11/07/2012

Nov 2012 links


Some Red-State Residents Say They Want to Secede -- But Their States Wouldn't Be Able to Sustain Themselves // If CA were to secede, the state would have a nearly balanced budget. If AL were to secede, it wouldn't be able to pay for stop signs.


The Public Apparently Isn't Interested In Sound Economics

Polarization of US Government
Election Prediction sites, predictions, and discussions:
Data and visualization blogs worth following -- April 27, 2012 by Nathan Yau

Robert Reich (Romneyism)
  1. Corporations are the basic units of society.
  2. Workers are a means to the goal of maximizing corporate profits.
  3. All factors of production – capital, physical plant and equipment, workers – are fungible and should be treated the same. 
  4. Pollution, unsafe products, unsafe working conditions, financial fraud, and other negative side effects of the pursuit of profits are the price society pays for profit-driven growth.
  5. Individual worth depends on net worth 
  6.  People who fail in the economy should not be coddled.
  7. Taxes are inherently bad because they constrain profit-making.
  8. Politics is a game whose only purpose is to win.
  9. Democracy is dangerous because it is forever vulnerable to the votes of a majority intent on capturing the wealth of the successful minority, on whom the economy depends. 
  10. The three most important aspects of life are family, religion, and money. 
  11. Patriotism is a matter of guarding our economy from unfair traders and undocumented immigrants, rather than joining together for the common good.
Soup Kitchens Caused the Great Depression (Krugman), i.e. increased use of the social safety net is a cause rather than a result of the depressed economy.

Charts: FlowingData

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