Viewing profile — Happydayz

There is a really strong bias among people in the west to overemphasize their role in complex international events. The US absolutely played both sides in the Iran-Iraq War. Howeve…

Assuming your premise is true, that the US government exists to transfer taxpayer money into select corporate accounts, then there are far easier ways to do this than venturing off…

So there is no value in a uniquely Norwegian culture? Or Korean? Or Japanese? One of the side effects of totally open borders is that human culture might homogenize, with strong bi…

No, you're right. Lawyers are protected by their licensing requirements. However the medical profession does protect itself and is opposed to bringing in many foreign born nurses, …

There are plenty of domestic groups opposed to open borders for high-skilled immigrants. Doctors, nurses, and others within the medical profession spring first to mind, and they ar…

Yes, but there is also the opportunity cost of your downpayment, the transaction costs of getting into and out of a house, and maintenance. Oh man, maintenance. Ref - transaction c…

likely have constituents who work in an industry that would be threatened with greater trade integration. Nationally a detrimental move with greater costs, but locally they might v…

Food companies spend a significant amount on R&D to maximize the taste and attractiveness, but not necessarily the nutrition, of their pre-packaged foods.

I usually bring up a similar point when people criticize modern agriculture and food production. Right now someone can buy a pound of ground beef for around $3-4. After tax that re…

You can't discharge a student loan in bankruptcy. This makes sense. If you borrow money to purchase a car or a home the lender always has the option of repossessing the goods as a …

Ah, very interesting then. I lived in Germany for three years, but there are still obviously many aspects of German culture I'm still not 100% on. Thanks for that correction. My un…

US educators are well aware of the German model. Like you said, we've opted not to go with serious tracking for students. The minimal tracking we already do is controversial as is.…

Flip the import/export and mercantilist attitude around and see what happens. Imports simply mean that you are getting what you want from external producers. There is nothing inher…

The concept of "innocent until proven guilty" is generally not used in warfare. This isn't an American thing; it's long been part of the customary / traditional rules governing law…