I have been meaning to post a longer, thoughtful piece on the topic of the Occupy Wall Street movement going on in America (and now seemingly across the globe). I have however, largely been consumed recently by such things as looking for work, going to school, etc and so consequently have yet to really have time to sit down and articulate my thoughts on this issue. As a temporary substitute for this however, I would like to offer the following which I found on YouTube. It expresses in a nutshell many of the things I wish to communicate and share with the well intending participants of the OWS movement.
I hope you'll watch it and take the message into consideration. I will be back to expand more on this item later. As always, thank you for visiting. I hope you'll comment, share, subscribe, re-post, etc.
An Open Message To The 99% :
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
John Locke Would Approve:
If you're not familiar with Doug Stanhope... then you clearly haven't pressed play on the video below. Shame on you.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Apparently I Am The 17% :
Up until only a few days ago, I’d never really invested much thought into the subject of minimum wage laws. Like most, I sort of took it for basic common sense that when you raise the minimum wage, you raise the standard of living for those who are generally poor, under-skilled, etc.
However, recently I’ve heard some discussion from some political candidates seeking the Presidency about abolishing the minimum wage altogether. Suffice it to say this really peaked my curiosities. I mean, why the hell would you say something like that while trying to gain as many votes as possible?!?! Isn’t it simply the conventional wisdom that the minimum wage is a good thing, and if anything needs to be raised?
So I set out to explore what possible case there could be for eliminating the minimum wage laws in America. What I found was stunning, and almost embarrassing in a way. How had I never stopped to look at this before?!? One of the more recent polls I saw stated that 83% of Americans believe that the minimum wage is a good thing. I would hazard a guess however to say that the overwhelming majority of those 83% have never really sat down and challenged that belief on their own and taken some time out to study the causes and effects on this matter. Having done so, I can say now that I am not part of this 83%...
I am the 17%.
Provided below are just some of the most interesting things I’ve come across regarding this subject. If you are going to pursue researching this subject, may I recommend doing so with an open and curious mind, rather than entering into it to argue in favor of your current beliefs. I sort of address this more in my “Courtroom Of The Mind” posting.
Below are some links to various articles, videos, etc which I’ve been looking at lately. They go to give case examples, and explain some of the theoretical ideologies behind this notion of eliminating the minimum wage. If you find other articles/videos etc, relating to this subject, please share them in the comments section because I would love to learn more about this topic. I hope you’ll read, watch, comment and share with friends and family. Thank you as always for visiting.
Wage Laws Squeeze South Africa's Poor:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/world/africa/27safrica.html?pagewanted=all
Eliminating Minimum Wage, Solving Unemployment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlVFWixxARU
The Western Right: The Case Against Minimum Wage:
http://wmugop.blogspot.com/2007/02/case-against-minimum-wage.html
The Job-Killing Impact Of Minimum Wage Laws:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMMN3UIQmEk
Milton Friedman - The Consequences Of Minimum Wage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1HAbdUw7KE
There are plenty more sources that look at the causes and effects of the minimum wage, but the above should help to get you started on looking at the case against the minimum wage. I look forward to your thoughts and opinions on the matter. Thank you.
However, recently I’ve heard some discussion from some political candidates seeking the Presidency about abolishing the minimum wage altogether. Suffice it to say this really peaked my curiosities. I mean, why the hell would you say something like that while trying to gain as many votes as possible?!?! Isn’t it simply the conventional wisdom that the minimum wage is a good thing, and if anything needs to be raised?
So I set out to explore what possible case there could be for eliminating the minimum wage laws in America. What I found was stunning, and almost embarrassing in a way. How had I never stopped to look at this before?!? One of the more recent polls I saw stated that 83% of Americans believe that the minimum wage is a good thing. I would hazard a guess however to say that the overwhelming majority of those 83% have never really sat down and challenged that belief on their own and taken some time out to study the causes and effects on this matter. Having done so, I can say now that I am not part of this 83%...
I am the 17%.
Provided below are just some of the most interesting things I’ve come across regarding this subject. If you are going to pursue researching this subject, may I recommend doing so with an open and curious mind, rather than entering into it to argue in favor of your current beliefs. I sort of address this more in my “Courtroom Of The Mind” posting.
Below are some links to various articles, videos, etc which I’ve been looking at lately. They go to give case examples, and explain some of the theoretical ideologies behind this notion of eliminating the minimum wage. If you find other articles/videos etc, relating to this subject, please share them in the comments section because I would love to learn more about this topic. I hope you’ll read, watch, comment and share with friends and family. Thank you as always for visiting.
Wage Laws Squeeze South Africa's Poor:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/world/africa/27safrica.html?pagewanted=all
Eliminating Minimum Wage, Solving Unemployment:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlVFWixxARU
The Western Right: The Case Against Minimum Wage:
http://wmugop.blogspot.com/2007/02/case-against-minimum-wage.html
The Job-Killing Impact Of Minimum Wage Laws:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMMN3UIQmEk
Milton Friedman - The Consequences Of Minimum Wage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1HAbdUw7KE
There are plenty more sources that look at the causes and effects of the minimum wage, but the above should help to get you started on looking at the case against the minimum wage. I look forward to your thoughts and opinions on the matter. Thank you.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
We'll Be Back, Right After These Messages...
In the absence of an actual thoughtful posting, I will submit to you the following. 'Free To Choose' was a ten part television series aired in the 1980's with one of the most controversial but discussed economists of the time, Milton Friedman. The series is a look at various economic factors and the causes and effects of booms and busts. I feel it is just as relevant today as it was then. I've submitted part one of this series here, and I am confidant you will be able to find the other parts should you wish. I hope you'll enjoy. I will return with more when exams are over.
Friday, October 14, 2011
The Courtroom Of The Mind:
Take a moment and imagine the following:
There is a courtroom with all the various decorations and characters playing the roles you would expect. There is the judge in his black robe with his gavel, and over there sits the prosecuting attorney, and across from him the defense attorney. Both the attorneys are sitting in their chairs before the judge, and beside each attorney, their client.
There has clearly been some event which has transpired between the two of these clients that the court is there to sort out and attempt to rectify.
The judge calls forth the prosecution.
The prosecuting attorney steps before the judge, and begins to tell the judge what has transpired between the two clients. He submits to the judge in orderly fashion, each piece of evidence which reinforces his claims as to what took place. As the prosecution wraps up his opening statements to the judge, and presents his evidence... The defense is gathering together his evidence to support his client, and his side of the story.
The prosecution takes a seat, and the judge then turns to the defense...
Suddenly, he picks up his gavel, bangs it down, and loudly proclaims “The defense is found guilty!” before beginning to proclaim the sentence which will be served out by the defendant.
For most of us, witnessing such a court proceeding we would find ourselves in absolute shock and a disgusted disbelief. After all, this isn’t how the processes of fairness and justice are supposed to work! Both sides are supposed to be heard aren’t they? Both sides should have fair and equal opportunity to make their case before coming to any such verdict!
And yet, so many of us, act in exactly the same capacity that the judge has in this story. We align ourselves so strongly with one party or another that we refuse to even be bothered with so much as listening to the other sides argument before we pick up the gavel in our minds, and bang it down making our declaration as to the other sides guilt or innocence.
On occasion, there are those of us who will at times, attempt to make such a court proceeding look good. We will listen to the other side, all the while simply scoffing to ourselves, as we begin to listen, thinking, “Yeah, let’s hear their side, this should be worth a chuckle!”
In fact, there are probably those of you who are already seeking to defend the actions of the judge. That’s fine. I won’t seek to change that. I only put these considerations before people because I know that there are others who will have the common sense and wisdom to understand what I mean here. They are the ones with the wisdom of mind, and the courage of heart enough to be able to look themselves in the mirror and admit to themselves that perhaps they don’t know everything. Perhaps they aren’t as smart as they thought they were. Perhaps they have acted in the capacity of that judge, and perhaps they can benefit from making a conscious effort to change the practices of what goes on in the courtroom of their own minds. Those are the people to whom I speak. Should you still be defending the judge and his actions in this story, then do what you will. That’s entirely your business.
How many of us from the Liberal position, actually sit down regularly and say, “Oh hey, Rush Limbaugh is about to be on, I wanna listen to his show today.”? How many from the Conservative platform think, “Oh crap... Democracy Now is on now... I need to tune in real quick...”? Pretty much none of us right? I suppose birds of a feather do indeed flock together. But because of this, how much information do any of us miss which could lead to more informed decision making?
Like the judge, shouldn’t our job simply be to collect and gather as much facts, data, and overall information on a particular topic or event before we attempt to formulate our verdict or opinion on it?
The reason I bring all this up is because so widely divided a system is easily conquered. Conquered by who? I’ll get around to that later. The important thing is that we take it upon ourselves as individuals to take the total sum of our beliefs, and values, and place them outside, into the torrential downpour and flood of facts and information from all sides.
By doing so, we are benefited in many ways. In some cases, after our beliefs are submitted to such tests, they will indeed weather the storm of facts quite well, and return to us unscathed. Here we are benefited by having our beliefs transformed into something that we no longer just believe, but rather something we KNOW to be true, otherwise, it wouldn’t have held up through the storm.
On the other hand, we are benefited when these beliefs are torn apart and destroyed by the floods and rains of facts, because we are no longer basing our words and deeds from a position which was flawed to begin with.
In short, it makes us wiser, more knowledgeable, judicious and secure people.
I bring all this up because I want people to be able to benefit from the same experiences I have had. There was a time I very strongly considered myself to be in line with the views and ideologies of one of those parties. Some of the views I held then I still hold strongly because they have held up under these tests. Others, I have abandoned as they fell apart the more they were subjected to information from all sides. It’s not an easy process. It’s one which is at times humbling. It is a process marked with humility, sacrifice, mistake and occasionally loss. I’ve had to adopt entirely different world views at times. This isn’t always an easy process. But then, how often does anything truly worthwhile come freely and easily?
Just know that in order for an argument to exist and persist for any length of time, both sides have to have points which are true and right. Without this, no argument or debate can carry forward for any great length of time. People of great character are seldom marked by their lack of mistakes or their flawless records, but rather a highlight of the mistakes they have made and their open, honest willingness to both recognize, and learn from them.
I hope you'll take these words to heart, and make an effort yourself to make the courtroom of your mind one with fair and just proceedings. As always, feel free to share this with family and friends.
Thanks & Happy trails...
There is a courtroom with all the various decorations and characters playing the roles you would expect. There is the judge in his black robe with his gavel, and over there sits the prosecuting attorney, and across from him the defense attorney. Both the attorneys are sitting in their chairs before the judge, and beside each attorney, their client.
There has clearly been some event which has transpired between the two of these clients that the court is there to sort out and attempt to rectify.
The judge calls forth the prosecution.
The prosecuting attorney steps before the judge, and begins to tell the judge what has transpired between the two clients. He submits to the judge in orderly fashion, each piece of evidence which reinforces his claims as to what took place. As the prosecution wraps up his opening statements to the judge, and presents his evidence... The defense is gathering together his evidence to support his client, and his side of the story.
The prosecution takes a seat, and the judge then turns to the defense...
Suddenly, he picks up his gavel, bangs it down, and loudly proclaims “The defense is found guilty!” before beginning to proclaim the sentence which will be served out by the defendant.
For most of us, witnessing such a court proceeding we would find ourselves in absolute shock and a disgusted disbelief. After all, this isn’t how the processes of fairness and justice are supposed to work! Both sides are supposed to be heard aren’t they? Both sides should have fair and equal opportunity to make their case before coming to any such verdict!
And yet, so many of us, act in exactly the same capacity that the judge has in this story. We align ourselves so strongly with one party or another that we refuse to even be bothered with so much as listening to the other sides argument before we pick up the gavel in our minds, and bang it down making our declaration as to the other sides guilt or innocence.
On occasion, there are those of us who will at times, attempt to make such a court proceeding look good. We will listen to the other side, all the while simply scoffing to ourselves, as we begin to listen, thinking, “Yeah, let’s hear their side, this should be worth a chuckle!”
In fact, there are probably those of you who are already seeking to defend the actions of the judge. That’s fine. I won’t seek to change that. I only put these considerations before people because I know that there are others who will have the common sense and wisdom to understand what I mean here. They are the ones with the wisdom of mind, and the courage of heart enough to be able to look themselves in the mirror and admit to themselves that perhaps they don’t know everything. Perhaps they aren’t as smart as they thought they were. Perhaps they have acted in the capacity of that judge, and perhaps they can benefit from making a conscious effort to change the practices of what goes on in the courtroom of their own minds. Those are the people to whom I speak. Should you still be defending the judge and his actions in this story, then do what you will. That’s entirely your business.
How many of us from the Liberal position, actually sit down regularly and say, “Oh hey, Rush Limbaugh is about to be on, I wanna listen to his show today.”? How many from the Conservative platform think, “Oh crap... Democracy Now is on now... I need to tune in real quick...”? Pretty much none of us right? I suppose birds of a feather do indeed flock together. But because of this, how much information do any of us miss which could lead to more informed decision making?
Like the judge, shouldn’t our job simply be to collect and gather as much facts, data, and overall information on a particular topic or event before we attempt to formulate our verdict or opinion on it?
The reason I bring all this up is because so widely divided a system is easily conquered. Conquered by who? I’ll get around to that later. The important thing is that we take it upon ourselves as individuals to take the total sum of our beliefs, and values, and place them outside, into the torrential downpour and flood of facts and information from all sides.
By doing so, we are benefited in many ways. In some cases, after our beliefs are submitted to such tests, they will indeed weather the storm of facts quite well, and return to us unscathed. Here we are benefited by having our beliefs transformed into something that we no longer just believe, but rather something we KNOW to be true, otherwise, it wouldn’t have held up through the storm.
On the other hand, we are benefited when these beliefs are torn apart and destroyed by the floods and rains of facts, because we are no longer basing our words and deeds from a position which was flawed to begin with.
In short, it makes us wiser, more knowledgeable, judicious and secure people.
I bring all this up because I want people to be able to benefit from the same experiences I have had. There was a time I very strongly considered myself to be in line with the views and ideologies of one of those parties. Some of the views I held then I still hold strongly because they have held up under these tests. Others, I have abandoned as they fell apart the more they were subjected to information from all sides. It’s not an easy process. It’s one which is at times humbling. It is a process marked with humility, sacrifice, mistake and occasionally loss. I’ve had to adopt entirely different world views at times. This isn’t always an easy process. But then, how often does anything truly worthwhile come freely and easily?
Just know that in order for an argument to exist and persist for any length of time, both sides have to have points which are true and right. Without this, no argument or debate can carry forward for any great length of time. People of great character are seldom marked by their lack of mistakes or their flawless records, but rather a highlight of the mistakes they have made and their open, honest willingness to both recognize, and learn from them.
I hope you'll take these words to heart, and make an effort yourself to make the courtroom of your mind one with fair and just proceedings. As always, feel free to share this with family and friends.
Thanks & Happy trails...
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Liberty Libido: A Brief Introduction
Greetings! Thanks for taking the time out to check out my blog here. Let’s get to it shall we?
A little about me, a little about the blog, and a little about what I aim to do with it here yes? Ok then...
A little about me:
I’m 32 years old, male and I’m a native to Austin Texas. I’m told I’m something of a unique character (INTJ and/or ENTJ sitting right smack dab on the Virgo/Libra cusp...provided you put stock into such things) & (at times at least), people seem to enjoy listening to what I have to say... and lord have mercy can I say quite a lot. I am extremely verbose. I feel it is both a blessing and a curse. People will inevitably reach a certain “saturation point” when listening to me... a point at which the information, ideas, opinions etc that I discuss simply become more than the individual can digest in a single sitting, and that’s ok.
I entirely understand people reaching that point of total saturation. Generally this occurs when I’m discussing matters of government, politics, economics, history, law & philosophy primarily. These are items I place a greater value on than is average, & have been studying for several years now, going back to about 2004. People reach this saturation point I presume, because what I attempt to do is concentrate the last seven years of study into “short” monologues, highlighting what I feel are the most important points, & then cramming them all into a small diatribe about whatever the topic is at hand. This is why I say I understand people reaching that point of total saturation with me, because let’s be honest... who honestly enjoys being talked AT for any extended period of time, and... how capable are any of us of having seven years of study crammed into our skulls in under 10 minutes? It’s sort of like trying to put an entire road cone in ones rectum... sure, you might be able to eventually do it... but not comfortably in under 2 seconds.
I also have a propensity for drawing up horrible metaphors and analogies. But I suppose I should warned you about that a few sentences ago huh?
A little about this blog:
First of all, blogging... isn’t really my “thing”. While I can belt out somewhere between 80 to 120 wpm (depending on how much coffee I've gotten into), it’s still not really enough to allow my fingers to keep up with my head. Things move really fast in there.
I’m much more inclined to be behind a microphone like the work I’ve done with certain pirate radio stations in the past. My mouth is usually better suited to keep speed with my mind than my fingers. Plus, nobody’s ever said to me, “You know, you have a really nice radio font.” before. Voice yes, font no.
So why the title “Liberty Libido”? In short, I felt it appropriate. I have what I can only describe as a certain “fetish” for Liberty and the causes of promoting her. In fact, I would argue that man’s need for Freedom is greater than his own sexual appetite, no matter how strong it may be. After all, we have ample historical and modern day examples of individuals willingly taking vows of celibacy, abstinence, and the sort. But where do we look to for such examples of man's willingness to engage in celibacy from free will, or even the abstinence of it? Where do we see such abundant examples in the history of humanity, of those willing to sacrifice their fortunes, their honor, and even their lives for the sake of “getting laid”? You can kinda see where the title for this blog comes from then yeah?
And finally, what I aim to do with this blog here:
To be honest, I haven’t even thought about this much. If anything, this will probably serve as more of a pressure release valve than anything for me. More often than is probably healthy, I find myself with thoughts regarding politics, economics etc racing around inside my skull, desperately seeking an outlet. And there’s only so many times you can call someone and wake them from slumber at 3am to discuss the problems and probabilities of the next round of quantitative easing, before they simply stop answering your calls.
I figure by having somewhere to go with these things, I can get this stuff out of my head, and anyone interested in these matters can pursue them at their own leisure rather than having me force feed them facts, data, analogies, theories etc against their will. So really I suppose this is sort of a hybrid of helping myself and others around me in that regard.
So there you have it, a bit about myself, the blog and what it's here for...
In future postings, I will probably be discussing matters such as the “Federal” Reserve system, the current presidential election, theories of self-governance, and what I feel are misconceptions with regards to complete and total governmental deregulation of the markets. I hope you’ll come back, subscribe, give me feedback, and share with friends and family.
Happy trails to you...
A little about me, a little about the blog, and a little about what I aim to do with it here yes? Ok then...
A little about me:
I’m 32 years old, male and I’m a native to Austin Texas. I’m told I’m something of a unique character (INTJ and/or ENTJ sitting right smack dab on the Virgo/Libra cusp...provided you put stock into such things) & (at times at least), people seem to enjoy listening to what I have to say... and lord have mercy can I say quite a lot. I am extremely verbose. I feel it is both a blessing and a curse. People will inevitably reach a certain “saturation point” when listening to me... a point at which the information, ideas, opinions etc that I discuss simply become more than the individual can digest in a single sitting, and that’s ok.
I entirely understand people reaching that point of total saturation. Generally this occurs when I’m discussing matters of government, politics, economics, history, law & philosophy primarily. These are items I place a greater value on than is average, & have been studying for several years now, going back to about 2004. People reach this saturation point I presume, because what I attempt to do is concentrate the last seven years of study into “short” monologues, highlighting what I feel are the most important points, & then cramming them all into a small diatribe about whatever the topic is at hand. This is why I say I understand people reaching that point of total saturation with me, because let’s be honest... who honestly enjoys being talked AT for any extended period of time, and... how capable are any of us of having seven years of study crammed into our skulls in under 10 minutes? It’s sort of like trying to put an entire road cone in ones rectum... sure, you might be able to eventually do it... but not comfortably in under 2 seconds.
I also have a propensity for drawing up horrible metaphors and analogies. But I suppose I should warned you about that a few sentences ago huh?
A little about this blog:
First of all, blogging... isn’t really my “thing”. While I can belt out somewhere between 80 to 120 wpm (depending on how much coffee I've gotten into), it’s still not really enough to allow my fingers to keep up with my head. Things move really fast in there.
I’m much more inclined to be behind a microphone like the work I’ve done with certain pirate radio stations in the past. My mouth is usually better suited to keep speed with my mind than my fingers. Plus, nobody’s ever said to me, “You know, you have a really nice radio font.” before. Voice yes, font no.
So why the title “Liberty Libido”? In short, I felt it appropriate. I have what I can only describe as a certain “fetish” for Liberty and the causes of promoting her. In fact, I would argue that man’s need for Freedom is greater than his own sexual appetite, no matter how strong it may be. After all, we have ample historical and modern day examples of individuals willingly taking vows of celibacy, abstinence, and the sort. But where do we look to for such examples of man's willingness to engage in celibacy from free will, or even the abstinence of it? Where do we see such abundant examples in the history of humanity, of those willing to sacrifice their fortunes, their honor, and even their lives for the sake of “getting laid”? You can kinda see where the title for this blog comes from then yeah?
And finally, what I aim to do with this blog here:
To be honest, I haven’t even thought about this much. If anything, this will probably serve as more of a pressure release valve than anything for me. More often than is probably healthy, I find myself with thoughts regarding politics, economics etc racing around inside my skull, desperately seeking an outlet. And there’s only so many times you can call someone and wake them from slumber at 3am to discuss the problems and probabilities of the next round of quantitative easing, before they simply stop answering your calls.
I figure by having somewhere to go with these things, I can get this stuff out of my head, and anyone interested in these matters can pursue them at their own leisure rather than having me force feed them facts, data, analogies, theories etc against their will. So really I suppose this is sort of a hybrid of helping myself and others around me in that regard.
So there you have it, a bit about myself, the blog and what it's here for...
In future postings, I will probably be discussing matters such as the “Federal” Reserve system, the current presidential election, theories of self-governance, and what I feel are misconceptions with regards to complete and total governmental deregulation of the markets. I hope you’ll come back, subscribe, give me feedback, and share with friends and family.
Happy trails to you...
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