tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57723205548196311122024-02-20T15:08:20.643-08:00The MoorenadoJonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-42380450092424995902010-03-04T19:27:00.000-08:002010-03-05T10:55:03.305-08:00Economics Made Easy Pt. IILast post you we covered the first economic argument to defeat any statist in an argument about a government policy, the broken window fallacy. Today we'll cover the second argument, Hayek's information problem. Hayek, a Nobel Prize winning economist, made the point that it's extremely difficult for any government official to efficiently manage any portion of economy because they simply do not have the information needed to do so.<br />
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A modern economy is composed of literally millions of independent actors operating through towards their own subjective preferences. Just think about all of the decisions you have to make just to manage your personal finances. What you are going to buy, how much of it you are going to buy, how much to save, how much debt to take on, how much to pay on your debts, etc. takes much deliberation by you. No one else can make these decisions for you because they simply do not have the information to do so.<br />
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How then, can a bureaucrat make decisions on an industry or economy wide basis? There's no way they can have the detailed information necessary to make wise decisions on your behalf.<br />
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So whenever a bureaucrat or politician tells you that "alternative energy is the wave of the future", or that politicians will invest your tax dollars in a stimulus package "that works", just remember that there's NO WAY politicians can know the future better than you can. They're human beings who are not capable of knowing all these things.<br />
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These decisions are best left in the hands of individuals, who know the detailed knowledge about themselves to make the decision whether or not to invest in a business pursuing certain interests such as alternative energy. If they're right, they make a profit. If they're wrong, they take a loss. In any case, they aren't spending other people's money on what are essentially gambles.<br />
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When a politicians takes a gamble, he's playing with other people's money. He doesn't stand any personal gain from correctly predicting the future. He doesn't lose if he poorly predicts the future. He simply makes decisions based mostly on ideology. That's why politicians think alternative energy is the wave of the future; because they want it to be the wave of the future.<br />
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The limited information politicians have makes them very poor managers of an economy. On the other hand, individuals do a better job of making productive decisions because they have an incentive and the information to do so. When you hear a politician say that investing in this, or that, will benefit the economy, always ask yourself, "how do they know it will benefit the economy?" Unless they are some sort of Nostradamus, the truth is that they don't know. They just think that renewable energy, or universal health insurance, or any number of things are good, and that's why they are taking your money to spend on their pet ideological causes.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-46309875877645469292010-02-27T12:30:00.000-08:002010-02-27T12:30:36.571-08:00Economics Made EasyThis will be the part of a two part series which will allow you to win almost any argument with a socialist/liberal/progressive/republican/democrat who advocates some kind of state intervention into the economy for some "public good". The "series" will feature two very easy to understand illustrations for why government programs do not work to create wealth and prosperity.<br />
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The first of these is Bastiat's "broken window fallacy". Essentially every liberal boondoggle program will be able to have its effectiveness challenged with the broken window. <br />
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Bastiat was a French free market economist in the 1800s who wrote very clearly on economics, making seemingly difficult concepts easy to understand for the layman. One of his greatest contributions to this lay education is the broken window fallacy. Imagine this situation. A boy throws a rock through the window of a bakery. The window breaks, causing the baker to have to pay a glazier to replace his window. This destruction, thus, has stimulated the business of the glazier, providing a positive stimulus to the economy, right? After all, the glazier will then spend the fee he gained by fixing the window into aspects of his business, or for his home, or on gifts for his wife and children, etc. A ripple effect of productivity will ensue, as businesses throughout the economy benefit from the broken window. Right?<br />
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Not quite. This seems fishy to the common sense reader, as it should. How, after all, can destroying something useful stimulate the economy? The answer is, it can't. If the boy had never broken the window, the baker would have the window still, and still would have spent the money on other things. Investing in his business, on his home, or on gifts for his wife and children, etc. Destruction of wealth does not, and can not, result in a gain in productivity.<br />
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Unfortunately, most of our government policies rely on the broken window mindset; that destruction and theft can stimulate. Take, for instance, the most egregious broken window policy, Cash for Clunkers, in which government literally paid people to destroy useful objects. And this was supposed to be a stimulus for America! On a more subtle level, though, ever government spending policy is a broken window policy in a way. Taxes must pay for all of the programs we use, which destroys our ability to invest those funds into our homes, our businesses, etc. All of these programs have the premise that we are dumb and politicians are smarter than we are. When the president says he's going to spend our money on things that "work", he should also say, "unlike you morons". They can break our "windows", and spend our money better than we can. <br />
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This would be fine in terms of productivity if they actually could spend our money better than we can. Debunking that assumption will be the subject of the next Moorenado.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-63267184970666260332010-02-20T20:45:00.000-08:002010-02-20T20:45:01.859-08:00Housing and BailoutsI work a lot with finance. One of the primary issues which has faced finance in the last year, of course, were the bank bailouts, opposed by just about everyone except the people who matter. Let's face it, no one likes it when tax money goes to corporations who lost massive amounts of money. If any case can be made that big business and big government are not always diametrically opposed, the anecdote to prove it would be the Wall St. bailouts. Much of the time, bigger government means bigger profits for bigger corporations, as I have written about elsewhere.<br />
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Much has been made, though of figuring out the "source" of the crisis that triggered the bailouts. Liberals say that the "source" of the bailouts is the failure of the big banks to value long term over short term profits, the expansion of banking into non-loan business such as derivatives, securities, etc, and predatory lending by banks. Conservatives typically pin the blame on the Community Reinvestment Act, which encouraged banks to make loans to subprime borrowers. <br />
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The real source of the bailouts is closer to the conservative side; it is government intervention into the housing markets. The CRA certainly played a role in encouraging bad loans to be given out. But the U.S. housing market has government fingerprints all over it. Mortgage interest is tax deductible. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide a secondary mortgage market, with nearly explicit government backing. Defaulted debtors cannot be pursued by lenders in many states. And the federal reserve's monetary policy kept interest rates extremely low for years, encouraging malinvestment in all markets. Since housing has been subsidized and favored in the tax code for years, more investment took place in this market than in others. And consistently low interest rates only fueled the unrealistic prices seen in the housing market. Further, since housing had so much government backing, banks invested big money in mortgage backed securities since they were thought to be a "sure thing". <br />
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Unfortunately, that which can't continue, won't. And government can only prop up a house of pricing cards so long before reality causes the house to collapse. And since banks had so much of their assets in mortgage backed securities, when the prices fell, the banks lost money hands over fist. <br />
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To compound problems, the government thought it would be a good idea to get even more involved and housing and banking by bailing out banks, passing a first time home owner tax credit, trying to pass "consumer financial protection" legislation (let's have a consumer government protection agency...), first time homebuyer tax credits, and counting. Government should get out of banking, and get out of bailouts. Stop subsidizing and interfering with the market. Real people get hurt when they get involved. And the worst thing they can do is to interfere even worse when the problems they create get out of control. As usual, the proposed solution for government created problems is more government. It's a brutal cycle.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-42748556120229912842010-02-09T12:33:00.000-08:002010-02-09T12:33:14.609-08:00The American DreamAmerican political philosophy has been perverted over the last 200 hundred years. We now have some sort of amorphous concept known as "The American Dream", which essentially boils down to having a wife, a house with a garage, 2 cars, some land, and 2.2 kids. When did America's dream boil down to mere physical things? When did we lose the passion of our forefathers for our liberty?<br />
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If you would have asked Thomas Jefferson or James Madison about the American Dream, they would have said that the American dream would have consisted of living in a country in which the government respected the rights of its citizens to life, liberty, and property. I honestly am puzzled that 150 years of capitalism combined with statist interventions has produced a generation of people so concerned with their material welfare that they have forgotten the real dream of their forefathers; the dream that all men were created equal, and that we all should have the right to live with minimal interference of the government into our lives. <br />
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We need to rediscover this passion for liberty, and forget about our passion for cars, houses, and meeting society's material expectations.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-21901046587939424492010-01-21T15:33:00.000-08:002010-01-21T15:33:34.183-08:00The True ProblemRepublicans are really just obstructionists. Their constant fixation is with how to keep big government from getting bigger, and how to make big government "work". And the health care debate is only the most recent iteration of this insanity. <br />
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The Republican line on this whole debate has been uniquely absurd, even for them. Here it is, in all of it's conflicting glory:<br />
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1) Obamacare represents a government takeover of health care.<br />
2) Government takeovers of health care are bad.<br />
3) Obamacare would result in reducing funding for Medicare, a government run health care program.<br />
4) Somehow, this is also bad.<br />
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It just puzzles me to see Republicans railing against socialized medicine while defending the rights of seniors to socialized medicine. Their is some serious cognitive dissonance going on here. The big problem is that, as I have written before, in a nation in which my property is up for grabs through the legislative process, and can be given to other "deserving" groups, tiny interests (such as seniors) have a large interest in supporting big government programs that benefit them. All the while, the rest of us only lose a tiny chunk of our pay check. This doesn't seem so bad. Except for the fact that there are hundreds of interests suckling at the breast of the American working public. In the aggregate, farmers, seniors, the indigent, children, homeowners, contractors, etc. are killing the very foundation that America was built on. That an American is responsible to take care of himself. We band together for protection, but we are in the end personally responsible.<br />
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Once we've given up on that basic principle, we've lost hope. Which is why I don't hold out too much hope for the Republicans or the Democrats. They are a bunch of sniveling cowards. And I can't blame them really. If you turn against every organized interest as a politician, save for the extremely rare exceptions such as Ron Paul, you lose elections. And that's what it comes down to. Our system is simply flawed, and politicians are forced to allow tiny creeping steps on our liberty. At some point, it must stop. Tyranny has been coming slowly for about 100 years. And what can't continue, won't. And this can't go on.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-17037299659881659132010-01-14T08:17:00.000-08:002010-01-14T08:17:26.129-08:00Puritanical ShortsightednessI have recently become convinced that evangelical American Christians do essentially two things pretty well. They keep their kids from swearing, and they keep them from having sex before marriage, or at least they clearly express their displeasure with those two specific sins. And I believe that they are sins (for the most part). For the first sin, as Ephesians 5 says, "Nor should their be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather Thanksgiving." And the latter should be clear from many verses about purity. So I'm not saying that Christians are off base by discouraging these sins in their children. I just wish that they would treat other sins with the same tenacity that they do these two.<br />
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Imagine if a parent would wash their child's mouth out with soap for gossiping? Or for using coarse language that's not included in our society's list of "swear words"? Or if they would give their children lectures on the dangers of coveting? Or jealousy? What a better church we would have! What a more Christlike body of believers we would have! If only Christians could harness their cursin' and sex fighting zeal to every area of their children's lives.<br />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-36791053421631815792010-01-11T09:43:00.000-08:002010-01-11T09:43:22.090-08:00The Crucial QuestionI feel a little like the man from the Ayn Rand Institute who was on Glenn Beck. Not that I'm an Objectivist by any stretch. But I feel like the whole debate regarding health care reform misses the point. The debate here is no debate at all. Conservatives rail against a government takeover of health care. Liberals claim that every person deserves health care. But the roots of this problem go back to basic questions of political philosophy. And the debate reveals the generally homogenous philosophies of our politicians. <br />
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As the man from ARI rightly pointed out, the real debate here should be about whether or not government has the right to take your money and give it to someone else. And this debate rests on whether or not we agree with our Founders that rights come from God and that if government has the right to define our rights, then our rights are never safe. But we are actively trying to create new rights. No longer do you have the right to life, liberty, and property. You now have the right to health care. Not only do you have the right to health care, but you MUST have health care. Regardless of whether or not you want it. <br />
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Few Republicans would worry about natural rights principles (Ron Paul, and perhaps Bachmann, Demint, and Coburn. Perhaps.). But this is the critical issue at play here. Because when government tells you that you must do something, inevitably, someone has to pay for it. Which means that property rights suffer. When government creates rights, other rights suffer. This is the question, and where we should be focused. Until entitlements are dealt with, nothing will be solved. And until we once again embrace principles of natural rights, entitlements will never die.<br />
<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden" /><!--Session data--><input id="jsProxy" onclick="jsCall();" type="hidden" /><div id="refHTML"></div>Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-73709407622332686022009-12-11T08:06:00.000-08:002009-12-11T08:06:28.889-08:00On TigerTypically, I do not concern myself with celebrity scandals. But, Tiger Woods is simply too interesting a scandal to not comment on. Tiger's infidelity got me to thinking about the true nature of marriage. Tiger is just the latest example of the fact that a marriage that removes God from its center is no marriage at all.<br />
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After all, without God as the center of a marriage, your vows really mean nothing. All you are doing is making a promise to another human being. And what is a promise anyway? Another human being has no authority over you. Another human being can not make you do anything that you do not want to do. Another human being imposing his morality on you is just a meddler. Bring God into the picture, however, and you have a different story. God does have authority over you. He can impose morality over you, because he is the law giver. Further, you are accountable to God for everything you do, in the end.<br />
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I totally understand Tiger's actions. He is a man who has not accepted Jesus as his Lord and savior, and as such there is no good reason why he should not have done what he did. His oath meant nothing. Morality means nothing. All that matters is whether or not you can get what you want. And he got it, because he is wealthy and powerful. Everything he wanted was within his grasp. Except for the fact that there is a God. And Tiger's conscience is telling him that right now. What Tiger really wants is God. He just has not come to that realization yet. Here's praying that he finds what he wants, the only thing that can ever satisfy him.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-12602880712098039122009-12-04T10:16:00.000-08:002009-12-04T10:18:17.266-08:00Science and MoralityIn the debate over embryonic stem cell research, frequently heard was the claim from the left that policy shouldn't get in the way of "science". First, this relies on a faulty understanding of science. Science is not a floating body of knowledge. Science is not an entity. Science is a method used by scientists. As such, science should not have some ethereal, platonic, godlike existence that cannot be touched, something like the third rail on the subway train. Science is man's tool, not his master.<br />
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Further, scientists are bound by God's laws every bit as much as other people, regardless of whether or not they are engaging in science. A scientist who destroys a human embryo in order to extract stem cells is as guilty as the man who kills his 4 year old child. The mere fact that a scientist is engaging in science does not excuse his behavior. Also, man's laws must mirror God's objective truth to be just. Science is no excuse to engage in barbarism. For instance, capturing all of the homeless people (contributing nothing to society) and using them to test new drugs and treatments on is immoral. It would be scientifically helpful, and perhaps a net utilitarian gain to society, but still immoral. Purging society of all mentally challenged people would give a utilitarian gain to society, but it would be immoral. As such, scientists are not authorized to do so. Why is embryonic stem cell research any different?<br />
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The fact is, that as with abortion, the question of embryonic stem cell research comes down to 2 questions. 1: At what point does a baby become a human being? 2: In what instances is it right to kill a human being? Society has roughly come up with good answers for question 2. It's not acceptable to kill an innocent human being. So, the question rides on 1. Therefore, embryonic stem cell research is not primarily a scientific question, it is a moral question. I believe that public policy should reflect this morality. If an embryo is a human, it's not moral to kill him and use his raw materials to help others any more than what the Nazis did was moral, or ordinary murder is moral. A dogmatic adherence to "science" detached from morality will result in the reductions of human to slaves to a method, without regard to right and wrong. Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-85068316464645617292009-12-03T13:35:00.000-08:002009-12-03T13:35:39.668-08:00Covetousness and PovertyThe way we define poverty is inherently sinful. A Heritage Foundation <a href="http://www.heritage.org/Research/Welfare/bg1713.cfm">study</a> recently found the following statistics regarding those under the "poverty" line:<br />
<ul><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="standardcontent">
<li class="Bulleted"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Forty-six percent of all poor households actually own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.</span></li>
<li class="Bulleted"><a href="" name="pgfId-1070468"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Seventy-six percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, 30 years ago, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.</span></li>
<li class="Bulleted"><a href="" name="pgfId-1070469"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Only 6 percent of poor households are overcrowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.</span></li>
<li class="Bulleted"><a href="" name="pgfId-1070470"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)</span></li>
<li class="Bulleted"><a href="" name="pgfId-1070471"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 30 percent own two or more cars.</span></li>
<li class="Bulleted"><a href="" name="pgfId-1070472"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.</span></li>
<li class="Bulleted"><a href="" name="pgfId-1070473"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.</span></li>
<li class="Bulleted"><a href="" name="pgfId-1070474"></a><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Seventy-three percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and a third have an automatic dishwasher. </span></li>
</span></span></ul>This cannot be considered poverty. Poverty is an lack of things that you need. People who have cable television do not really need anything. America is a nation in which poor people suffer higher obesity than rich people. WHAT? This is the most unique "problem" in human history. A nation so wildly wealthy that our poor people are fat. And yet we continually cry for more aid to the poor.<br />
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No doubt there are some real poor people in America. Poverty has many sources. People are taken advantage of. People don't plan well for their future. People are lazy. People are mentally ill. People just suffer through a tough time in their lives. But our definition of poverty relies on a sinful desire of humanity; covetousness. Our very definition is covetous. We do not ask how much a man needs to survive. This would be a good question to ask regarding poverty. We ask, how much does our neighbor have? What percentage of the average income will it take to declare someone poor? How can one use random, shifting, determinations to determine poverty? The "definition" of poverty is determined in money rather than in food, shelter, and clothing. This cannot be a Biblical definition. Further, the definition goes up every year. How can poverty change?<br />
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Let's worry about some real poverty abroad, and export the greatest destroyer of poverty in human history, capitalism. And let's get closer to capitalism at home. An increasingly centrally planned economy will destroy the very thing that makes our poor people fat.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-40357174233515272462009-11-20T21:08:00.000-08:002009-11-20T21:10:52.899-08:00Why Peyton Manning Deserves to Make More Money than a School TeacherOccasionally you will hear proponents of public schools whining about how little money teachers make, and sometimes they will mention that professional athletes make 100 times (for argument's sake) more money than a school teacher. This is apparently unfair in the mind of the union hack, as a school teacher clearly provides more to society than Peyton Manning.<br />
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This argument relies on flawed economic reasoning. Prices and wages are not derived from societal benefit. If this was true, parents should make the most money. But they typically work pro bono. Also, Congressmen should make negative money, based on how they typically leach the lifeblood out of society. The fact of the matter is that wages are determined entirely apart from any consideration of the value a job presents to society.<br />
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Wages are determined by supply and demand. That's it. And the fact of the matter is that hundreds of thousands of people are "qualified" to be school teachers, regardless of the benefit teachers present to society. Only one person is qualified to play quarterback like Peyton Manning can. And that's why he makes stacks and stacks of cash. Because he's the only person in the world that can play like he can. Further, Manning's employer makes tons and tons of money off of his services, through increased jersey sales, ticket sales, and increased television revenues. As such, someone is demanding the services of a top-tier quarterback, and an employer stands to make a lot of money by getting this quarterback to play for him. Supply is small (only 1 person) and demand is fairly high (32 teams who stand to gain a great deal from his services) and as such he is paid a high wage.<br />
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In fact, Peyton Manning deserves to make more money than he does. If a salary cap didn't exist in the NFL, he would probably make more money than he does now. And school teachers deserve to make less than they do. If the teachers' unions didn't have a vicegrip on public policy in most states, and if spineless schools actually had to spend their own money rather than the taxpayers' money, school teachers would almost certainly get less than they do. Plus, they only work full time for 9 months of the year, and get paid a very generous full year salary. <br />
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This is why Peyton Manning is far more deserving of an extremely large salary than a school teacher. Because voluntary participants in an exchange economy don't have to care about societal benefit. They care about the supply of the things they need for a living. This is how society allocates resources, and complaining about it really does no good.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-80311743755009922542009-11-14T09:06:00.000-08:002009-11-14T09:06:27.537-08:00Language and PoliticsI was recently at the American Enterprise Institute for an event in which the economic advantages and disadvantages of the "estate tax" (many of you will know this better as the death tax) were debated. This got me to thinking about language and politics. At this event, it was stated that when asked essentially identical questions (something like "do you support an estate/death tax on estates worth mover than 3 million dollars after death?), when the word estate was chosen over death, the tax was a full 10% more popular. People aren't so much in opposition to a tax on estates after death as they are to some ethereal concept known as a death tax. Even though the estate and death tax are the same thing, people are more likely to support an estate tax, even when given a description of what the tax is. <br />
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Are we really so illogical that labeling changes our opinion of something? Absolutely. End of life counseling v. death panels. Cap and trade v. cap and tax. Government takeover v. health care reform. Social security. Medicare. Temporary aid for needy families. Food stamps v. electronic benefits transfer program.<br />
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If it didn't work, politicians wouldn't do it. But the incredible power of rhetoric can be used to stir up the people. Would it be likely that Social Security ever would have been passed had it been called the massive government ponzi retirement scheme? But who opposes society? Or security?<br />
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Frankly, I have no idea of what to do about this. But it's very interesting to see the power that nice and nasty words have over people.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-28317716816526483172009-11-09T19:01:00.000-08:002009-11-09T19:01:19.568-08:00End of TyrannyAs most of you know, I usually do not speak very glowingly of our government. But on this day I will. Twenty years ago today, the Berlin Wall fell, signaling the beginning of the death throes of communism. This day represented the liberation of millions of people from true unadulterated tyranny. Our government is taking steps in the wrong direction, but we still enjoy an incredible amount of freedom here.<br />
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The freedom we have to speak our minds, the freedom to practice our religions, the right to a trial, the rule of law, and a host of other freedoms are things which we enjoy every day and usually don't even think about. To paraphrase JFK, democracy is deeply flawed. But at least we have never had to build a wall to keep our people from leaving.<br />
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On this day, be grateful for the great country that we live in. It certainly has its flaws, but it is the greatest country in the history of the world. Freeedom is a great thing, and we have an incredible amount of it here. We have been greatly blessed.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-52705035983509552402009-11-06T09:59:00.000-08:002009-11-06T10:02:44.555-08:00Too Many RepublicansI and thousands of other protesters attended the health care rally in DC yesterday. The protesters were great. The speakers, not so much.<br />
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At about 12:05, all of the House Republicans came running down from the Capitol building. One legislator tried in vain to pump up the crowd. I kept expecting to hear Queen blasting from the speakers. The speakers all co-opted tea party terms like liberty into their speeches. Many spoke about the need to defend the Constitution. But where was this principle during the Bush years? Where was this principle when they authorized a monstrous new entitlement program costing us billions (Medicare part D)? Or expanded education spending exponentially (No Child Left Behind)? Or passed out "stimulus checks"? Or bailed out banks from their "troubled assets"?<br />
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I am glad that our reps railed against health care. I will take any help I can get to kill the bill. But don't insult me by waving your Constitution around when you have clearly ignored it for the last 8 years. And longer. Really, the last 100 years.<br />
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Republicans and Democrats are plagued by a similar character flaw; arrogance. They all think that they know what's best for your life better than you do. Republicans are liberals with a clearer sense of human nature. That's why they try to interject market forces into (Medicare Part D's "donut hole") or "reform" entitlements (welfare reform in the 1990's) rather than just doing away with it all and letting you decide what's best for the life of you and your family. They don't want you to be able to use your money the way that you want to. They are wiser than you, and they will use your money better than you will.<br />
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But they are all human beings. Some of them are wiser than us, but that does not give them the right to dictate to ordinary Americans what's best for our lives. Hayek commented on the basic problem with this mindset. He said that information is the primary problem. No bureaucrat or politician can have the detailed knowledge of the lives of all Americans in order to make informed, rational decisions on all of our behalf. If he had that knowledge, and he was wise enough, he could make great decisions for all of us. But each one of us knows what's best for ourselves better than any politician. A little humility and acknowledgment of human limitations would be greatly refreshing from our leaders. Policy cannot solve every problem. It can't even solve most of them.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-33095079092878529492009-10-27T10:10:00.000-07:002009-10-30T06:12:36.544-07:00Dumb Question #2Why do we just let illegal immigrants stay here, lowering our wages, using our schools, getting free health care and welfare benefits? This is a dumb question for anyone with any substantial knowledge of economics. To paraphrase Milton Friedman, open borders and a welfare state are incompatible. People simply respond to incentives. People know that they can come to America and have a chance to work and make a living, or have the social safety net of our extensive welfare system catch them. And many are caught in the safety net. Providing an incentive for failure in the form of welfare is just asking for trouble.<br />
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The dumb question is asking, how do immigrants leach off of society? The good question to ask is, why does a profit and loss system create a circumstance in which immigrants are capable of leaching off society? The answer to that is that we do not have a profit and loss system. The immigrants of the 19th century, when America essentially operated under open borders policy, knew that they came here facing the same odds as anyone in a capitalist society. They could either succeed or fail. We, however, have created a system in which one can neither fail nor succeed, and therefore there is less incentive to succeed at all. I am in favor of open borders, but only if the welfare state is eliminated.<br />
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What about lower wages, you may ask. I would argue that lower wages serve a great benefit to society. First, lower wage jobs allow low skill workers to be employed, and develop skills and experience which they can parlay into new, better paying jobs. Second, lower wages mean lower costs of production, which means lower prices for consumers. Low paid labor available overseas explains why we choose to import just about everything we buy. And all of us benefit from this low paid labor. Finally, lower labor costs and lower prices for consumers leave everyone with more money to invest into the creation of new wealth. The employer who has access to low cost labor is able to invest in new capital to produce newer, better, cheaper goods. A newer, better market with more employment opportunities for everyone is created thanks to the low cost labor.<br />
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A welfare state is incompatible with open borders. But if it was taken away (and minimum wage laws and other barriers to hiring were eliminated) open borders would be the best policy for everyone.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-7436491400115950852009-10-18T10:05:00.000-07:002009-10-18T10:05:03.978-07:00Dumb Question #1Should teacher led bible reading or prayer in public school be allowed?<br />
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Well, if we are being totally honest about this, no. No student should be exposed to religious propaganda while at a state run function. Just think about what would happen if Mormons, Muslims, or Zoroastrians were in the majority? Would you want your children to have to sit through the reading of their sacred scriptures? Further, how many of you really want your children to receive religious instruction from public school teachers? I didn't think so.<br />
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But, this is the wrong question. The real question is, should there be such a thing as public schools? My answer to this question is no. I can't imagine a more socialist institution than an all day state run indoctrination camp. Not only is it state run, and all day long, but it's mandatory. What people need to understand is that education cannot be value free. It's merely a question of which values schools promote. Parents ought to be in charge of the values being given to their children, not a ubiquitous state. Further, public schools are not free. They are just supported through tax money. <br />
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If we didn't have mandatory public schools, would some students not get a good education? Yes. But some students don't get a good education now. Would some families choose not to send their children to school? Yes. But some students don't go to school now, even with compulsory education laws. Overall, it's a matter of freedom. Parents ought to be free to send their children to whatever school they want to send them to. And they ought to be free from the burden of forced philanthropy, being taxed to provide education to other people's children.<br />
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I know that this will be quite controversial, even among the limited circle of people who read this blog. All I would ask is that you read it carefully, and think about it. If you disagree, let me know. I won't be angry. Honest debate is a great way for Christians to think carefully about things which they have never thought about before. I welcome your comments.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-21404987840468388692009-10-18T09:40:00.000-07:002009-10-18T09:40:23.450-07:00Dumb QuestionsMy father always says that there is such a thing as a dumb question. The dumb question is the question to which you already know the answer. People who ask questions to prove how smart they are are dumb. Not only are there dumb questions, there are also wrong questions. These are questions which people ask which are, or should be, totally irrelevant, and typically result in engaging in pointless, counterproductive arguments. In the next few blog posts, I will be examining some of the irrelevant questions that conservative Christians argue about that totally miss the point and make us look really stupid.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-68842402814097816762009-10-12T10:07:00.000-07:002009-10-12T10:07:02.441-07:00Great Sports WeekThis has officially been a great sports week, and the first great sports week in a long time for me. The Brownies finally won a game, fairly unimpressively, but they won. The Cornhuskers beat their first ranked opponent in a very long time. And, most satisfying of all, the Cardinals got swept out of the playoffs. The Cardinals losing is very close to as spiritually fulfilling as the Cubbies winning.<br />
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Fight on Brownies and Huskers, and R.I.P. Cards. Actually, scratch the peace. I hope the self proclaimed genius Tony Larussa is tormented day and night by the thought of this total failure. That would make me happy. Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-22482687585177607952009-10-12T06:49:00.000-07:002009-10-12T06:49:13.181-07:00The Pax ObamaDuring the 2008 presidential election, my roommate in college satirically predicted the coming of a Pax Obama if Senator Obama became President Obama. Apparently other people less satirically anticipate the coming of peace due to President Obama, as displayed by the fact that he won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. Now, you usually have to do something to win a Nobel Peace Prize, and I suppose Obama has done something. He has talked. That's about it. <br />
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I never used to get angry about the Obama hero worship that some people seem to suffer from. He is a true change in American politics, and it is expected that the far left wing would be ecstatic about having a true liberal in office for the first time since LBJ. But this Nobel thing just got me angry. You should have to do more than talk a good game to get a Nobel Prize. If talking a good game actually promotes world peace, then I don't have a problem with the prize. But as far as I can see, world peace is about as far away as it was when Obama came into office.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-87044946024709431882009-10-01T18:01:00.000-07:002009-10-02T06:28:01.697-07:00Greatest Movie Scenes of All TimeThis will be a fairly self-indulgent blog post. I always see "lists" of various types, and thought I would make one of one of my favorite topics of discussions, films. There's no methodology here, and no particular order to the scenes.<br />
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The Godfather-Purge Scene<br />
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At Michael's baby's baptism, he takes his oaths while his goons mow down his enemies in the streets. I love when the priest says, "Do you renounce the Devil and all his works?" and Michael says, "I do renounce them." All the while people are getting killed by Michael's henchmen. Brilliant filmmaking.<br />
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail-Socialist Peasant<br />
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King Arthur is lectured by a peasant about the proper role of government. The peasant claims that he was unaware that he even had a king. He thought he lived in an autonomous collective. "Do you see the violence inherent in the system?"<br />
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Seven-Final Scene<br />
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Kevin Spacey plays a very creepy serial killer killing based on the seven deadly sins. At the end, well, if you haven't seen the movie, you should watch it. But he and Brad Pitt have a memorable scene together, to put it mildly.<br />
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Casablanca-Final Scene<br />
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Rick tells Ilsa to go with Laszlo, confirming your sneaking suspicion that he is after all concerned about more than himself. Then Rick shoots the Major, but Louis refuses to turn Rick in. This prompts the line, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship," as they walk away. I do it poor justice, but it's a pretty awesome end to a pretty awesome movie.<br />
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To Kill a Mockingbird-Courtroom Speech<br />
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Atticus' amazing speech followed by the reverence given him by the blacks segregated in the crowd is one of the most amazingly powerful things I've ever seen. The line the preacher gives, "Stand up Jean Louise; Your father's passing," is just incredible.<br />
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Honorable Mentions:<br />
Casablanca-Crowd singing "La Marseillaise" over top of the Nazis<br />
Fight Club-"His name is Robert Paulson"<br />
Reservoir Dogs-Ear Amputation Scene<br />
Dr. Strangelove-Major Kong Riding the Bomb<br />
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Feel free to draft your own list and post it in the comments, or criticize mine.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-61718481907183183732009-09-28T07:05:00.000-07:002009-09-28T07:05:14.482-07:00Madden CurseOn the lighter side of blogs, I now turn to the critical question, "does the Madden Curse really exist?" The answer to this is an unequivocal "yes". For those who are not familiar with the curse, here is a brief explanation. The player to be featured on the cover of Madden will suffer a drop in performance the year of the cover. His career will usually never be the same. To prove that it exists, let's go through the numbers of all of the Madden cover players since 2001, the first year the game featured a player rather than John Madden.<br />
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2001-Eddie George<br />
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George had his best season in terms of yards and touchdowns, but bobbled a pass in the Divisional playoffs that was then intercepted, run back for a td, and the Titans lost. His next season began the downfall of George.<br />
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2002-Dante Culpepper<br />
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Following a good rookie season, Culpepper struggled, and suffered a knee injury, missing the last 5 games of the season.<br />
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2003-Marshall Faulk<br />
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Faulk dropped his rushing total under 1000 following four straight 1300 yard seasons. He was plagued by an ankle injury.<br />
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2004-Michael Vick<br />
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Vick breaks his leg in the preseason, missing almost the entire season.<br />
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2005-Ray Lewis<br />
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Lewis failed to get a single interception following a season with 6. He missed the last game with an injury, and then missed much of the rest of the next season with a hamstring injury.<br />
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2006-Donovan McNabb<br />
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McNabb said he didn't believe in the curse at the start of the season. He suffered a sports hernia in the first game of the season, and missed the final 7 games.<br />
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2007-Shaun Alexander<br />
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Alexander broke his foot and missed 6 weeks. He has never been the same.<br />
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2008-Vince Young<br />
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Young mostly escaped unscathed, but in the next year had a spiritual crisis that kept him from playing in 13 games. He has not played in a regular season game since.<br />
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2009-Brett Favre<br />
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Favre retired. The curse was so powerful that it brought him back from retirement. Twice. He only had a subaverage year, not the worst of his career, but not good.<br />
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2010-Polamalu/Fitzgerald<br />
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Polamalu has only played in one game so far after injuring his knee.<br />
Fitzgerald seems to be having a decent year so far, but just wait.<br />
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So, in recap, 6 out of the 11 had atrocious years, 3 had subaverage years, and 2 have the verdict still out as their season is not over. It's real.<br />
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Source-http://www.snopes.com/sports/football/maddencurse.asp, espn.com, and my brain.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-4604038163576162162009-09-25T12:43:00.001-07:002009-09-25T20:37:51.734-07:00Islamic ProtestA friend alerted me to the "Day of Islamic Unity" taking place on Capitol Hill today, so I thought I would give my two cents worth about the event. My initial reaction was to think that free exercise of religion and free speech are guaranteed under the First Amendment to the Constitution. As such, I think that they ought to have a right to assemble peaceably.<br /><br />Some Christians (primarily) and those fearful of Islam are offended by some of the statements and actions undertaken bythe organizers of the event. Hassen Abdellah is one of the organizers. Mr. Abdellah is an attorney and has defended such men as Mahmoud Abouhalima, who is charged in the bombings of the World Trade Center. This I have no problem with. Every man deserves the best legal counsel he can find, and accused terrorists (I believe) are no exception. More troubling is the statement the planners of the event released regarding the purpose of the event and their motto, "our time has come". "Democracy is not revelation, and democracy does not equal freedom, for in democracy you have apartheid, you have slavery, you have homosexuality, you have lesbianism, you have gambling, you have all of the voices that are against the spirit of truth; so no we don’t want to democratize Islam, we want to Islamize democracy. That’s what we want."<br /><br />This is troubling, and a fairly telling summary of the troubles which Europe has been facing lately. I personally have no fear that Islamists will use force (i.e. terrorist attacks) to Islamize the west. What I find troubling is that Islamists have already figured out how to use the West's democratic measures against itself in places like France and Great Britain. This more subtle threat is graver threat to the West than Islamist terrorism. Any Muslim living in America or the West who is willing to live by the rule of law is welcome to enjoy all of the privileges that come with that. Any Muslim is naturally allowed to speak his mind. But the moment that Muslims begin actively trying through the democratic process to "islamize" democracy is the moment that America needs to turn its political attention to the problem. This has already happened abroad and it can happen in America if we are not vigilant.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-16832805172140389312009-09-25T11:20:00.000-07:002009-09-25T11:34:59.359-07:00World Carfree DayDid you know that Tuesday September 22<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">nd</span> was World <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Carfree</span> Day? I had seen the posters up at the Metro station (it seemed like a bit of a shameless plug to get business on their part, but I suppose I can't criticize them for it) but had no intention of giving up the car for the day. Riding your bike 20 miles to the Metro is not my idea of a good time. <br /><br />I did have high expectations for the day however. After all, fewer cars means less traffic for me. Unfortunately, everyone else took the same "think-for-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">yourselfer</span>" attitude that I did. I found it more than a little ironic that I got stuck in the worst traffic of my life Tuesday. <br /><br />As detailed <a href="http://moorenado.blogspot.com/2009/06/using-reusable-bagsthe-great-american.html">here</a> my sneaking suspicion is that environmentalism is the great religion that we as a society genuflect towards when called upon, and yet when it comes to making personal sacrifices and living the green life, we flee as fast as we can. We are squirming in the pews of the church of environmentalism on Sunday and living our wicked lives in the consuming world the rest of the week. Why don't we just be honest with ourselves and admit that we don't care?Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-28952987215825932302009-09-17T17:26:00.001-07:002009-09-17T17:31:16.126-07:00Moorenado?The most frequent questions I get about the Moorenado are:<br /><br />1) How do you pronounce Moorenado?<br /><br />And...<br /><br />2) What does it mean?<br /><br />Answers:<br /><br />1) It is pronounced like tornado, only with Moore substituted for "tor".<br />2) It means that the Moorenado, like a tornado, touches down randomly, tearing up everything in its path. There is really no rhyme or reason to where it goes, but wherever it goes, it is sure to cause havoc. Of course, I am mostly joking, but every time you pull up the Moorenado, you never can tell what I'm going to write about.Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5772320554819631112.post-40190599092158301942009-09-12T18:56:00.000-07:002009-09-12T19:22:05.900-07:00Does Jesus Like Welfare?Jesus is quite clear about his concern for the poor in the Gospels. He even goes so far as to assert that what you do for the least of mankind is what you do for him. Proponents of the Social Gospel take Christ's concern for the poor and attack conservative Christians who reject social programs for the poor. This seems like a fair attack. But is it?<br /><br />I would assert that it is not. First, there is a question to ask about the nature and role of government. Is government's role to force altruism on its citizens? I would say no. Christ clearly commands people to help the poor. What he does not command is for us to take the money of others and give it to the poor. If I came with a gun, and demanded that you give me all of the money in your wallet for a wonderful charity such as the Salvation Army or Convoy of Hope, would I be in the wrong? Absolutely. Why is it any different to send an IRS agent to your house on behalf of the poor? Further, does government have the right to force a non-Christian to conform to the morality of a Christian? Does an atheist need to feel any compulsion to give to the poor? Should we force him to? No. He is wrong not to give, but he has the right to dispense his property as he sees fit.<br /><br />Second, I would assert that welfare is actually harmful to the poor. A basic principle of economics is that anytime you make the cost of an action more beneficial (0r less harmful) to the individual, more people will choose to take that action. So, when government pressures lending houses to make low interest loans to poor people to buy a house they cannot afford at any interest rate, and offers massive tax deductions for homeownership, it is understandable that many poor people decide to buy homes. Or when a store puts an item on sale, they sell more of those items. The same principle applies to welfare. Subsidizing the act of not working makes it more likely that people will engage in that action. This is not to say that everyone who is on welfare is a lazy bum. But some of them are. And all of them are enjoying the fruits of another man's labor. Government should not encourage unemployment, whether voluntary or involuntary.<br /><br />I think that the two biggest causes of poverty are absentee fatherhood and working few hours. This Heritage Foundation shows data which supports this conclusion: <a href="http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed092204a.cfm">http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed092204a.cfm</a><br />People are poor for any number of reasons. But many poor people just happen to share the two conditions of a single parent home, where the parent works low hours. Why enact a system which encourages people to work lower hours by subsidizing idleness?Jonathan Moorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00146550843249192095noreply@blogger.com6