Uncapping the social security tax wouldn't very much soak the rich. cf #MattBruenig https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2023/03/07/uncapping-the-social-security-tax/
the problem is an “actual malice” standard protects only the one side of the political spectrum that restrains itself from more creative commentary, and that’s not fair.
we can know very little, though we are told very much.
quiet YIMBYism among Florida Republicans. https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/07/florida-state-of-the-state-quotables-session-will-be-all-about-gov-desantis/69977223007/
Renner said during his speech the legislation has the House's support, and DeSantis likewise gave his stamp of approval on Tuesday. While less likely to generate the amount of headlines the more controversial priorities invite, the bill is as expansive as it is timely, coming as Florida is plagued by a shortage of affordable apartments and houses. It would provide incentives for private investment in affordable housing, pre-empt local government rules on zoning, density and building height in certain circumstances, encourage mixed-use development in struggling commercial areas and bar local rent controls.
my "drafts" blog into which i now put much more work than the one ostensibly for finished products now has... an archive page!
i feel so high tech.
but at least there's a list of what i've been writing lately.
A good op-ed by an old friend on #NewCollege https://www.tampabay.com/opinion/2023/03/04/florida-new-college-what-we-lose-when-we-ignore-stewardship-competence-column/
@Simplicator i think it's possible to have a more institutional hegemon, rather than one nation-state. just like the leviathan of the liberal state is meaningfully different than a traditional security-through-obeisance autocrat, there could be some international analogue, what the UN tried and failed to be, but without all the veto points. on the one hand it sounds idealistic, on the other, neither continuing US nor emerging Chinese hegemony strikes me as very practical (for different reasons).
Strong case for the prosecution. But so often when we accuse, we find our own sins in our adversaries (even when they genuinely are our adversaries' sins as well).
It's unbalanced, but a solid critique. The US legit squandered the soft power we once had, now stuff like this hits hard. The US has a great deal to repent.
But how persuasive to the world is a claim that what a hegemonic China might offer would in fact be a overall better?
We'll see.
via #PatrickLawrence
https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjbxw/202302/t20230220_11027664.html
"The correct number is 0%." #KevinDrum https://jabberwocking.com/our-national-shame-q3-of-2022-edition/
My family just effing moved here and the wife really loves it. I guess they think they want us to go, though. (Careful what you wish for.)
"We are actively working to move away from Florida and will be gone by mid-summer. We will never live in a red or trending-red state again; just too much risk." #quoderat http://www.technologyasnature.com/move-and-groove/
[new draft post] Economists are such scoundrels https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2023/03/06/economists-are-such-scoundrels/index.html
// inspired by @SteveRoth Thanks Steve!
“The reason why so many campus controversies seem to follow the same script is … that they are following the same script. A conservative group invites a figure onto campus who seems guaranteed to provoke outrage, leading to protests, and likely headlines about campus illiberalism. This is not a reaction against purported wokism so much as a means of weaponizing it for the other side’s political purposes.” @henryfarrell https://crookedtimber.org/2023/03/06/conservatives-on-campus/ ht @Obdurodon
Dan Wang's annual letter on China, long but beautifully written and insightful: https://danwang.co/2022-letter/ ht Tyler Cowen
"The conventional ugliness of communist constructions was not a defect. It was something that was desired. It was an alternative aesthetic where nothing would ever stand out. The grey leaders were beautiful—on their own terms." #BrankoMilanovic https://branko2f7.substack.com/p/on-charisma-and-greyness-under-communism
[new draft post] What is fascism? https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2023/03/05/what-is-fascism/index.html
“‘Equity’ is…a word that you invoke any time you object to the unit of equality someone else is using, regardless of what, if any, your preferred alternative unit of equality is.”
from #MattBruenig https://mattbruenig.com/2023/03/05/equality-and-equity/
it’s insane that these are the terms under which we live. https://www.businessinsider.com/police-getting-help-social-media-to-prosecute-people-seeking-abortions-2023-2 ht @mimsical
Representatives for the FBI told Insider they were "unable to accommodate" Insider's detailed request for information about the criteria required for officers to issue a request for a civilian's social media or internet history, what information is generally turned over to them in the pursuit of such information, and what channels officers used to make those requests. Representatives for Google and the Los Angeles and New York Police Departments, two of the largest police forces in the country, did not respond to Insider's requests for comment.
please be excessively polite. thank you.
i’m not sure whether the better word is grumpy or grouchy, but that’s how i am these days.
in terms of user experience, kindle is by far the best of the ebook platforms. but you can never fucking trust them. they arrogate to themselves a role of continuing control of what you think is yours. https://mastodon.social/@joeross/109968198632286360