tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post3406641177818956980..comments2024-03-14T11:09:32.759-05:00Comments on Falkenblog: Idiocracy in ActionEric Falkensteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07243687157322033496noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-84317386271499251642012-11-13T07:56:37.708-06:002012-11-13T07:56:37.708-06:00I have 3 kids. And my reference was meant to riff ...I have 3 kids. And my reference was meant to riff off the movie, not follow it exactly. a X-cracy is a kind of rule. Idiocracy rule by idiots. Eric Falkensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07243687157322033496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-59678773777744242612012-11-12T20:04:57.125-06:002012-11-12T20:04:57.125-06:00Eric, please use your obscure movie references co...Eric, please use your obscure movie references correctly: you have misused the word "Idiocracy". It is a de-evolution that arises from demographic trends where smart people have few children and idiots have many. <br />BTW, how many kids do you have? <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-27642598130376520992012-11-08T22:11:53.347-06:002012-11-08T22:11:53.347-06:00I disagree with your logic in the last paragraph. ...I disagree with your logic in the last paragraph. If it's not the last vote that matters, it's the vote that makes the margin just big enough that lawyers can't go after it. Power of your vote is the same either way (still very small).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-25120065000967347802012-11-08T11:10:16.158-06:002012-11-08T11:10:16.158-06:00Lot of people, on all sides, seem to think deep po...Lot of people, on all sides, seem to think deep pockets is what matters in the end. If so why not bite the bullet and introduce formal plutocracy, and replace elections with (penny) auctions: anyone can make a non-refundable donation to the Treasury for the candidate of their choice (at all levels), and the one with the highest amount to their name on closing day gets the job. The amounts are published in real time to encourage further donations and solve the marginal voter problem (if everybody is rational, the difference between the first and second candidate is always 1 incremental donation, the voting stops when nobody is willing to make an incremental donation to flip the order, donations that make the amounts equal are not allowed). If markets as money weighted decision making mechanisms are efficient, it should produce a pretty optimal result. And it reduces the need for compulsory taxes by the amount the auctions bring in. <br /><br />If anyone reading has a small country handy, could they please try and upload a report on SSRN after a couple of generations?cighttp://commentisglee.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-83850057308874497312012-11-07T11:54:43.692-06:002012-11-07T11:54:43.692-06:00So Dr. Falkenstein, did you bother to vote or not?...So Dr. Falkenstein, did you bother to vote or not?<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-87367447631446662632012-11-06T12:38:57.604-06:002012-11-06T12:38:57.604-06:00The guys with the deep pockets hire the lawyers.
...The guys with the deep pockets hire the lawyers.<br /><br />And what strain of libertarianism supports "wage equality"?Mercurynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-90719028009805927902012-11-06T11:17:24.488-06:002012-11-06T11:17:24.488-06:00I agree that voting doesn't matter in this ele...I agree that voting doesn't matter in this election. I feel stupid even doing it.<br /><br />But what alternative are you offering? Is there a better way?<br />My girlfriend is Russian. I was asking her how ANYONE could vote for Putin when his dictatorial ambitions are so obvious. She answered very matter-of-factly that many people, especially in rural Russia, strongly believe that only a very powerful man can rule such a big and ethnically diverse country. <br /><br />America, as you accurately pointed out, is becoming big, ethnically diverse, and unwieldy. But I think you are mistaken in assuming that the power has become concentrated in the presidency. I think the power has been concentrated in ideologies. <br /><br />It's not the lawyers who will ultimately invalidate your vote, it's the guys with deeper pockets. Our ideologies have become so entrenched and steeped in billions of dollars that no one is willing to compromise, which is a fundamental pillar of the America governmental dream. <br /><br />I don't think voting should be tossed away, or that literacy tests should be given to vote. I think believing and investing in Americans being more educated is the only answer. I'd like to think as a libertarian my fundamental belief in man as self-sufficient and decision-capable beings is enough to guarantee good government.<br /><br />Now, let's get some basic re-investment in education and wage equality (related!) into our two-party system.... if only I knew where to start, those bastards.JAkenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-46767315144065566402012-11-06T11:00:44.987-06:002012-11-06T11:00:44.987-06:00Eric, your critique of our political situation is ...Eric, your critique of our political situation is valid, perhaps even understating the shortcomings. At times, it seems too many of the greediest, the worst, and the most unscrupulous of men seek power. Yet, we have a form of government instituted by men who desired the scope of that government be constrained within certain bounds. Today one of our political parties is built on an expansive view of the proper scope of government, a view which would have been anathema to the founders of our country. With eyes wide open as to the faults of men, we do still have a meaningful choice. As Franklin famously urged, we should endeavor to 'keep the Republic'. Good people, rich and not so rich, bled to be free from the dictates of autocrats.Dougnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-11573701300421899632012-11-06T09:29:14.895-06:002012-11-06T09:29:14.895-06:00What were some of the responses you got from your ...What were some of the responses you got from your students at Northwestern when you asked about Free Trade?Alexander F.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-28075166822337299912012-11-06T09:19:23.203-06:002012-11-06T09:19:23.203-06:00It’s time to dust off constitutional monarchy and/...It’s time to dust off constitutional monarchy and/or revert back to the original system where the states are strong and the federal government relatively weak (The national sovereign is called The United States of America not The United People of America for a reason).<br /><br />This eliminates the “Us vs. Them” acrimony that gets worse by the day and which will eventually end violently. The feds collect just enough taxes for things like a suitable military and that which (and only that which) can’t be better accomplished at the state (or more local level) and then they spend the rest of their time cutting ribbons and going to parties. If you want more redistribution of wealth, public nudity and free drugs you go live in one state, if you want minimal government with few obstacles to free enterprise you go live in another state. 50 choices is a lot of choices. <br />Mercurynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-67780045427226941422012-11-06T08:40:04.674-06:002012-11-06T08:40:04.674-06:00President: has some power
Congress: has some power...President: has some power<br />Congress: has some power<br />Permanent unelected bureaucracy: vastly more power. (Includes military-industrial, financial-industrial, etc complexes)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-19787665709000768062012-11-06T08:36:12.193-06:002012-11-06T08:36:12.193-06:00Satire? No at all. Pinochet's policies made ...Satire? No at all. Pinochet's policies made Chile the most prosperous and stable nation in South America. When he was done he stepped down and re-instituted democracy. Unfortunately, brutality was required and at times was excessive. Yet America has never had a problem with initiating or participating in brutality, as our war-making suggests. Indeed, their is much hypocrisy on the left. We never hear a peep about the mass murders and famines, in say, Ukraine that were created by communists. Pinochet saved Chile and prevented a much larger humanitarian crisis. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-91853511847639770202012-11-06T07:38:59.677-06:002012-11-06T07:38:59.677-06:00Do away with primaries. Go back to the good ol'...Do away with primaries. Go back to the good ol' days when the candidates were chosen in smoke-filled rooms by their party's leaders. That way, the disinterested masses will only have a choice between candidates with some cred (hopefully).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-73037460204323271432012-11-06T06:05:05.066-06:002012-11-06T06:05:05.066-06:00I would hate to see the intellectual's 'fi...I would hate to see the intellectual's 'final solution' for the 99.9% of the population he deems below him.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-63624080162522971392012-11-06T05:21:28.639-06:002012-11-06T05:21:28.639-06:00Let us hope the prior comment was satireLet us hope the prior comment was satireAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7905515.post-38953457623011732352012-11-05T22:12:35.577-06:002012-11-05T22:12:35.577-06:00When democracy fails strong hands must step in - J...When democracy fails strong hands must step in - Just as Pinochet did in Chile. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com