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“Progressive taxes do not redistribute income. They redistribute taxpayers.” George Gilder, one of the early evangelists for “supply-side” economics, which is a fancy way of saying that he thinks people respond to incentives, considered a wild-eyed idea by some people. December 18th, 2006 | 9 comments - (Comments are closed)
 If you want to make money, work directly with money. – Bernie Cornfeld’s explanation of Jonathan’s puzzle. Financial markets seek meaning, and discount luck. Financiers are therefore in a strong position to get rent from their luck as well as their brains. And a lot of other people’s money passes through their hands, so they do not have to worry about cashflow much. December 17th, 2006 | One comment - (Comments are closed)
Bragging about low unemployment under hyper-inflation is like bragging about the airspeed of aircraft in a power dive towards the ground. – Commenter Shannon Love responds to a Salvador Allende admirer’s lionising of the Chilean economy under the socialist leader. December 13th, 2006 | 6 comments - (Comments are closed)
Let us consider, my lords, that arbitrary power has seldom or never been introduced into any country at once. It must be introduced by slow degrees, and as it were step by step, lest the people should see its approach. The barriers and fences of the people’s liberty must be plucked up one by one, and some plausible pretences must be found for removing or hoodwinking, one after another, those sentries who are posted by the constitution of a free country, for warning the people of their danger. When these preparatory steps are once made, the people may then, indeed, with regret, see slavery and arbitrary power making long strides over their land; but it will be too late to think of preventing or avoiding the impending ruin. – Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, to the House of Lords in 1737 (though reported rather later) December 10th, 2006 | 27 comments - (Comments are closed)
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals. – Winston S. Churchill, war leader, soldier, journalist, historian, painter and amateur pig-farmer. December 9th, 2006 | 11 comments - (Comments are closed)
I suppose David Cameron never had much a chance with people like me, in that I hated him almost before he was born. – Paul Marks December 6th, 2006 | 31 comments - (Comments are closed)
It was a sensational win by a great team – Shane Warne, discussing the Australian cricket team’s stunning final day comeback to win the second Ashes test and take a 2-0 lead in the series. On the final day, Australia’s two old and tired bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Warne himself, took a total of 42 overs, 18 maidens, 64 runs, 6 wickets, and those numbers are (in case you are wondering what on earth they signify) extremely good . December 5th, 2006 | 6 comments - (Comments are closed)
“Why hate someone for the color of their skin when there are much better reasons to hate them”. Denis Leary, comedian, actor and champion of American firefighters and emergency workers. December 2nd, 2006 | 13 comments - (Comments are closed)
You know, let’s not blame other people for our own mistakes. – Nihad Awad, spokesman for the Council of Islamic-American Relations, debating the slightly unhinged Bill O’Reilly on his TV show. Mr Awad is referring – presumably in his conveniently interchangeable capacity as an American rather than a Muslim – to recent US activity in Iraq. Nevertheless, I think the world would be an immeasurably more peaceable a place if a number of Muslims heeded his words. What’s sauce for the goose and all that. (Via LGF) December 1st, 2006 | 12 comments - (Comments are closed)
I move that any member of this ubiquitous breed of activist shall henceforth be known as a “watermelon”. UPDATE: members of the commentariat have alerted me to the fact that I did not devise the “watermelon” double entrendre first. Fine – consider this post a propagation of an excellent and underused meme. December 1st, 2006 | 13 comments - (Comments are closed)
The overwhelming majority of theories are rejected because they contain bad explanations, not because they fail experimental tests. – David Deutsch November 28th, 2006 | 16 comments - (Comments are closed)
I’d rather be stuck in a lift with Abu Hamza than Zac Goldsmith – Sean Gabb, at the Libertarian Alliance/Libertarian International conference today November 26th, 2006 | 20 comments - (Comments are closed)
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