News Roundup

More on the 70% marginal tax rate

The question is if the penalties for higher income are much reduced benefits, is it even worth it to work harder/longer/more productively? It used to be that this only applied to really high income earners, but due to a component of the health care plan, this becomes the case for people around the average income level.

Prostitution in all but name

The phenomenon started in Japan as enjo kosai. It has since spread to Hong Kong where young girls sell their bodies to earn clothes money. To me, this is a sign of two things. First, the market for sex is quite a profitable transition for both parties, so why do government need to regulate it? Put up an age limit and make it legal and safe, a la Amsterdam. Second, Hong Kong society puts a high value on material goods, more so than in many other capitalist countries. My Hong Kong friends tell me that a teenage girl wouldn’t think to leave the house without a designer purse. Then, they bug their boyfriends to buy expensive clothes, cars, and gifts for them. No wonder the men are under such pressure to become big earners. I guess the single girls resort to prostitution to keep up with everyone else.

Futurama is now reality

Want to be Fry and see what life is like in the year 3000? We’re now one step closer to that goal with this potential breakthrough in using poison gas (of all things) to freeze tissue. I’m just waiting for someone to write a historical fiction on Hitler being frozen with the same gas the Nazis used in the camps only to emerge in the next millennium.

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize, before doing anything

Imagine my surprise when I wake up one morning and read that Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize. I thought it was some kind of sick joke at first. Really now, even the presenters noted that Obama won for his “potential” rather than for any accomplishments. Ostensibly, he has led the world on climate change, Israel/Palestine, and… what else? Even those two issues are noted more for hot air than anything of substance.

Why marriage is a raw deal for men

As I’ve told Willa, marriage in its current form is just not a logical decision for men. Given current divorce rates, disparity in partners’ earnings, and the proclivity of divorce judgments to favour the woman, the cost-benefit analysis concludes that marriage is just too much of a raw deal for rational men. Still, people are irrational about most things, including love, and I don’t expect this to ever change. Golddiggers have been around since forever, and prenups don’t seem to have slowed them down at all.

An answer for marriage: PACS

Why am I not more despondent about the state of the institution of marriage? I look at France and the excellent alternative to marriage that they have created. There, the system is a civil union called the pacte civil de solidarité. The ideal replacement for marriage would be to transition the term to purely a religious ceremony devoid of any societal benefits or meaning. The state would then only recognize civil unions for all individuals. The rules would be similar. Only one civil union may be in place at a time for any individual. Leaving a union can be done by either partner. Spousal benefits would apply. Finally, the most crucial component is a plan for property division drawn up at the time of formation of the union.

Unbalancing the dollar

The dollar’s fall in recent years has been precipitous. I’ve no doubt that it’s a deliberate unannounced policy of treasury to weaken the dollar, boosting exports and increasing consumption of domestic rather than foreign goods. This is a good policy because the US is a debtor country and inflation is currently low. However, for those of us who travel overseas frequently and who are profligate savers, this policy is just another example of the kind of punishment savers endure. There are consequences, however. Trade partners will not look kindly at this beggar-thy-neighbour policy. China has already started retaliating. Worst of all, foreigners may stop buying US debt. That day of reckoning may not be too far away.

Bill Gates exits health care

The Gates Foundation has historically given money to fund health care and education causes, especially when they intersect with poverty. Now it appears that it is shifting gears and transitioning to addressing a more basic problem – global hunger. I applaud the shift, as food is one of the most basic necessities that has been ignored for far too long. I pose the question of how to create a sustainable system of elevating poor countries out of the hunger crisis without making them dependents on rich countries or foundations.