tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post4552596497731236615..comments2023-10-31T03:18:26.963-07:00Comments on Great Guys Weblog: Lies, Damn Lies, and Government StatisticsBrethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-56361597643269288792015-03-14T10:43:22.827-07:002015-03-14T10:43:22.827-07:00erp asked: "...why should we settle for medio...erp asked: "<i>...why should we settle for mediocrity...</i>"<br /><br />Who is this "we" you're referring to? Sounds very, very collectivist to me.<br /><br />It never has been and never will be true that all individual members of the human species have had or will have the capability or the desire to "strive for excellence" or "strive for the stars."<br /><br />I'm personally striving to develop advanced robotics technology (and make a buck). You're personally striving for whatever your striving for.<br /><br />But I don't think that "we" collectively should strive for anything at all.<br /><br />And I think that many individuals simply don't have the capability or desire to strive for much at all. And that's okay with me. Let them be fat, dumb, and happy. As long as everybody is equal under the law (rule of law), then it works for me.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-7072925383080137192015-03-13T17:31:31.513-07:002015-03-13T17:31:31.513-07:00Certainly we can, but why should we settle for med...Certainly we can, but why should we settle for mediocrity when we can strive for excellence.<br /><br />I hope you're just funning with me and don't really think it's okay for our fellow human beings to spend their lives in mind-numbing limbo.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-80512182702568021812015-03-13T16:56:55.808-07:002015-03-13T16:56:55.808-07:00I'm not sure it's important to be separate...I'm not sure it's important to be separated from the lower animals, but it doesn't matter because we already are.<br /><br />The thing that separates us from the lower (non-tame) animals, is that we, as a species, have broken free of survival-of-the-fittest, at least for a while. We can support tremendous diversity of goals, aspirations, and capabilities.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-69784292685665937852015-03-13T16:40:14.840-07:002015-03-13T16:40:14.840-07:00Me, that's who and everyone does need to striv...Me, that's who and everyone does need to strive for the stars. It's what separates us from the lower animals.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-12126498968330372972015-03-13T16:23:23.418-07:002015-03-13T16:23:23.418-07:00erp wrote: "Our nature is to strive for the s...erp wrote: "<i>Our nature is to strive for the stars.</i>"<br /><br />I'm sure your nature is.<br /><br />That doesn't mean everybody's nature is nor that their nature should be that.<br /><br />erp wrote: "<i>We need to agree to differ on this subject.</i>"<br /><br />Says who? :-)Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-90397638117202879742015-03-13T15:27:12.765-07:002015-03-13T15:27:12.765-07:00We need to agree to differ on this subject. Human...We need to agree to differ on this subject. Human beings aren't puppies. Our nature is to strive for the stars.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-29931918107516248682015-03-13T14:57:43.996-07:002015-03-13T14:57:43.996-07:00erp,
IQ was an example and part of the makeup of ...erp,<br /><br />IQ was an example and part of the makeup of an elite.<br /><br />"<i>...fat, dumb and happy.</i><br /><br />Note the word "happy." Nothing inherently wrong with fat, dumb and happy.<br /><br />That's exactly my point. I think they're overall happy/content.<br /><br />That may not be you, that may not be what you wanted for your kids, that may not be part of your culture, that may not be what you want for your country. But it's not necessarily bad.<br /><br />Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-65997671552473710762015-03-13T14:13:42.373-07:002015-03-13T14:13:42.373-07:00IQ? Is that how elites are measured? If so, none ...IQ? Is that how elites are measured? If so, none of those whom the media tout as 1% elite would qualify. I remember when Hillary first came on the stage, she was touted as "the smartest woman who ever trod the earth!" I kid you not. Even a person of my impressive IQ couldn't have made that up!<br /><br />Bret, you are a sweetie, for thinking I have a high IQ, I don't know about that, but I do know that it isn't subjective to know that kids are better off when they can go to a school which prepares them to break out of poverty, not one which keeps them, to use one of my husband's favorite sarcastic expressions, fat, dumb and happy.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-33837880889989312522015-03-13T13:48:48.724-07:002015-03-13T13:48:48.724-07:00erp wrote: "Kids are so far worse off..."...erp wrote: "<i>Kids are so far worse off...</i>"<br /><br />In what objectively measurable and comparable way? Maybe they're not as educated, but they have better entertainment. They eat, they sleep, they have clothes, they have sex, they live longer.<br /><br />It's only by subjective measures that they're worse off.<br /><br />erp wrote: "<i>We are far from elites.</i>"<br /><br />I didn't write "rich," I wrote "elite." If you're not in the top 10% or even 1% of, say, IQ, I'd be very surprised.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-37448594089271271492015-03-13T13:04:36.473-07:002015-03-13T13:04:36.473-07:00Bret,
- Medicine has improved over the years and...Bret, <br /><br />- Medicine <i>has</i> improved over the years and might have improved even more if the government didn’t interfere with medical and drug research.<br /><br />- I vehemently disagree with your notion that young women aka girls make conscious decisions to become sexual active in their, sometimes, very early teens. After the first baby and the independence that comes from the welfare, conscious decisions to have more babies to up their incomes and gain independence from their men may come into play. That often makes more problems because the men in their lives often have “no dog in the fight” and are often abusive and make off with the welfare checks.<br /><br />- Kids are so far worse off, the comparisons couldn't be more telling. Schools used to provide poor kids with a leg up -- no more. Even Jim Crow schools taught kids basic skills. My husband and I have sponsored quite a few, mostly boys, who wouldn't have been able to participate in sports without the couple of hundred bucks required. The same thing applies to other after school activities like music, art, etc. Apparently the PTA no longer gets involved with discretely helping individual kids as we did when our kids were in the public schools.<br /><br />We get notified about needy kids from social workers we know. The funds just appear at the school and nobody knows from whence they come. Much of the time, the mothers' boyfriends and even the kids’ actual fathers confiscate the welfare and there's not enough for basics, never mind frills like sports.<br /><br />We are far from elites. We live <i>very</i> modestly and have so far been able to make funds instantly available to all the kids we hear are in need – no questions asked nor answered.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-39998816848894915842015-03-13T11:54:24.163-07:002015-03-13T11:54:24.163-07:00erp,
Pretty much everything that's derived fr...erp,<br /><br />Pretty much everything that's derived from economic activity is better now than in 1962 for the vast majority of Americans, even poor ones. In addition, life expectancy is up almost 10 years during that period.<br /><br />Outside of material benefits, it's harder to say. It's really easy to look at others and say, "they're making decisions that are ruining their lives." Like when poor, young women have children out of wedlock. It might seem to you to be a bad idea.<br /><br />Yet, these young women choose it. They choose to have sex, they choose to not use birth control, they choose to not have an abortion, they choose not to marry, they choose to not give the child up for adoption, and they choose to repeat the process with multiple fathers. This is not one mistake and they're screwed. It's many decisions that seem deliberate, purposeful, and aligned after seeing the outcomes of many of their cohorts making the same decisions.<br /><br />I can only conclude that they are indeed making themselves better off by making the series of aligned decisions that they make. I don't feel anywhere near able to say something like, "I'm smart, they're stupid, I know how to better run their lives than they do." They know what they're doing and they're doing for a reason - a good reason. It's what they want.<br /><br />They could not do that in 1962. We weren't rich enough. We are now. So even they are better off, even if you think they're not.<br /><br />So I'm wondering if the only folks who are worse off today, in any sense, are those elite that are annoyed that some of the poor aren't living their lives as the elite think they should and perhaps that they have to pay to support those poor to some extent.<br /><br />But that has nothing to do with anything except what's in the minds of those elite, especially since those elite are so much materially better off that it's hardly worth thinking about.Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-66084292480428663192015-03-13T11:21:06.636-07:002015-03-13T11:21:06.636-07:00Other than tech toys (which I love), what about li...<a href="http://www.redstate.com/2015/03/13/destroying-american-family-left-still-happy/" rel="nofollow">Other than tech toys (which I love), what about life in the U.S. is better today than in 1962?</a>erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-63454150232853702772015-03-13T10:55:24.679-07:002015-03-13T10:55:24.679-07:00Clovis,
Bret hinted at part of the distinction. ...Clovis,<br /><br />Bret hinted at part of the distinction. If you don't want to use the kind of mental bandwidth used by Hey Skipper in his savings post to address the questions surrounding this post, I'll simplify. How many people would want to go back and live in 1962? Very few. Upon further questioning, even fewer. There are multiple reasons for that, but it says quite alot.Howardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14980738175201874292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-10597083844404851612015-03-13T08:50:11.587-07:002015-03-13T08:50:11.587-07:00Clovis wrote: "The set of costs that impact i...Clovis wrote: "<i>The set of costs that impact inflation for a particular class (middle class in that chart)...</i>"<br /><br />Figure 1.3 is not middle class. It shows a household income of $84,000 - $85,000, which is upper middle class. We americans are rich, but not quite that rich. :-)<br /><br />Yes, inflation for the upper classes has been way, way higher than inflation for the lower classes. At one point caviar and high-end wines had ridiculously high inflation rates. Almost as high as the overall inflation rate in Brazil! :-)Brethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063508651955739056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-61180354973483818582015-03-13T07:38:01.151-07:002015-03-13T07:38:01.151-07:00I don't know what you get from participating. ...I don't know what you get from participating. Envious snakes????? Paradise????<br /><br />Where does that come from????<br /><br />You complain that we shouldn't complain because your inflation is worse than ours. I'm positing the cause of the destruction of our country, I don't comment on something about which I know nothing, like what it's like to live in Brazil.<br /><br />We had a great thing going. Now it's about gone.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-25207445960848338122015-03-13T07:36:18.668-07:002015-03-13T07:36:18.668-07:00Erp,
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Hint: You misread aka don't comprehe...Erp,<br /><br />---<br />Hint: You misread aka don't comprehend the points being made in the comments.<br />---<br />I do, Erp, many times.<br /><br />But I believe this time it was you who didn't get the jab I've directed to Howard.<br />Clovishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08921327103613284595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-46319983525186573632015-03-13T07:30:41.097-07:002015-03-13T07:30:41.097-07:00Erp,
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The rest of the world can and could have...Erp,<br /><br />---<br />The rest of the world can and could have done the same, but alas, they didn't and now they want to pull us down to their level.<br />---<br />Wow. What a statement.<br /><br />So we non-Americans are all envious snakes looking to poison you in your Paradise?<br /><br />Gee, that's exatcly what I wanted all the time by participating in this blog... you got me. [/irony]Clovishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08921327103613284595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-4463513953578511772015-03-13T07:22:11.680-07:002015-03-13T07:22:11.680-07:00... "I have little idea of what you've me...... "I have little idea of what you've meant in your last comment." <br /><br />Again, making my point for me.<br /><br />Hint: You misread aka don't comprehend the points being made in the comments.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-77011012776977268042015-03-13T07:18:25.669-07:002015-03-13T07:18:25.669-07:00Sorry about all the multiple comments. I swear I&...Sorry about all the multiple comments. I swear I'm only clicking SUBMIT once!<br /><br />BTW- Clovis, your last sentence tells the tale of your and probably the rest of the world's attitude towards us.<br /><br />We have it too easy because that's the way we arranged it. We lived by the rule of law and within the law, individuals lived as they wished. Worked hard and succeeded or drank and drugged themselves into oblivion.<br /><br />Dealers' choice.<br /><br />The rest of the world can and could have done the same, but alas, they didn't and now they want to pull us down to their level.<br /><br />Double alas -- they're succeeding with the help of our leaders who are instrumental in our downfall and if there is to be a nuclear attack on us, habbibi won’t need to know physics, he or she will only be the fall guy/gal. The set up will be arranged by those who know how to do it.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-18094756456219293732015-03-13T07:01:28.764-07:002015-03-13T07:01:28.764-07:00Erp,
You are right, my language skill are even wo...Erp,<br /><br />You are right, my language skill are even worse than your brother's, for I have little idea of what you've meant in your last comment.<br />Clovishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08921327103613284595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-47831532972413047902015-03-13T06:21:04.081-07:002015-03-13T06:21:04.081-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-66626599106245481432015-03-13T06:21:03.374-07:002015-03-13T06:21:03.374-07:00Clovis, Howard is not defending the cost of living...Clovis, Howard is not defending the cost of living only the convenience of living and I am reporting on the cost of living, not denigrating what technology has done to make life more interesting.<br /><br />When my brother was getting his engineering degree, German was a required course. He’s a fabulous engineer, his language skills not so much, so his translations were hilarious and I'm sure had as little to do with the actual meaning of the selection as your responses to comments here. <br /><br />No matter how many times something is said in short declarative sentences, you take issue with something that isn’t said.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-14094886580404740052015-03-13T04:58:42.859-07:002015-03-13T04:58:42.859-07:00Bret,
---
But given their figure 1.2 doesn't ...Bret,<br /><br />---<br />But given their figure 1.2 doesn't match Sumner's chart either, I suspect it's a good example of picking the statistics to make your case<br />---<br /><br />May very well be. Their Figure 1.2 is using CPI, like Krugman's chart above. <br /><br />We also should notice that a chart like their Figure 1.3 is a different thing from judging wages versus inflation. The set of costs that impact inflation for a particular class (middle class in that chart) is effectively different from general measures of inflation that account for another set of costs (though usually they are very correlated, of course).<br /><br />Anyway, I must tell you that, compared to what I am used to down here (where inflation has been near 7% per year), life is too easy for you guys...Clovishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08921327103613284595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-91077774804757496402015-03-12T19:34:24.322-07:002015-03-12T19:34:24.322-07:00Erp and Howard,
Well, Erp, thank you very much fo...Erp and Howard,<br /><br />Well, Erp, thank you very much for your input. As far as I can understand it, your last comment just about denies most of what Howard has been defending here.<br /><br />So Howard, at least one person who lived both periods of time (then and now) looks to think things are not better right now in standards of living. Is Erp showing "a mark of unlimited gullibility", or would it be "deception"?<br /><br />Clovishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08921327103613284595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5806884.post-64342675017401442182015-03-12T18:27:57.618-07:002015-03-12T18:27:57.618-07:00Howard, in 1962, our income was about $12,000. We...Howard, in 1962, our income was about $12,000. We had just moved from NYC to Connecticut, bought our second house (25 year mortgage payment including property taxes $101/mo.), had two paid for cars, one 2 years old and the other 4 and had our third baby (also paid for). At that point we were the most flush of any other time in our lives up until our three kids were out of college, had jobs and apartments and we retired, downsized to Florida big time and my husband had a small accounting practice with me as chief cook and bottle washer.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=12000&year=1962" rel="nofollow">Dollar Times</a> that would be equivalent of $94,000 in today's dollars, but I don't buy that. I see what people who are making twice that are facing and they aren't living <i>La Dolce Vita</i> like we were in 1962.<br /><br />Wondering, wondering, wondering? What happened then? Why it was the murder of the sainted martyr and the beginning of THE GREAT SOCIETY which was going to bring middle class life styles to EVERYONE. Instead it made gazillionaires of poverty pimps and politicians while us middle class types had to struggle to keep up with inflation and much higher costs of living and the poor? Well they, as always, got it in the neck from their friends on the left.<br /><br />... and that's how it was in the real world.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.com