Category Archives: Politics

Capitalism, Unions, and Offshoring (Part I): A Tale of Two Firms

Posted on Friday, June 24, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Once upon a time, there were two firms, Meritocratus and Egalitarius. Both firms operated in the $10 billion widget industry, and each had 50% market share. Widgets were not a commodity. Purchasers were sometimes willing to pay a premium for a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Investing, Mathematics, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Will My Generation Do Better Than the Last?

Posted on Friday, June 24, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Hearing this old Billy Joel song from the early eighties made me feel somewhat nostalgic about my childhood in Delaware and Pennsylvania. It is also seems to me to be a bit melancholy.  The closing of a factory town. The passing of the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Media, Politics | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Christie Scores Legislative Victory Against Public Unions

Posted on Thursday, June 23, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

According to The New York Times, New Jersey’s Assembly passed a bill 46 to 32 today that would “sharply increase what state and local workers must contribute for their health insurance and pensions, suspend cost-of-living increases to retirees’ pension checks, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Bush vs. Clinton: Unemployment

Posted on Thursday, June 23, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

I posted an article earlier this month comparing the monthly unemployment rate under President George W. Bush with the most recently available unemployment data under President Obama. However, many of my left-leaning readers were also interested in a comparison of George W. Bush … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , | 26 Comments

Fracking Actors Whine about Fracking

Posted on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Whenever the Hollywood/Broadway “elite” band together and make a public service announcement, I instinctively want to oppose it. They could be offering immortality and I would completely miss it. The bottom line is that people who make their living by pretending to … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Energy Security, Media, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Idiot-Proofing and Our Paternalistic Government: Keeping Cretins Alive

Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

“President Obama is committed to protecting our nation’s children and the American people from the dangers of tobacco use. These labels are frank, honest and powerful depictions of the health risks of smoking and they will help encourage smokers to … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Education, Healthcare, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Huntsman Announces Candidacy for President

Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Today, Jon Huntsman, Jr. formally announced his candidacy for President of the United States. As I noted in a prior post, Huntsman continues to show an intellectualism lacking in many of the other Republican candidates. He also seems to have a … Continue reading →

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Posted in China, Defense, International Security, Media, Nuclear Power, Nuclear proliferation, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Terrorism, War | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

What Is Fracking?

Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

There’s been plenty of media hype and hysteria about a process known as hydraulic fracturing, which is more popularly known as fracking. Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which drilling rigs drill vertical wells 3,000 to 8,000 feet underground and then … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Clean Energy, Climate Change, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, International Security, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Filter Bubble: A Great Book That Exposes an Emerging Trend

Posted on Monday, June 20, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

“A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa.” — Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding from You is Eli Pariser’s fascinating account … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blogging, Book Reviews, Business, Finance and Economics, Media, Middle East, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Science | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Explaining Falling Crime Rates in a Struggling Economy

Posted on Sunday, June 19, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In early June, The Economist published an article showing declining U.S. crime rates. The magazine posed an interesting question: Why does crime continue to decline in the United States, even when unemployment is high?

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Posted in Business, Crime, Finance and Economics, Policy, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments