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from FEE (Foundation for Economic Education)
RIGHT-CENTER BIAS, HIGH, non-profit organization
Montesquieu's Ideas Shaped America and Still Apply Today
January 18 marks the birth of Charles Louis de Secondat, Baron Montesquieu, who Robert Wokler called “perhaps the most central thinker…of the enlightenment.” He was such an important influence on America’s founders that one writer called him John Locke’s “Ideological co-founder of the American Constitution.”
There's No Such Thing as a Presidential Mandate
President Trump wants a border wall so much, he’s making its funding a condition of passing DACA. The wall was his signature campaign promise, a fact he surely uses to justify his resolve. Such is the foolish reasoning of the presidential mandate. The presidential mandate is based on the lofty claims that a majority of voters prefer the winner’s policies and that because the people prefer the president’s policies, the president’s policies should triumph if Congress and the president disagree. These claims presume a unique power that transcends the constitution.
Close-Knit Communities Put the Individual First
With no individual rights, there is no meaningful community, and with no community, there is nothing more than every man for himself. With no property rights established, we find that next to no other rights can be reasonably protected. There is no enforcement of the right to life if someone decides he wants what you have. There is no free speech, no right to assemble, no worship if your exercise upsets a person who has no reservations about using force. These are precisely the ingredients that make up a dystopia.
Bitcoin Cynics Are on the Wrong Side of History
People will look back on the cryptocurrency naysayers of today with the same incredulity that we have for the telephone cynics of 1876.
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from HumanProgress.org
Education Website
Why We Shouldn't Obsess Over Economic Inequality
Inequality can sometimes be a reflection of some social ills. But it can be a reflection of social progress too, and some purported cures for it are much worse than the disease.
How Markets Brought Refrigeration to the Masses
According to the latest government data more than 99.8 percent of American homes own at least one refrigerator. Furthermore, the US Census Bureau estimates the US poverty rate to be 13.5 percent. That means that essentially everyone in poverty, as defined by the government, has access to a technology that was reserved for the mega-rich just 200 years ago. Additionally, almost 25 percent of Americans now have two refrigerators to store their excess food and drink. The growing prevalence of refrigerators is partly due to their declining cost and partly due to people’s growing incomes. In 1919, the Frigidaire was the first self-contained refrigerator. It cost $775 (over $11,000 in today’s money). As the average hourly wage in 1919 was just $0.43, it took the average American 1,802 hours of work to afford this luxury appliance. The Frigidaire was a marvel back in its day, but had only five cubic feet of storage. As such, it would be classed as a “mini-fridge” today.
Why We Shouldn't Obsess Over Economic Inequality
Inequality can sometimes be a reflection of some social ills. But it can be a reflection of social progress too, and some purported cures for it are much worse than the disease.
How Markets Brought Refrigeration to the Masses
According to the latest government data more than 99.8 percent of American homes own at least one refrigerator. Furthermore, the US Census Bureau estimates the US poverty rate to be 13.5 percent. That means that essentially everyone in poverty, as defined by the government, has access to a technology that was reserved for the mega-rich just 200 years ago. Additionally, almost 25 percent of Americans now have two refrigerators to store their excess food and drink. The growing prevalence of refrigerators is partly due to their declining cost and partly due to people’s growing incomes. In 1919, the Frigidaire was the first self-contained refrigerator. It cost $775 (over $11,000 in today’s money). As the average hourly wage in 1919 was just $0.43, it took the average American 1,802 hours of work to afford this luxury appliance. The Frigidaire was a marvel back in its day, but had only five cubic feet of storage. As such, it would be classed as a “mini-fridge” today.
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from Psephizo (Blog)
How much are clergy worth?
What are Christian clergy worth, and how should that be reflected in what they are paid?
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from Religion News Service
Ex-Mormons launch FaithLeaks to root out abuse and corruption in churches
A new website called FaithLeaks aims to bring transparency to the workings of religious congregations and denominations by publishing documents and data sets provided by anonymous sources. The web portal was founded by two former Mormons who have previously gained access to documents shedding light on the inner workings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its position on controversial issues such as gay marriage. This week, the two founders — Ryan McKnight and Ethan Dodge — published a trove of 33 letters and documents detailing an internal investigation of alleged sexual abuse within a congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
from The Spokesman-Review
Newspaper in Spokane, Washington
Landmarks: Bridge builder’s home being restored
When the James and Sarah Bayley House was first constructed in Ross Park Addition near the Spokane River on the near northeast side of the city, it was one of several fine dwellings belonging to some of the area’s most noted entrepreneurs, politicians and members of the social elite. And until recently the Queen Anne home that was built 129 years ago was one of just two of those original homes still standing there. It’s still standing, but not there.
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Landmarks: Bridge builder’s home being restored
When the James and Sarah Bayley House was first constructed in Ross Park Addition near the Spokane River on the near northeast side of the city, it was one of several fine dwellings belonging to some of the area’s most noted entrepreneurs, politicians and members of the social elite. And until recently the Queen Anne home that was built 129 years ago was one of just two of those original homes still standing there. It’s still standing, but not there.
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