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Hey, Answerman! [2008-01-18]

So, while the majority of his options will come through congress and the support of his party in there he nonetheless has the power to impose any law he wants? (surely imprisoning all Japanese-Americans is a breach of some part of the constitution? Are his executive powers above the constitution?) Plus you have different rules for voting in different states...that's not exactly fair is it? Do those differences lead to varying levels of voter power in different states then? (is winning in some states worth more than others, excluding population factors)

Is it me (and of course my experience with) or is the UK parliamentary system far easier to follow...though perhaps not as completely democratic as it could be (unelected Lords, Monarchs right to block almost anything)...How the hell do religious leaders get hereditary, political power in a modern secular state! Bishops in the house of lords!

While in some c`ases a 30 second may or may not be enough to judge a show, in terms of if it will appeal to you or not, but that combined with this old classic idea of actually READING up on the title should be. I mean seriously, if you took the time to read the synopsis of the story that alone should tell you if you're going to like the show or not since you'll know what it's about. If however you are on the ropes and not sure either way after that then a 30 second clip should be enough to sway you either way. And by clip I do mean it has some parts of the actual show in it as a real preview should, not just the opening credits.

Consider reading up on basic economic structure and principles.

While I don't particularly agree with Answerman's harsh accusations, it's his column and he can do what he wants. Don't agree? Stop reading. That simple. It's pretty hypocritical to first claim you're a libertarian and then tell someone they can't express their opinion.

But is it not basic economic principle that price floors such as a minimum wage are bad? All they do is decrease the net welfare gain and create a surplus of workers and a shortage of employment? I don't doubt that when you consider larger issues a minimum wage is a good idea but by basic economic structure and principles it is not. I don't mean to attack your argument here. I'm just curious what exactly you meant here.

The idea that someone who does not share your chosen (or any particular) ideology is the equivalent of Hitler is, to put it one way, loony. To put it a nicer way, it's rationally unsound. A 'monstrous evil?' Most certainly not. In fact, that's pretty much the totalitarian way of thinking.

The whole point of Godwin's law is, according to Godwin (via wikipedia...), that "overuse of Nazi and Hitler comparisons should be avoided, because it robs the valid comparisons of their impact."
Similarly, it kind of robs whatever else you say of credibility as well.

You have a job that needs to be done. You're offering $2/hr. Most people would refuse that, but along comes someone who desperately needs that money, so they take the job. Okay, both parties win, right?

Wrong.

Because you were able to get away with only paying $2/hr, you continue to do so. And more desperate people take the job. They continue to be ridiculously pour, and begin taking other $2/hr jobs so they can find scraps of food to eat. So other people who are also only offering $2/hr continue their trend of paying absolute dirt. The process repeats. (Not to mention the people who are putting their foot down and saying, "No, I can't work for this money, I need to feed my family" get totally screwed, because there will always, ALWAYS be someone willing to work for less, but let me continue.)

You get rich, and the poor become impoverished. Then they can't buy things (clothes, food, gas, toothpaste, what have you), and the retail market collapses. There are further implications, and plenty of variations, but I'll stop here.

In the end, you have a life where things are absolute sh*t, and not only are things insufferable for most of the country, but you prove that you're not only a raging dickhead, but also a perpetrator of all this nonsense. Congratulations, sir, your selfishness destroys America.

Consider reading up on basic economic structure and principles.

Things are sh*t only for those people without the skills or the desire to take the reins in their life and become the person who is doing the hiring. Think about the economic structure in America before the Depression. You had a few big factories, and many unskilled laborers there, but you also had a lot of sole-proprietorship businesses. Anyone who wanted out of the factories had but to save up for a few years, buy some stock of goods, and start a store. Or learn a trade and offer it to the public. Of course, that required you to work long hours with no guaranteed paycheck for them. You banked on your own ability. Today, people want the same reward with no risk and for the same amount of work as done in the sustanance job. And who pays? The factory owner, the successful businessman. Which makes fewer people want to go into business, which makes working for others more attractive and so on. Vicious circle.

So it depends on your standards of value. Who should the economy reward? The hard-working innovator, or the lazy unskilled? I say the former.

Yep. Huckabee is nearly as insane as Ron Paul. He believes the Earth is 6000 years old and doesn't believe in evolution. Cuckoo!

Zac wrote:

Yep. Huckabee is nearly as insane as Ron Paul. He believes the Earth is 6000 years old and doesn't believe in evolution. Cuckoo!

So by your comment, I take it all Christians are cuckoos too, huh? Because a lot of Christians don't believe in evolution, you know.

Today's governments kill people too, only they hide the trail better. Provide free medicine to one person, and one for-profit doctor closes his practice, meaning he's not there when another person wants to pay for his medicine. Pay for one person to live without working, and the business that needs a low-income worker has to spend more, meaning there's less for the business owner to invest in research and development. Degrees of evil, but still evil.

I find myself gob smacked at this bit of rapore coming from the likes of you. You? Mr. I-get-my-anime-for-free-because-I-deserve-it-and-don't-care-if-the-authors-and-distributors-get-their-money-because-that's-not-my-problem? What's a hypocrite again?