Comments on: Bowling for demagogues http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/bowling-for-demagogues/ Monkey #121643810 reporting for duty... Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:43:49 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Jonathan http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/bowling-for-demagogues/comment-page-1/#comment-2233 Jonathan Wed, 28 May 2008 22:37:43 +0000 http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/?p=123#comment-2233 Mark: I agree with you in the case of McCain, but I'm not so sure about Hillary. She publicly dismissed economists as academic elites in whom she places no stock. That's not the usual wink-wink populism you see out of most candidates. I think she may actually be deluded enough (which current events are supporting) to believe her bullshit. Which probably makes her a more genuine human being than McCain, in a weird way, but potentially an even worse leader. Mark:

I agree with you in the case of McCain, but I’m not so sure about Hillary. She publicly dismissed economists as academic elites in whom she places no stock. That’s not the usual wink-wink populism you see out of most candidates. I think she may actually be deluded enough (which current events are supporting) to believe her bullshit. Which probably makes her a more genuine human being than McCain, in a weird way, but potentially an even worse leader.

]]> By: MarkCi http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/bowling-for-demagogues/comment-page-1/#comment-2232 MarkCi Wed, 28 May 2008 21:25:43 +0000 http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/?p=123#comment-2232 You're confusing economic illiteracy with political expediency. Neither Hillary nor McCain believe in their gas tax plan any more than you or I do. And neither Hillary nor Obama actually harbor the grave doubts about free trade they feigned when campaigning in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania. All three of them know plenty of economics. (Well, McCain I'm not so sure about, as he's outright admitted that he doesn't.) But they're practicing politics, which is only tangentially related. You’re confusing economic illiteracy with political expediency. Neither Hillary nor McCain believe in their gas tax plan any more than you or I do. And neither Hillary nor Obama actually harbor the grave doubts about free trade they feigned when campaigning in places like Ohio and Pennsylvania. All three of them know plenty of economics. (Well, McCain I’m not so sure about, as he’s outright admitted that he doesn’t.) But they’re practicing politics, which is only tangentially related.

]]> By: Jonathan Birge » Blog Archive » RIP American Broadcast Television, 1939–2009 http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/bowling-for-demagogues/comment-page-1/#comment-2194 Jonathan Birge » Blog Archive » RIP American Broadcast Television, 1939–2009 Thu, 22 May 2008 07:25:35 +0000 http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/?p=123#comment-2194 [...] reason I mention all of this is not to complain for the sake of complaining. That is something I would never do! I decided to write about this because the switch to digital will potentially be [...] [...] reason I mention all of this is not to complain for the sake of complaining. That is something I would never do! I decided to write about this because the switch to digital will potentially be [...]

]]> By: Jonathan http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/bowling-for-demagogues/comment-page-1/#comment-2099 Jonathan Wed, 14 May 2008 19:51:15 +0000 http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/?p=123#comment-2099 Actually, I didn't know that taxes exceeded the profit on a unit of gasoline. That's a pretty interesting statistic. Given that the feds alone take one third of the GDP in taxes, I suppose it's probably true for most industries that taxes exceed profits. I'm not sure what to make of that. On one hand, you can see government as production input: they provide a service, just like the distribution costs which make up some of the gas price goes to tanker companies. On the other hand, does the government really provide a level of service commensurate with its contribution to the cost, even taking into account the highway tax part of it? I'm guessing we'd probably both answer that question similarly. Actually, I didn’t know that taxes exceeded the profit on a unit of gasoline. That’s a pretty interesting statistic. Given that the feds alone take one third of the GDP in taxes, I suppose it’s probably true for most industries that taxes exceed profits. I’m not sure what to make of that. On one hand, you can see government as production input: they provide a service, just like the distribution costs which make up some of the gas price goes to tanker companies. On the other hand, does the government really provide a level of service commensurate with its contribution to the cost, even taking into account the highway tax part of it? I’m guessing we’d probably both answer that question similarly.

]]> By: Alain DeWitt http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/bowling-for-demagogues/comment-page-1/#comment-2049 Alain DeWitt Mon, 12 May 2008 23:23:27 +0000 http://scripts.mit.edu/~birge/blog/?p=123#comment-2049 Jon, Bravo! Superior and funny analysis! I didn't get much blogging done in April, but have picked the pace back up. I posted a letter I sent to my Congress critters urging them to support President Bush's idea of drilling for oil in ANWR. Overall, I think energy policy in this country has been in shambles for a good two and a half decades. Yet to hear the left tell it, the federal government is really just an ATM for the oil companies. We haven't invested in nuclear power since the Three Mile Island accident, (obviously, it's not like energy companies would have, you know, put money into research and development to make it safer), we haven't built any new refineries in almost thirty years (see previous parenthetical) and the various levels of government make more from the sale of a gallon of gas than the oil companies. Why am I telling you all this? I am sure you knew all this. I should have just stuck with, "Great post!" Jon,

Bravo! Superior and funny analysis! I didn’t get much blogging done in April, but have picked the pace back up. I posted a letter I sent to my Congress critters urging them to support President Bush’s idea of drilling for oil in ANWR.

Overall, I think energy policy in this country has been in shambles for a good two and a half decades. Yet to hear the left tell it, the federal government is really just an ATM for the oil companies.

We haven’t invested in nuclear power since the Three Mile Island accident, (obviously, it’s not like energy companies would have, you know, put money into research and development to make it safer), we haven’t built any new refineries in almost thirty years (see previous parenthetical) and the various levels of government make more from the sale of a gallon of gas than the oil companies.

Why am I telling you all this? I am sure you knew all this. I should have just stuck with, “Great post!”

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