Periodically, the Census puts out something it calls synthetic work-life earnings (SWLE) estimates. To derive these estimates, what you do is you find the current median income at age 25, age 26, age 27, age 28, and so on until age 64. Then you add all of those median incomes together. SWLE estimates are somewhat… Continue reading The Total Fertility Rate Is Kind of a Nonsense Statistic
Childlessness Did Not Cause Birth Rate Decline
Over at the Guardian, Martha Gill argues that a shortage of “Mr Rights” is why the birth rate has fallen so much in developed countries. Specifically, Gill states that “the dramatic rise in childless women – and their inability to find the right partner – is driving a good deal of the rich world’s birthrate… Continue reading Childlessness Did Not Cause Birth Rate Decline
Solar Panels Reduced My Electric Bill by $2,677 in 2022
In late 2021, I had solar panels installed onto the roof of my house. After some bureaucratic delays, the solar panels began producing electricity for me at the beginning of January 2022. I have been tracking the performance of the panels for the last year in order to assess what the financial impact of the… Continue reading Solar Panels Reduced My Electric Bill by $2,677 in 2022
The Contradictions of Deliberative Democracy
A few days ago, Matt Yglesias tweeted the following comment about a New York Times piece on Joe Biden’s record on organized labor: What’s interesting to me about the tweet is not the underlying question of whether Joe Biden is good or bad on labor, but rather how it relates to some of the problems… Continue reading The Contradictions of Deliberative Democracy
Babies on Planes
I read this piece about babies on planes by Stephanie Murray at The Atlantic, as well as many negative reactions to it on social media. Murray uses the example to touch on broader questions posed by parents who bring young children into public spaces that are not exclusively used by children. Some people think parents… Continue reading Babies on Planes