Varieties of inequality
[I wrote this months ago, was dissatisfied, and decided not to post it. But now with all the reports about America’s poor, poor, pitiful 99%, it’d didn’t seem quite as silly.] I’d like to make some...
View ArticleDoes the porn industry point the way to a more equal America?
Unfortunately, the post itself will disappoint—just a test to see if I could bait people in with that headline. Here is Wired magazine: In the popular imagination, the eternal trope is that the porn...
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90% of Americans are middle class
[I slightly misread the table initially, and wrongly suggested 91%] One constantly sees articles about America’s shrinking middle class. Don’t believe them. The term “middle class” is obviously...
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There’s nothing wrong with neoliberalism (a rant)
I am seeing more and more articles, even at respectable outlets such as the Economist and the Financial Times, suggesting that the rise of right-wing and left-wing populism shows that something is...
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America’s “middle class” shrinks, as many move into the upper middle class
The Financial Times has a diagram showing that less than 50% of Americans are now viewed as “middle income”. Elsewhere I’ve pointed out that almost 90% of Americans self-identify as middle class, so...
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Utility: It’s (increasingly) all in your mind
We are long past the days of “fat cats”, when rich people could afford to eat more food than poor people. And I’d argue that this is increasingly true almost everywhere you look. When I was young, a...
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Mormons, Danes, and East Asians
I went to a public school in Madison, Wisconsin during the 1960s. That’s one of America’s most egalitarian cities in one of the most egalitarian decades. Only in retrospect do I realize what a...
View ArticlePoverty does not cause social problems (and the cream rises to the top)
Pity poor New Hampshire: Manchester is at the heart of New Hampshire‘s opioid epidemic, which has first responders, lawmakers and health care administrators scrambling for solutions before the...
View ArticleRead posts carefully
People tend to misread my posts. The recent post on poverty is a good example. Here’s what I believe. 1. On average, the poor tend to be less talented and hard working that the rich. 2. There is...
View ArticleVirtually all sources are wrong
Before explaining the title of this post, let me point out that I will be interviewed on monetary policy by Charlie Deist for 1 hour tomorrow morning (8-9am Sunday, Pacific time, or 11-12am, EST) Here...
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