Category Archives: Taxes

Freedom vs. Security: Why Pepper Spray Is a Civilized Way to Disrupt Law-Breaking Protests

Posted on Friday, November 25, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

There is an interesting debate going on at Tarheel Red with Nick from Poison Your Mind about the pepper-spray incident at University of California-Davis. The video images of the pepper-spray incident at UC-Davis do not look good. Apparently, they are so … Continue reading →

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Posted in California, Crime, Leadership, Media, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , | 47 Comments

A Few Reflections On America During the Holidays

Posted on Friday, November 25, 2011 by mbsbvu

The video clip below is a patriotic medley that’s been a favorite of mine for several decades. I never seem to tire of it. In fact, I think we would all benefit if one greatly expanded it and its sentiments. What Can … Continue reading →

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Posted in Finance and Economics, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

ROARR’s Guiding Principles (Part III): Equality of Opportunity Does Not Imply Equality of Outcomes

Posted on Saturday, November 5, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In Part I of this series, I argued a fundamental reason our government is broken is the political selection process favoring ideological warriors over pragmatic problem solvers. I introduced my “Funnel of Futility” theory: as ideology becomes increasingly important in one’s … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blogging, Business, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Defense, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Healthcare, International Security, Leadership, Mathematics, Media, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Taxes, Technology, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Profiles in Incompetence: Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland

Posted on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Sometimes the decisions and actions of a single individual can lead to disaster. It does not happen often, because most good leaders surround themselves with people who help them compensate for their blind spots. Mayor Jean Quan is not one of those … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, California, Crime, Finance and Economics, Leadership, Media, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Selfish Generation

Posted on Monday, October 31, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Earlier this month, AARP released the video above, which typifies every stereotype many members of my generation hold about Baby Boomers. Namely that they lived it up in the sixties, led extremely comfortable and self-indulgent lives built on the backs of the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Finance and Economics, Healthcare, Media, Policy, Politics, Social Security, Socialism, Taxes | Tagged , | 10 Comments

ROARR’s Guiding Principles (Part II): Small, but Not Minimal, Government Is Best

Posted on Sunday, October 30, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

In Part I of this series, I argued that a fundamental reason our government is broken is the political selection process favoring ideological warriors over pragmatic problem solvers. I introduced my “Funnel of Futility” theory: as ideology becomes increasingly important in one’s decision-making … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blogging, Business, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Defense, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Healthcare, International Security, Leadership, Mathematics, Media, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Taxes, Technology, Writing | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

ROARR’s Guiding Principles (Part I): Data-Driven Decision-Making Produces Pragmatic Public Policy

Posted on Saturday, October 29, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Since starting this blog almost ten months ago, I intended to post this site’s guiding principles. Yet ten months into this experiment, I still haven’t done so. So without further ado, here is the first of seven principles that embody the philosophies underlying Reflections … Continue reading →

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Posted in Blogging, Business, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Climate Change, Defense, Education, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Food Security, Healthcare, International Security, Leadership, Mathematics, Media, Peak Oil, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Taxes, Technology, Writing | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

How Will Occupy Wall Street End?

Posted on Thursday, October 27, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Commentators have engaged in a great deal of speculation about how they believe the Occupy Wall Street movement will evolve over time. Will it end violently like it did in Oakland? Will it become an enduring movement that forever changes … Continue reading →

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Posted in California, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Predictions, Socialism, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Americans Distrust Government, Disapprove of Congress

Posted on Tuesday, October 25, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

A recent New York Times/CBS News poll shows that 89 percent of Americans surveyed distrust government to do the right thing, and that 84 percent disapprove of Congress. Interestingly, only 46 percent disapprove of President Obama’s job performance, a potential … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Media, Policy, Politics, Socialism, Taxes, Unions | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Cost per Job in DOE’s Loan Program Qualifies for One-Percent Status

Posted on Saturday, October 22, 2011 by Sean Patrick Hazlett

As of today, October 22, 2011, the cost per job created (or saved) from the Department of Energy’s Federal Loan Guarantee Program is $554,217.61 (i.e., $35.9B in federal loan guarantees divided by 64,776 jobs). The most famous of these loan guarantees was the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, California, Clean Energy, Clean Tech, Energy Security, Finance and Economics, Media, Policy, Politics, Taxes | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments