Judge not the horse by his saddle.
Chinese Proverb
Chart of the Day: Crony Capitalism, State Edition
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| Courtesy of Mercatus Center |
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| Via Libertarian Catholic |
Remy is Back With a Cuba State of Mind
It may be a couple of years old, but it's new to this blog and was recently re-introduced by Reason, no doubt after Obama's Cuban policy shift.
Pope Francis and His Forthcoming Encyclical on Climate Change
The pope used to teach high school science; let's just hope his understanding of scientific issues is better than his abysmal straw man attacks on free markets. The proof is in the pudding, so I can't criticize an as yet unpublished document. As others have pointed out, Francis' two predecessors both expressed concern about the climate change hypothesis (although not all in the Vatican accept the "progressive" groupthink perspective, e.g., Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat on the Economy).
A lot depends on how the pontiff builds his case--if he does a conventional "anti-fossil fuels/blame the externalities on the rich countries" politically correct environmental critique, I'm bored and done with it. It's clear the fascists think that the pontiff is all in this "the debate is over" political groupthink; the usual left-wing suspects are out sniping at Fox News and the Koch brothers or any prospective critics who might seek to criticize what they see as essentially an endorsement or validation motivating global Statist actions. The Church must not be seen as a political organization; it undermines the integrity and mission of the Church.
It is clear why the Church is motivated if one accepts the legitimacy of climate change alarmism. Many poor people could be disparately impacted by changing climate, e.g., less productive farmland, shore erosion, etc. Extreme weather events are often followed by outbreaks of disease which could devastate unprepared developing economies. If there were economically viable alternatives to energy generation that could mitigate risks to the global climate, a moral case could be made. In addition, we are expected to treat God's creation--the earth and its ecosystems--respectfully and frugally.
The problem is that climate change models aren't very predictive beyond a narrow range, and many alarmist predictions have not carried the day; even those sympathetic to the climate change hypothesis admit the failed exaggerations. There are scientific difficulties in measuring the materiality of man-made vs. natural causes of climate change, and doubtful effectiveness and feasibility of radical energy policy changes where energy is directly related to economic growth.
Make no mistake--the climate change debate is not a mere scientific debate; it's a public policy debate over the use of State power and taxing authority. Consumers pay a steep cost for less efficient, feasible energy costs, taxes and regulation; it lowers their standard of living in an already sluggish global economy. If the pontiff's analysis is legitimate, it has to explicitly consider the opportunity costs to dubiously effective industrial policies, unemployment in natural resource companies, corruption in hyped Big Green Energy crony dealings, etc. For example, the US has dramatically decreased carbon emissions, in part due to the shale gas revolution--largely a private-sector initiative--and technological improvement in energy generation, vehicle design, etc.; none of it can be attributed to the "leadership" of the Obama Administration, which has been anti-business and anti-fossil fuel from the outset.
As for me, I am undecided as to the materiality question, a skeptic on politically correct alarmism (see here for a decent overview of the skeptic perspective), and an opponent to Statist decisions, which are almost certainly ineffective, expensive, and incompetent.
Unintended Consequences of Big Nanny
Facebook Corner
(IPI). Chicago’s official pension shortfall is now at $29 billion. Detroit, by comparison, had just a $3.5 billion shortfall when it filed for bankruptcy last year.
No federal or state bailouts. The Chicago city leadership created this problem with their corrupt crony unionist bargains. If you thought the Detroit bankruptcy was entertaining, wait until Chicago files... The greedy unions are in a state of denial, and in the end they'll get the haircut of their nightmares.
(Reason). The NYPD is engaged in a "work slowdown," partially as a response to the massive protests that erupted last month following the non-indictment of the officer who placed Eric Garner in a banned chokehold.
Calvin Coolidge knew how to handle rogue cops.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of the original artist via IPI |
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| Courtesy of Dana Summers via Townhall |
Glen Campbell is up for two 2015 Grammy Awards related to the soundtrack EP of the documentary about the singer. Campbell has been nominated for Best Country Song and Best Song Written for Visual Media for his last recorded song, ‘I’m Not Gonna Miss You,’ which was written and produced by Julian Raymond specifically for the film. The song opens up a waterfall of emotions surrounding Campbell’s dealings with his Alzheimer’s disease.
Glen Campbell and his family had a very Merry Christmas. The singer celebrated the holiday at home with his family in Nashville. The 78-year-old singer-guitarist has been living in an assisted care facility since early 2014, as his Alzheimer’s has progressed to the point where his family could no longer provide the full-time care he needed.Note: "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" hit #21 on the country charts and #90 on the hot 100, his best showing since 1989 and 1981 respectively.
Glen Campbell, "Rhinestone Cowboy". #1 song and perhaps his signature song.
