As the election has finally arrived, there will almost certainly be an increase in unrest on our nation’s streets, no matter who wins. To report on the upcoming headlines in a more chipper and upbeat way, we here at the Diatribe will strive to deliver messages of calm and serenity amid a sea of pandemonium. […]
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How we win on Election Day
02 Nov 2020
Most people I know are pretty anxious about this week, with the election as well as possible reactions to election results (or lack of results). Given it’s in both parties’ interest to suggest the end of the world if the other side wins, it’s not surprising that the level of angst is amped up around […]
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Trump is Still Unfit
30 Oct 2020
In Nov. 2016, I blogged about my “Trumpotheses,” which were my own core beliefs about leadership as applied to Donald Trump’s oncoming presidency. They were: Experience Matters. Leaders with practical experience in their field perform better than those without such experience. Character Matters. Leaders with strong character (defined as truthfulness, integrity, fairness, and consistency) are […]
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Election 2020: How to Square the Circle
27 Oct 2020
Four years ago, we questioned, to the effect, of “how did it come to this?” How were we left with a choice of a very corrupt Hillary Clinton and a vulgar Donald Trump? While extending the Obama administration (effectively) with a Clinton presidency was unthinkable, voting for Mr. Trump would mean an effective endorsement of […]
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So at least says this CNBC article. Now Democrats are always in the business of offering to give something to some interest group, and have somebody else pay for it, so there is little new here. Give me free stuff–what’s not to like? But two quick points on a Monday morning. First is the proposal […]
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Bing’s Big Day
22 Oct 2020
I’m sure no one was surprised by the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Google. Someone who handles over 80% of domestic internet queries is definitely a monopoly, right?! Even better, Chrome controls about 70% of global browser traffic, 85% of the world’s smartphones run on Android, and Google receives 63% of search engine ad revenue in […]
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Covid-19 Economics: Case for Subsidies
21 Oct 2020
I have argued for a while that the US should just give $50B to the first company that can get a vaccine approved; even the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finisher should get multiple billions. While I don’t like government spending generally, this is clearly a case where pinching pennies makes no sense: in the […]
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Less than two weeks to election day, and then the real insanity begins (of the contesting of the results)! So it really is getting time for me to decide who to vote for. Yes, there really are undecided, and I’m one of them. It’s not that there is a possibility of me voting for Mr. […]
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Just leave the U.S.?
18 Oct 2020
Not surprisingly, we’re seeing the same virtue signaling as 2016, with cultural elites suggesting if Mr. Trump wins, they’ll leave the U.S. Now the temptation is to say “good riddance” and there is a reason to encourage that. Look, if you’re unhappy in this country, there are many others that might accept you. Consider one, […]
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2+ weeks out, and is the election over?
15 Oct 2020
Since my erstwhile Berean colleague, Mark Caleb Smith, is absent without leave, we are thirsting for sound political commentary. But since I’m writing this post, it’s doubtful you’ll get it here. After all, economists understand tradeoffs and opportunity costs, but politics? Not so much. Nevertheless, I’ll share my current observations and see if any of […]