Saturday, January 26, 2008
Minimum Wage
An interesting factoid from the post What Sets Wages on Cafe Hayek.
I don't like the minimum wage law, never have. In part that's because my first job was at age 13. I was not exploited, I was given an opportunity I wanted. I don't see what interest my government should have in preventing that. But I am relieved to find out that the actual proportion of the work force at the minimum wage is so low. While I find it philosophically objectionable, its practical effect is nil.
I often ask students or people attending my lectures to guess the proportion of the US work force that earns the Federal minimum wage or less. The median guess is usually around 20%. In 2006 (the latest numbers available), the BLS reports that the answer was 2.2%
I don't like the minimum wage law, never have. In part that's because my first job was at age 13. I was not exploited, I was given an opportunity I wanted. I don't see what interest my government should have in preventing that. But I am relieved to find out that the actual proportion of the work force at the minimum wage is so low. While I find it philosophically objectionable, its practical effect is nil.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Nuts
Ben Bernanke, the other Big Ben, shot my black swan today. I was ready, my targets were picked. I was about to do all of my trading for the next 3 years in about 1 hour.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
An Early Entry for Darwin Awards 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Steyn on Change
Some sense on the buzzword of the day in the OC Register:
You should read it all - the tale of the CD's is amazing.
But it's capitalism that's the real "agent of change." Politicians, on the whole, prefer stasis, at least on everything for which they already have responsibility. That's the lesson King Canute was trying to teach his courtiers when he took them down to the beach and let the tide roll in: Government has its limits. In most of the Western world, the tide is rolling in on demographically and economically unsustainable entitlements, but that doesn't stop politicians getting out their beach chairs and promising to create even more. That's government "change".
You should read it all - the tale of the CD's is amazing.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Hillary Circles the Drain
An emotional moment does not sink a candidate. They can, for example, openly mourn lost soldiers or citizens without demeaning themselves. But they cannot cry in self-pity after decades of haughty intellectually-superior abrasiveness. Hillary's never been likable, but she's commanded respect. No longer.
The Rasmussen Reports puts Obama up by 10% in tomorrow's NH primary - but the margin will be much larger. I predict she'll end up 3'rd, behind Edwards. There are few states that will have less sympathy for the ogre of the party crying in despair than New Hampshire. She's toast, she'll be out of the race after the loss in South Carolina. What a collapse! On January 2, national Democratic party front-runner, on January 7, finished. Hero to zero in 5 days.
I have no sympathy - she's been a merciless operator for a long time. In this, I suspect, I'm alot like the voters who'll be going to the polls tomorrow.
Live Free or Die
The Rasmussen Reports puts Obama up by 10% in tomorrow's NH primary - but the margin will be much larger. I predict she'll end up 3'rd, behind Edwards. There are few states that will have less sympathy for the ogre of the party crying in despair than New Hampshire. She's toast, she'll be out of the race after the loss in South Carolina. What a collapse! On January 2, national Democratic party front-runner, on January 7, finished. Hero to zero in 5 days.
I have no sympathy - she's been a merciless operator for a long time. In this, I suspect, I'm alot like the voters who'll be going to the polls tomorrow.
Live Free or Die
Friday, January 04, 2008
I support: 'Your Name Here' for President
The Iowa caucuses don't look an awful lot like representative democracy - but whatever they are - their work here is done. The combination of media uber-hype on the importance of Iowa and the foreshortened effective primary window of 33 days has opened a lane to the basket for an unvetted candidate. Remember all the analyst noise about Fred Thompson waiting too long to jump in? Wrong my friends. He jumped in too early, way way too early. Giuliani seems as old as Clinton. Mike Huckabee is the flavor of the moment.
The republican party is decomposing into Christian populists and a secular/libertarian Goldwater right. Huckabee is the catalyst for the reaction. I find him incoherent, way too pious, and completely inadequate on national security, particularly immigration which is the only element of national security policy on which he has said or done anything to be evaluated on. But if he survives the next month without too many rocks getting turned over and with his good humor intact - he could be the republican nominee - squandering the only real republican advantage left - that we are the adult party with respect to national security. Republicans can no longer claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility.
And if so - my support will go to: the independent candidate. If you've been considering a run - it's not too late to get in. It may be too early.
The republican party is decomposing into Christian populists and a secular/libertarian Goldwater right. Huckabee is the catalyst for the reaction. I find him incoherent, way too pious, and completely inadequate on national security, particularly immigration which is the only element of national security policy on which he has said or done anything to be evaluated on. But if he survives the next month without too many rocks getting turned over and with his good humor intact - he could be the republican nominee - squandering the only real republican advantage left - that we are the adult party with respect to national security. Republicans can no longer claim to be the party of fiscal responsibility.
And if so - my support will go to: the independent candidate. If you've been considering a run - it's not too late to get in. It may be too early.
