Am I a Right Wing Conservative or Not?

Readers of this blog probably assume I am a Right-Wing Conservative, considering some of the blog’s content. Actually, I am closest to being a Libertarian. To put things in perspective, here are some quick “one liners” that will help you understand me (yeah, I know some are longer than one line).

Independence and Freedom

Here is an insightful article by Roger Pilon of the Cato Institute.  Dr Pilon has taught philosophy and law and was a national fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.  Pilon holds a B.A. from Columbia University, an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a J.D. from the George Washington University School of Law.  Dr. Pilon has it right.

Why High Drug Prices Are Good

Media pundits and politicians often claim that drug prices have risen prodigiously and that we should all be concerned about it because we are worse off as a result.  However, even a cursory examination of the issue suggests that the claim is prodigiously wrong.

The question everyone should address is whether, drug wise, we are better off now than we were, i.e., is the cost benefit ratio greater now or years ago.  The answer to this question is easily illustrated with two more questions.

If we restricted ourselves to drugs that were available ten years ago, would we be paying more now, in real dollars?  It doesn’t take a genius to realize that many of the wonder drugs of yesteryear no longer have active patents and are now available in generic form, hence are much cheaper in real dollars.

Why wouldn’t we enjoy this financial benefit by buying older drugs to save money?  The answer to this question is obvious.  Newer more expensive drugs whose patents haven’t run out do things for us that the older drugs didn’t.  The implication is obvious, too.  We must be getting more value for our money now than we were then or we wouldn’t be buying these new drugs.

Most of the drugs I buy are expensive.  But they provide benefits to me in terms of life and quality of life that I couldn’t buy years ago.  I wish these drugs were cheaper.  I wish everything was cheaper.  I’d like to live like a King.  But I can’t afford to live like a King, only better than before.  To blame the fact that I can’t afford to live like a King on Big Business is ludicrous.

What will be the effect of regulating low drug prices?  Fewer new drugs.  Such regulation is simply a way of forcing you to buy older less effective drugs in lieu of newer ones that were not developed.  Thus such regulations ultimately remove choices, which of necessity reduces satisfaction.

The Gender of Various Objects

You may not know that many non-living things have a gender. For example...

1) Ziploc Bags -- They are Male, because they hold everything in, but you can see right through them.

2) Copiers -- They are Female, because once turned off, it takes a while to warm them up again. It's an effective reproductive device if the right buttons are pushed, but can wreak havoc if the wrong buttons are pushed.

3) Tire -- Male, because it goes bald and it's often over-inflated.

4) Hot Air Balloon -- Male, because, to get it to go anywhere, you have to light a fire under it, and of course, there's the hot air part.

5) Web Page -- Female, because it's always getting hit on.

6) Subway -- Male, because it uses the same old lines to pick people up.

7) Hourglass -- Female, because over time, the weight shifts to the bottom.

8) Hammer -- Male, because it hasn't changed much over the last 5,000 years, but it's handy to have around.

9) Remote Control -- Female...... You may have thought it'd be male. But consider this -- it gives a man pleasure, he'd be lost without it, and while he doesn't always know the right buttons to push, he keeps trying.

Gun Control Rhetoric

Here is a link to a column by John Lott, "Let’s not be so quick to believe gun-control rhetoric".  It is on target (pardon the pun).

Old Warbirds

Here is a link to a nice video about old warbirds.  Use full screen, the photography is excellent.

Obama vs. America

Thomas Sowell has written a thoughtful column with his views about why Obama denigrates the United States.

Measles, Vaccines, and Autism

Here is a column by Thomas Sowell, "Measles, Vaccines, and Autism" that puts the topic in perspective.

Vaccination and Autism

Rebecca Goldin of Stats.org demolishes one study supposedly linking vaccinations to autism.

Here is the link.

Don Boudreaux demolishes James Surowiecki’s wage stagnation article in the New Yorker

Howdy:

Don Boudreaux's letter to the New Yorker demolishes James Surowiecki’s economic analysis of alleged wage stagnation.

See the comments, there is no hope.