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Politics and Economics
Trump supporters have been portrayed as victims of globalization and the decline of US manufacturing, stuck in low-paid jobs offering little in the way of job security or earning potential. Angry and desperate, the story goes, they flocked to that champion of the scorned and neglected, Donald J. Trump, who would kick out the corrupt elites, restore hope, heal pride, and make America great again.
The narrative goes something like this: Trump supporters are a bunch of profoundly unhappy bigots, ill-educated country bumpkins left behind by the forces of globalization, plagued by job insecurity, battered down by inequality, worried sick about their future, consumed by resentment of the liberal elites and racist to the core.
In their analysis of survey responses regarding proposed federal policies, Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page compare the policy preferences of “average citizens” versus “economic elites.
In their paper Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens (2014), Martin Gilens and Benjamin Page analyze survey data on public support for proposed federal policies.
“Good research is cautious about drawing conclusions, careful to identify uncertainties and avoids exaggerated claims. It demands multiple types of evidence to reach a conclusion. It does not assume that association (things occur together) proves causation (one thing causes another). Bad research often contains jumps in logic, spurious arguments, and non-sequiturs (‘it does not follow’).” Todd Litman
All hail the engineer’s approach to problem solving! Recognize a need...Define the problem, the objectives and the constraints...Collect information and data...Generate alternative solutions... Evaluate the consequence of different solutions...
The technocrat is often perceived as uninspired, narrow-minded, overly focused on details, a competent underling. The opposing construct is that of the visionary: charismatic, impassioned, focused on the Big Picture, confident of his vision, a leader.
The Electoral College system mitigates the excesses of majoritarian rule by giving less populated states a bit more influence in election outcomes. The Electoral College system forces candidates and presidents to attempt a transregional appeal because no single region of the country is sufficient to guarantee victory.
We all know who won in 2012. But did you know Obama actually won by the lowest number of counties in modern US history? Just 712 counties out of 3007 voted blue – that’s less than a quarter of all counties in the US.
“To do this may be to be a mere technocrat, rather than a complete human being concerned with the moral implications of what I say and the greatest good of society…” (Solomon M. Fulero and Lawrence S. Wrightsman-2008: Forensic Psychology)
There’s this cool measure called the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status. It was developed to capture self-perceived social status by means of a pictorial9-rung ladder. The Scale asks individuals to place an "X" on the rung on which they feel they stand.
For the sake of argument, I'm reducing the value of social status to its effect on widening the "field of eligibles" - that is, increasing the quality and quantity of potential mates. When in mate-seeking mode, we look around to see who’s available and who we think we can attract. Social comparison is the game. Inequality of mating opportunities is built into this game.
Should every generation be “better off” than the previous generation? What does “better off” mean? Looking only at the middle class and above, I’m assuming recent generations have been able to meet their core needs (sufficient housing, nutrition, healthcare, and education), so what should the current middle class be getting to reflect that they’re doing better than their parents?
I would imagine that many people who commit criminal acts are victims of abusive caregiving, awful environments, or at least genetically-influenced traits that facilitate criminal behavior (e.g., impulsiveness, mental illness, substance abuse, cognitive impairments). As victims, should these offenders get special treatment in the criminal justice system?
In several posts I have supported a modest Basic Income Guarantee (BIG), with the proviso that it be sufficiently miserly not to disincentivize work or add to the federal budget.
Global population growth is not slowing down fast enough.
Ideal # 4: Everyone has a right to 16 years of education Let the questions begin! Is there an age limit to this right? For instance, 30, 50, 70? How is the “right” realized? Through free tuition? Through a stipend? Is there a course/training load required to activate the right? Are there performance requirements to maintain the right? ...
Ideal # 3: Everyone has a right to healthcare. Questions: Where does one draw the line between healthcare that is a right and healthcare that is not a right? Who decides which procedures and treatments will be provided as a right? How much is cost a factor in determining what is and is not a healthcare right? How much does the probability of positive outcomes impact how much cost the right will bear? Or the seriousness of the condition?
Ideal # 2: Everyone has a right to safe and sanitary living conditions Questions (focusing on ‘safety’ only): Re-wording ‘safety’ as protection from danger, what types of dangers should we be protected from? What types of dangers should be tolerated? How much danger should be tolerated within each category of danger? ...
Ideal #1: Everyone has access to affordable housing Let the questions begin! What does ‘access’ mean? Does it mean everyone can be housed if they so choose to be housed? What if they so choose not to be housed? What if they choose to be housed in a way that violated other ideals, like the right of everyone else to live in safe and sanitary conditions? Does it mean housing is guaranteed in certain metro area? Or that it’s available somewhere in the country, but you might have to move to redeem your access? ...