Monthly Archives: February 2012

Straight talk with Seth

Posted on February 29, 2012 by

We have bullies in schools because we don’t punish them. Next question, why don’t we punish them? Many reasons. Teachers and administrators are scared of the bullies too. Some have guns and can find  where you live. Teachers and administrators … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Feedback, Power of Incentives | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Cost Benefit Analyses Suck

Posted on February 28, 2012 by

Rick Santorum wrote in the Wall Street Journal this past weekend about his Economic Freedom Agenda.  Most of it sounds good.  This part bugged me though: I’ll review all regulations, making sure they use sound science and cost benefit analysis. … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Economics, Feedback, Government, Politics, Power of Incentives | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Markets vs. Committee

Posted on February 27, 2012 by

Box office receipts tell us which movies the public, in general, preferred.  The Oscars tells us which movies a small group of people preferred. As people who follow the Oscar’s each year should know, these two sets of preferences don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Markets, Politics | Tagged , , , | 24 Comments

“Why I Support Obama”: Points 2 & 3

Posted on February 26, 2012 by

The second point made by the Facebook Obama Supporter (from this post) was: He ended the war in Iraq and is drawing the war in Afghanistan to a close.  Like he said he would. In my original post, I mentioned … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Government, Politics | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Just sayin…

Posted on February 26, 2012 by

One thing should be becoming abundantly clear.  There is no appeasing the easily offended.

Posted in Critical Thinking | Leave a comment

Online Dividend Reinvestment Plan Investing?

Posted on February 25, 2012 by

Here’s an idea:  Sharebuilder.com + Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRPs) There are some online accounts for DRPs, but what I’ve seen so far are clunky.  It seems like there’s potential to retail the idea. If anyone knows of anything that I’m … Continue reading →

Posted in Business or Product Idea, Innovation, Investing | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Think Before You Vote

Posted on February 25, 2012 by

“Get Out and Vote” campaigns annoy me because they encourage folks to wield their political power recklessly. To help offset the “Get Out and Vote” campaigns for the upcoming presidential election, I propose a “Think Before You Vote” campaign. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Critical Thinking, Politics | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Incentives Matter & Emergency Care Innovation

Posted on February 25, 2012 by

It amazes me that it has taken so long to come up with this simple innovation to the Federal emergency care mandate. The article explains: When someone comes into the Medical Center Hospital ER, they’re assessed to determine the severity … Continue reading →

Posted in Health Care, Innovation, Power of Incentives | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Incentives matter

Posted on February 24, 2012 by

Sowell does it again this week: During a recent Fox News Channel debate about the Obama administration’s tax policies, Democrat Bob Beckel raised the issue of “fairness.” He pointed out that a child born to a poor woman in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Government, Power of Incentives | Tagged | Leave a comment

The great fiction has expanded, greatly

Posted on February 24, 2012 by

Bastiat told us what government use to be: Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else. I’m not sure this is entirely accurate any longer. Over the years we stopped trying … Continue reading →

Posted in Government | Leave a comment