Hawk Talk

The Outrage Engine that is social media and op-eds has set its sights on a new target: billionaires. Apparently, being a billionaire is a bad, bad thing. Billionaires should sit down, shut up, and meekly wait until we confiscate their wealth. For certain people of certain political beliefs, this sounds like a great idea. Because, after all, nobody needs that much money. But is it really that simple? Can we really just steal billionaires’ money and nothing bad happens? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they breakdown this and more on Words and Numbers.

Quick hits

Redditors are kind to a person in need

Hawaii tries to ban smoking 1

Hawaii tries to ban smoking 2

Foolishness of the week

Green New Deal Resolution

Topic of the week

Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax plan

How an income tax on the rich expanded to be a tax on everyone

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Fun fact: the profit margin for most businesses is about 8 percent. When you’re talking about categories like restaurants and retail stores, that margin drops to around 2 percent. Yet, some people still seem to believe that all companies are perfectly capable of simply absorbing dramatic increases in their operating costs—namely, labor—with no changes in behavior by these companies. Artificially inflating labor costs, as in the form of minimum wage increases, will not lead to decreased hours, lay-offs, deferred hiring, decreases in benefits, or increased prices for consumers because… reasons. And if you voice disagreement with any of these beliefs, then you must just hate the poor or other ad hominem claims. But who really “hates” the poor based on actual policy outcomes, the #FightFor15 crowd or those who oppose minimum wage hikes? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they dig into this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Quick hits

AOC ruffles feathers

Lyft offers free rides to shelters

Foolishness of the week

Seeing racism where it’s not

Topic of the week: “You Just Hate the Poor!” and Other Minimum Wage Misunderstandings

Analysis of Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania

Census data on household incomes

Bureau of Labor Statistics data on minimum wage workers

A $15 minimum wage hurts workers

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Though the United States, as a constitutional republic, is considered to be a “limited government,” it often doesn’t feel that way. Washington keeps churning out law after law regarding what the state may do and what the individual may not. The fault for this is often laid at the feet of the Founders for including the “Necessary and Proper Clause” in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution. But is that blame just? Or have politicians through the years simply used it as an excuse to do what they wanted, regardless of what the Constitution says? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they talk about this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Judge convicts volunteers

Nancy Pelosi on inequality

Foolishness of the week

Wealth tax

Senators’ oath of office

Topic of the week: Diversity Officers and Administrative Bloat in Higher Education

How much of government shuts down?

Article 1, Section 8

10th Amendment

16th Amendment

Wickard v. Filburn

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The word “diversity” has become a sticky one. In the last fifteen years, a genuine “diversity industry” has sprung up, particularly at colleges and universities in the United States. Higher education institutions across the country have entire departments with dozens of full-time, highly-paid staff members dedicated to the concept. But to what effect? And exactly what kinds of “diversity” are we talking about? Special guest (and regular FEE contributing author) Mark J. Perry joins Antony Davies and James Harrigan to drill down into this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Quick hits

Oregon first state to require home visits of all families with newborns

Oregon looks to impose statewide rent control

Article II, Section 3

Nancy Pelosi

Foolishness of the week

Ginia Bellefante

$33 minimum wage

City Harvest self-sufficiency calculator

Topic of the week: Diversity Officers and Administrative Bloat in Higher Education

Mark Perry

The impact of diversity officers on diversity

University of Michigan spends $11 million on diversity

Fraction of 18-24 year olds enrolled in college (by race and gender)

Carpe Diem blog

Mark Perry on Twitter

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Americans are pretty concerned about violent crime—particularly crimes committed with guns, “assault weapons” most specifically. This concern, statistically speaking, is fairly irrational. You are far more likely to be killed by being beaten or stabbed than you are to be killed by any kind of rifle, “assault” or otherwise.  So why are so many people so tied up in knots about it? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Quick hits

Corona brewing replaces plastic six-pack rings

Illegal immigrants and Social Security numbers

The economic case for immigration

W&N episode #51: America relies on immigrants

Foolishness of the week

Being morally right vs being factually correct

Criticism vs harassment

Topic of the week: Reality and Perception of Crime

Pew report on violent crime data

FBI crime data

Bureau of Justice Statistics crime data

Gallup polls on perception of crime trends

Defensive uses of guns

Firearm homicide and suicide rates by city

2% of US counties account for 50% of US homicides

Feinstein introduces assault weapons ban

Assault weapons ban of 1994

Article I, Section 8

10th Amendment

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People like to talk about the “good old days” where everything used to be so much better than it is today. Everybody feels nostalgic on occasion, and it’s perfectly normal to misremember the past, but were the good old days really all that great? Join Antony Davies and James Harrigan as they compare then and now on the 100th episode of Words and Numbers.

Quick Hits:Cat parasiteElizabeth Warren

Foolishness of the Week: NY Times crossword

Topic of the week: Comparing Life Today to Life 100 Years Ago

See the accompanying chart for data and data sources.

Join the Conversation:Antony Davies on TwitterJames R. Harrigan on Twitter Antony Davies on Minds.com James R. Harrigan on Minds.com Words & Numbers Backstage

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Happy 2019, everyone!

On our first episode of Words & Numbers in the new year, professor James Stacey Taylor joins Antony and James this week to discuss the ethical implications of creating markets for human organs.

According to Prof. Taylor, nearly 18 people a day die from a shortage of kidney donors. Economists have argued for decades that these kinds of markets could save lives by creating better incentives for people to donate their organs to people in dire need, but critics say that it would encourage poorer people to put their health at risk for money.

Who's right?

Quick Hits:

University of Missouri says tall men asking short women on dates is policy violationUniversity of Missouri and Title IX (court transcript)No one wants to buy Sears

Foolishness of the Week:

Union dues eat worker’s entire paycheck

Topic of the week: Organ Markets

James Stacey Taylor People in need of kidney donors

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Antony Davies on Twitter James R. Harrigan on TwitterAntony Davies on Minds.comJames R. Harrigan on Minds.comWords & Numbers Backstage

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Within less than a decade of ratification of the Bill of Rights, President John Adams signed the Sedition Act, which blatantly violated the First Amendment’s protections of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Since that time, the Supreme Court has repeatedly taken a firm stand in defense of the First Amendment against government encroachment. Yet, within the past couple of years, we’ve heard Congressional Democrats and now a Republican President call for restrictions of both the press and speech that is critical of the government. The freedom to criticize government is the last tool available to peaceful people who seek change. A government that prohibits critical speech, leaves its people with no option but to take up arms. Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Corona brewing replaces plastic six-pack rings

Iowa high schools require gun safety courses

Foolishness of the week

TSA switching to floppy eared dogs

Topic of the week: The Alien and Sedition Acts

Congressional party results

The enemy of the people

Sedition Act 1

Sedition Act 2

Sedition Act 3

Sedition Act 4

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Antony Davies on Minds.com James R. Harrigan on Minds.com Words & Numbers Backstage

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Americans have the distinct reputation of being incredibly selfish. All things considered, it’s not exactly unearned. That said, every year, Americans also quietly give a rather astonishingly large amount of money to charities, particularly during the holiday season. Over $400 billion, in fact, 75 percent of which was for those less fortunate. And that’s simply the cash and goods. Beyond that, 60 million Americans each donated an average of 120 hours of their time to charities. This is, incidentally, more than the federal government spends on all of its welfare programs combined. What does this actually mean? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they discuss this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Penguins fan gets a kidney

South African politician calls on people to kill whites

Foolishness of the Week

Nurse denied life insurance

Topic of the Week: Giving

Giving Tuesday

Statistics of US generosity

Arthur Brooks: Who Really Cares?

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Money is one of those things that is so ubiquitous, so completely taken for granted, that we rarely stop to think about what it actually is. The colored bits of paper that we call dollars don’t have any particular worth on their own, yet we use them as though they do. John Locke, in 1689 when he wrote his Second Treatise of Government, touched on it, hinting at the three qualities money possesses. But what are those three things? What happens when one or more of those three attributes is abandoned? And how does the government fit into all of this? Join James Harrigan and Antony Davies as they examine this and more on this week’s episode of Words and Numbers.

Show Notes:

Payless Shoes’s social experiment

Japan 1

Japan 2

Foolishness of the Week

Instructions for making toast

Topic of the Week: What is money?

Money

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