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This mindset is apposite to Lady
Margaret Thatcher's accusation to Parliament Liberals that (from
memory), "Aha! You don't care at all about the welfare of the
poor so long as the wealthy suffer," which also applies to our own
Liberals. And, in an oblique way, with Democrat's passion for
winning, even if they' know they're wrong, and even if it means
disaster. That's what I see anyway.
Skeptic
March 2007 issue
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(Can't Get No) Satisfaction
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The new science of happiness needs some historical perspective
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By
Michael Shermer
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Imagine you have a choice between earning $50,000 a
year while other people make $25,000 or earning $100,000 a year while
other people get $250,000. Prices of goods and services are the same.
Which would you prefer? Surprisingly, studies show that the majority of
people select the first option. As H. L. Mencken is said to have
quipped, "A wealthy man is one who earns $100 a year more than his
wife's sister's husband."
This seemingly illogical preference is just one of the puzzles that
science is trying to solve about why happiness can be so elusive in
today's world. Several recent books by researchers address the topic,
but my skeptic's eye found a historian's long-view analysis to be
ultimately the most enlightening. (continue)
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That's a "puzzle of science?" What the hell is puzzling about a preference for 2x what everbody else earns, instead of earning 40% of the norm? How Rosie ODonnel got famous? Now _that's_ a damned puzzle.
ReplyDeleteskh
With the price of goods and services the same, are you better off making $50K a year, or $100K?
ReplyDeleteThe prices couldn't be the same. If, in the first case, "everybody" is making $25k, they could purchase x amount of goods. If prices stayed the same for Case #2, when "everybody" was making $250k, they could purchase 10x...and that just isn't how economics works.
ReplyDeleteUnrealistic hypothetical what-ifs aside, Case #1 is far better.
skh
The death of Pareto. Well, it was already dead. Lefties killed it.
ReplyDeleteHi Oregon Guy. Here's a coincidence for you. Pareto is the name of a company that wants to help remove the 'specificclick' cookie.See first entry above.
ReplyDeleteAh. Then comes graded taxation. What matters it that you earn 50K net, when you net but the same as 20k gross?
ReplyDeleteYes. It is a very flawed survey question. I spotted the problem right away, It all depends on what they mean by "other people". If they mean 'everybody else', then whoever is doing the survey is an economic idiot (aka a Democrat) if they think that costs could possibly stay the same. How much would a Big Mac cost if they had to pay those teenagers $125.00 an hour*? If that's the case one would soon be a pauper at $100k.
ReplyDeleteIf they just ment 'other people you know', you would be a fool not to take the $100k.
That must be why pollsters leave me alone. I always question their questions to death and then end up refusing to give an answer. They rarely give you enough information to give an intelligent answer. They also never ask enough questions to get any kind of useful result. I would never answer a polster who asked, "Do you approve of Preisdent Bush's handling of the Iraq war?" My answer would be 'no' but I know they will make 180 degree wrong assumptions about why I said that and they won't ask or take it into account if I told them why I'd said no.They'll just use my answer to say that, "the American people want the US out of Iraq" which isn't what I want.
*Based on a 40 hour workweek for 50 weeks.
GrinfilledCelt
Well, exactly, GC. That was my point, too. You can't magically make everybody relatively "richer" by fiat without a commensurate increase in the price level. I also interpreted "other people" as being "everybody else" or even "the average worker."
ReplyDeleteRegardless, it is moot. If you make double the average or double what "everybody else" is making, you are much, much better off than if you are making only 40% of the going rate. That's just reality.
The only way that prices could not change is with price ceilings, and recent history in Venezuela demonstrate the shortages that arise with governmental disincentives to the supply side.
skh