I know more about liberal theories of property rights than I do any other philosophical subject. I am not sure why, but I was fascinated by procedural accounts of the origination of property rights for a multi-year long span of time, during which I read just about every canonical text in the debate. Much to… Continue reading Failed philosophies of property rights
Year: 2012
The hidden gem in Romney’s disaster speech
The press is having a field day with a secretly taped video of Mitt Romney speaking to high-level donors to his campaign. In the most notable part of the video, Romney blasts half of the country that he is oddly running to represent: There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the… Continue reading The hidden gem in Romney’s disaster speech
Another serious problem with Rahm’s lawsuit
So apparently Rahm Emanuel is suing to enjoin the Chicago Teachers Union strike. The court injunction is a long-standing enemy of organized labor; so who knows what will actually come of it. Dylan Matthews took a stab at figuring out whether Rahm had a case. Matthews quotes from the IL state statute governing educational employees:… Continue reading Another serious problem with Rahm’s lawsuit
Causation and the Chicago Teachers Strike
The Chicago Teachers are striking for various reasons. I support them, and hope they win. It occurred to me — once again — that confusions about causation have muddied the debate here. And since I now apparently write about theories of causation often, why not do it again here. The effect that we are trying… Continue reading Causation and the Chicago Teachers Strike
State of Working America 2012 edition is out
One of the greatest things the Economic Policy Institute does is publish an annual State of Working America. It aggregates and beautifully presents almost all of the statistical indicators that someone interested in inequality, poverty, labor, and other similar subjects needs. Well, the 2012 edition is out and things look terrible, as expected. I might… Continue reading State of Working America 2012 edition is out