03 January 2019

In Which Your Blog Author Vents About Stupid Political Beliefs

Since Donald Trump's political ascension I've grown less tolerant of stupid ideas. Which stupid political ideas? Here are a few.

Belief that ...
  •  you can raise median wages by raising minimum wages
  •  illegal immigration raises crime or lowers our quality of life
  • (bonus stupidity points if you believe this about legal immigration)
  • Keynesian economics is unnecessary to a smoothly functioning financial system
  • Keynesian-inspired policy is fair or cheap without personal - very expensive - penalties for bankers who force bailouts
  • simple decency, also known as being polite, puts too much emphasis on being politically correct and should be blown up
  • inheritance tax should be lower than income tax
  • we should spend taxpayer money imprisoning guys who smoke pot
  • people choose poverty 
  • we can end poverty
  • Ayn Rand's fiction is a better guide to government policy than J.K. Rowling's fiction
  • cryptocurrency serves a purpose
  • global warming is a problem that will only impact future generations or is too expensive to address now
  • it's a bad idea to invest in alternative energy
  • evolution (after working for billions of years) and economic progress (after working for centuries) will suddenly halt in our lifetimes and the future will only be worse
  • government spending to close the gap between rich and poor kids when it comes to opportunities for health, learning, safety and engagement won't pay off for generations
  • economic progress follows from a win-lose philosophy
  • it's a good idea to protect jobs, companies and industries from gales of creative destruction
  • it's a good idea to leave people vulnerable to gales of creative destruction
  • we can make economic progress through trade protection
  • healthcare is not a right
  • government should not spend huge amounts investing in infrastructure, education and R&D
  • teachers can be credible role models for kids while struggling financially because of low-wages or hourly pay that is subject to change every school term
  • school bonds that give money to building contractors rather than teachers make education more effective


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