Consumption Rules

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In his book, The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies, Bryan Caplan poses an interesting theory: perhaps systematic bias exists in the body politic that causes the general masses to consistently vote for bad policies. In other words, do the American people misunderstand basic economic principles, and therefore fall victim to the comforting words of empty campaign promises? After watching tonight’s GOP debate I think that may be true…

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From the desk of Governor Schwarzenegger comes one of the most nonsensical bills (now law) in recent memory:

[From World Net Daily]:

…The bills signed by Schwarzenegger include SB777, which bans anything in public schools that could be interpreted as negative toward homosexuality, bisexuality and other alternative lifestyle choices.

There are no similar protections for students with traditional or conservative lifestyles and beliefs, however.

“SB 777 will result in reverse discrimination against students with religious and traditional family values,” said Meredith Turney, legislative liaison for Capitol Resource Institute. “These students have lost their voice as the direct result of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s unbelievable decision. The terms ‘mom and dad’ or ‘husband and wife’ could promote discrimination against homosexuals if a same-sex couple is not also featured.

“Parents want the assurance that when their children go to school they will learn the fundamentals of reading, writing and arithmetic – not social indoctrination regarding alternative sexual lifestyles. Now that SB777 is law, schools will in fact become indoctrination centers for sexual experimentation,” she said.

England told WND that the law is not a list of banned words, including “mom” and “dad.” But she said the requirement is that the law bans discriminatory bias.

“Having ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ promotes a discriminatory bias. You have to either get rid of ‘mom’ and ‘dad’ or include everything when talking about [parental issues],” she said. “They [promoters of sexual alternative lifestyles] do consider that discriminatory.”
(more…)

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Raise tax revenue, like Barack Obama, or decrease benefits, like Fred Thompson? It’s one or the other, so which would you choose?

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This interview with Mitt Romney, from Saturday’s Wall Street Journal, was a fair representation of his true intentions. An interesting read, if not a refreshing bit of honest analysis:

“I love data.” Mitt Romney has been speaking for less than two minutes when he makes this profession.

The former Massachusetts governor is meeting with the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal to discuss his campaign for the presidency. And he starts not with the economy, “global jihad” or the country as a whole, but with himself.

While some have questioned Mr. Romney’s authenticity, the immediate impression he gives is that he speaks straight from the heart. Especially where data are concerned. “I used to call it ‘wallowing in the data,’” Mr. Romney continues. “Let me see the data. I want to see the client’s data, the competitors’ data. I want to see all the data.”

This is not only a description of his approach to business. It sums up his political outlook: “You may ask me questions about topics that I haven’t studied in depth. I’ll be happy to give you my assessment of what I think at this point. But before I would actually make a decision on a very important topic, I would really study it in depth.”

At one level, this is a caveat so obvious that most politicians wouldn’t bother offering it. But Mr. Romney gives the impression that this is a methodological first principle so important to how he does things that he wants everyone he meets to understand it about him.
(more…)

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I know it’s an updside down election season, but why aren’t the candidates talking about the economy more?

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We have four more weeks of longer daylight this year than last in an effort to save energy–is it working? (Why do we still change our clocks, again?):

[From the Number Guy at the WSJ]:

When Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Fred Upton, a Michigan Republican, introduced the bill, they said the extension could save Americans the equivalent of 100,000 barrels of oil a day — an estimate repeated frequently in the media. But that statistic relied on figures from 1974, when President Nixon sprung clocks forward early, in January, during an energy crisis.

Since the 1970s, however, Americans’ behavior and the range of appliances they use have changed dramatically.

(more…)

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