Trigger warning: going into full Grinch mode! Why is there poverty? The Occupy movement pointed to the illegitimate appropriation of wealth by “the 1%.” I am looking in vain for a glimmer of that understanding in the Global Citizens Movement. … Continue reading
“In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, French economist Thomas Piketty documents how wealth is becoming concentrated in ever fewer hands. This might not be a problem, were it not that capital is increasingly owned by shitheads.” — Harry Hutton See … Continue reading
Last night was a deeply weird experience — watching the “FX Download” version of the movie Avatar. I’d seen the movie when it first came out, thought I’d do it again. Mistake. I’m aware of all the clichés in the story … Continue reading
After my response to Steve Randy Waldman on the Universal Basic Income proposal, I got into a Twitter scrum with one Morgan Warstler (MW) and Bro. Waldman. I was under the impression that MW was promoting the UBI and promised to respond … Continue reading
“I am looking for a sound means which I can recommend to provide at once security against several of the great disturbing factors in life–especially those which relate to unemployment and old age. I believe there should be a maximum … Continue reading
In matters of criminal justice, in contrast to all my hippie, crunchy, rec-room-Bolshevik tendencies, I lean towards an Old Testament posture. I relish revenge, not excluding associated righteous violence. This is purely on a fantasy level. Governments in the U.S. … Continue reading
Annals of the United States of Lyncherdom: the fix is in for the murder of Michael Brown. By now there are six witnesses to the incident. Their stories are all pretty much the same. In the face of this, “Prosecuting … Continue reading
We speak but we also listen. Responses to commenters, in reverse order (most recent threads first) Sandwichman: Sure a UBI on the receiving side, without disturbing anything else, is an unalloyed good. But there is more to it than that. … Continue reading
Commenters point me to some illuminating work on the UBI by Ed Dolan (‘ED’). The chief burden of the UBI for some is the potentially harmful effect on work incentives. I do not share this misgiving myself. As a matter … Continue reading
My friends at Vox keep banging away for the so-called Universal Basic Income, or “UBI”, so I have to keep banging back. There have also been substantive comments here. I will try to respond to them, but it might be … Continue reading
