The US economy is a mix of capitalism and socialism. There is freedom of choice and consumer sovereignty. The US does not have a free market economy because there is regulation and control of specific industries by the government.
Category: Life
Elected Again?
Grover Cleveland had been the mayor of Buffalo, NY in 1881 and the following year, governor of New York. He led the Bourbon Democrats, a classical liberal organization opposed to high tariffs, inflation, imperialism, and subsidies to business. He fought against political corruption, patronage, and bossism. Grover Cleveland was praised for honesty, self-reliance, integrity, and commitment to the principles of classical liberalism. 1884 – Cleveland ElectedHe was first elected president as a Democrat in 1884 with support from the republican Mugwumps. . . .
A Place to Call Home
According to data from the Feds, home sales have surged in the last few years and the median sale price has steadily risen. At the same time rental vacancy rates have plunged to 5.6% as of the end of 2021. The most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that 46% of renters in the U.S. spent more than 30% of their income on rent in 2020. The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines this level as being . . .
Big Bang
The Big Bang Theory argues that “space” suddenly and rapidly started to expand about 13.8 billion years ago. “The Big Bang” is referred to as the “birth” of the universe. It represents the point in history where the laws of physics, as we understand, them work. It was not an explosion of matter in space but rather an expansion of space itself. The expansion continues. Twenty minutes after the initial bang, the universe cooled enough to allow the formation of subatomic . . .
History Gaps?
George Santos (R- New York) has created a fabulous personal history out of thin air. His history, as an elite athlete and volleyball star, savvy business tycoon, friend of dogs, grandson of holocaust survivors got him elected. So it worked? When we read history, we tend to accept it as being truthful. It’s written down by maybe a professor from Harvard and contains many facts, most probably true. But, it can’t contain all the facts. What about those missing . . .
Who are the Poor?
The US poverty rate when first measured in 1959 was 22.4%. The rate declined during the 1960s. Since then, however, poverty has consistently been between 10% and 15%. The most recent official poverty measure estimates that 11.4% of the US population, 37.2 million people, were poor in 2020. In 2018, poverty in the US was set as an annual income less than $25,465 for a family of four with two adults and two children. This measure takes into account the cost of . . .
Innocent, But Convicted
More innocent peopleare jailed than ever before. Exonerations are up exposing a justice system that doesn’t provide justice for the poor. The statistics of who gets convicted while innocent show stark differences by race. Children and people with mental disabilities are also treated unfairly. Why? There are several reasons. Here are important ones: Poverty and Ineffective Defense Counsel: Poor people disproportionately get entangled in the criminal justice system and are convicted wrongfully. A huge cause of this is ineffective assistance . . .
Eight Billion People
Needing Clothes, Food and Shelter The UN projects that the world population will reach eight billion by November 15 this year and ten Billion by 2060! Of course, projections are based on assumptions that may be wrong. Replacement level fertility rate is 2.1 children per woman. At this rate, population is at stasis from generation to generation. The exact rate varies from region to region and is affected by mortality rates and longevity. The current US fertility rate is 1.7 . . .
Russia’s Hobbesian Bargain
Thomas Hobbes declared in 1651, in Leviathan, that without a social contract in which everyone gains security in return for subjecting themselves to an absolute authority, a “state of nature” will prevail. Life becomes “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short” when individuals are bound only by their personal power and conscience. Unlimited “natural” freedoms include the right to plunder, rape and murder. Social contract theory asserts that law and political order are not natural but a means to an end. . . .
The Selfish Model for Progress
It appears to be impossible to accomplish what we need with our current hope-throttling congressional partisanship. Maybe we need to look at the real costs to society of holding back investment in the people, us? Real Embedded Costs: A current federal minimum wage of $7.25: In July 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Raise the Wage Act, which would increase the federal minimum wage in steps to $15 by 2025. This increase would affect 23 million Americans with a direct boost . . .