Let the free market take care of all of our problems – except for our houses

A couple days ago, I saw this video of Sen. Lindsey Graham, a conservative senator from South Carolina, being pummeled by members of the "tea party." The problem is that he is apparently not conservative enough. You can hear the first questioner recommending that we basically dismantle the entire federal government to allow the "free market" to solve all our problems. It's amazing to hear how prevalent this viewpoint is. I often hear it from conservative acquaintances, that government is in the way that the free market will take care of us much like God will take care of us, if only we would stop trying to help ourselves and just let good things happen. There is much evidence that this "free market fundamentalism" is pie in the sky, and it is also a dangerous way to think. And see this analysis and here. The idea of free market fundamentalists, that good things will simply happen in a systematic way is based upon a huge mistaken assumption that all people are selfish and rational and that this selfish rationality will drive the system in a coherent way. This guiding principle of widespread rational selfishness is often referred to as homo economicus. Also consider that regulation, formal or otherwise, is prevalent throughout nature. This week, I had two experiences which served as powerful evidence to me that people are not necessarily rational or selfish. Both of these situations involve houses, which are typically the single largest investment made by most people. [More . . .]

Continue ReadingLet the free market take care of all of our problems – except for our houses

The end game of banning abortion, by the statistics

Dan Savage examines the new statistics from Guttmacher Institute showing that banning abortion doesn't reduce the number of abortions, and draws several inescapable conclusions: Banning abortion kills women. Making contraceptives readily available reduces abortions and saves the lives of women. He concludes that banning abortions, then, is an attempt to punish women for having sex.

Continue ReadingThe end game of banning abortion, by the statistics

Time to shine more light on the Federal Reserve

Ben Bernanke wants the Senate Banking Committee to reconfirm him as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. U.S. Representative Alan Grayson wants to see more information about the inner workings of the Fed before Bernanke is reconfirmed, "given how little is known about what he has actually done." In a mass-emailing, Grayson points out that "Ben Bernanke didn't see the crisis coming and has added $1.2 trillion to the Fed's balance sheet through covert bailouts." He points out that there can't be a full debate over Bernanke's "record if nothing is public." That's why Grayson is asking for the release of the following information:

  • Information that Bloomberg reporter Mark Pittman has requested via a Freedom of Information Act Request on the Bear Stearns rescue and that the Federal Reserve is contesting in the courts.
  • Information I requested in February on which institutions received the additional $1.2 trillion, how much each institution received, and what was promised in return.
  • All Federal Reserve documents that went to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office relating to the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch merger in which potentially illegal and coercive activity might have occurred, as well as all Federal Reserve documents relating to the lawsuit pursued by Merrill Lynch shareholders in the U.S. District court for the Southern District of New York.
  • Transcripts of all Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes up to and including that of September 2009.
  • Full disclosure of all terms and conditions of all off-balance sheet Fed transactions in the past three years.
If this controversy were about ACORN, or any other person or organization without great power, Congress would have turned the organization inside out with subpoenas, and we would have had a real discussion. I agree with Grayson that it's time to shine much more light on the Fed, especially in light of these statistics recently reported by Think Progress.

Continue ReadingTime to shine more light on the Federal Reserve

Dying in prison

Fascinating photo essay of Louisiana prison hospices. Yes, those are human beings behind bars--there simply must be a better way to deal with most of them than letting them rot behind bars. The essay starts with a mind-blowing statistic: In Louisiana, one out of every 55 residents is behind bars, many of them for life.

Continue ReadingDying in prison