursday, August 17, 2017
The Alt-Left
There was no Alt-Left until Trump invented it. Actually, all our wordsmith president said was “There is blame on both sides” and some journalist made up “Alt-Left” as a counter to Alt-Right (an umbrella label for right-wing extremist groups).
So, who makes up the Alt-Left? As the Alt-Right actually exists, it’s easier to define its membership. So, the Alt-Right consists of the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, White Nationalists, white supremacists, some extreme NRA members, Hell’s Angels, Vigilante groups, Survivalist groups. More than anyone else, they tend to be white and Christian and male and straight, even if most white Christian straight males are not Alt-Right themselves. They believe that they alone are true Americans. They are not just conservative, they are fringe conservative.
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Stupid Libertarians
I entitled this essay “Stupid Libertarians” to get your attention, or maybe the attention of self-identifying Libertarians.
Some of the smartest friends I have ever had were Libertarians. I never understood why they were Libertarians, and I think that we argued at cross-purposes, each of us not really understanding the other.
And I know that there are different flavors of Libertarianism. But they have a common core.
Sunday, August 6, 2017
Repeal and Replace
Republicans are in trouble. Repeal and Replace is a great campaign slogan but it is fraught with land mines that are armed and dangerous.
Tuesday, August 1, 2017
Intro to Ben's Care
If you are young, reasonably healthy, have a decent job with employer-paid health insurance, you may well wonder: why is health care such an important political issue in the United States? But you may know the answer anyway: 1) too many Americans have no access to health care because of poverty or bad health, and 2) over-all, health care costs our economy way too much (17.8% of the GDP on its way to 20% by 2024).
But before I begin my pitch, may I ask you about your last doctor visit. Do you know how much your doctor billed your insurance? Do you care how much he or she billed your insurance? How much would you care if you had to pay for the visit yourself? And knowing how much he or she charged, would you have made the appointment in the first place? No, really, answer these questions honestly before reading on.
Onward.
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