The only one:Of all the federal programs, only Social Security is getting
bipartisan support for cuts. Not defense. Not Medicare. Not agriculture subsidies.
Only Social Security.
posted by Quiddity at 7/07/2010 03:16:00 PM
Climate science debate:On the issue of what to do about global warming, Jim Manzi has been deemed a "reasonable" conservative in the debate. He accepts that it's happening and is caused by human activity. The disagreement is in what to do about it. Manzi's position is that it's not worth implementing various policies (e.g. carbon taxes) because, on net, economic activity would suffer.
This is discussed in a
TNR article by Brad Plummer.
Of interest is this excerpt:
Manzi bases his argument on his reading of the IPCC's 2007 Fourth Assessment Report. According to the IPCC's own estimates, he points out, a temperature rise of 4°C can be expected to reduce global GDP by about 3 percent in 2100. And on the flip side, the IPCC pegs the cost of keeping carbon concentrations in the atmosphere below a "safe" level of 450 parts per million at around 6 percent of GDP. And so, Manzi concludes, mitigation probably isn't worth it.
Here the issue is 3% loss due to global warming vs. 6% loss due to carbon-concentration-restraint policies.
But what about that other figure?
A temperature rise of 4ºC. That's 7ºF. Which means a huge change in, well, basically everything. A change in how you go about your day (much more indoors w/ air conditioning). A change in the landscape. A change in recreation (no more skiing for you!). A change in what you can eat (at least afford to eat).
But
those changes do not figure in a measure of global GDP (at least not significantly). Manzi ignores them because he is only interested in economic cost/benefit calculations.
Manzi would probably support placing ads on the face of Half Dome in Yosemite Park if the numbers worked out. The aesthetic damage has no monetary value for people like him. If the reduction in tourist dollars is offset by the ad revenue, then go ahead and do it.
posted by Quiddity at 7/05/2010 10:17:00 PM
The New York Times will end up mute:Bill Keller of the
Times,
on the use of the word "torture":
“When using a word amounts to taking sides in a political dispute, our general practice is to [not use that word and, instead] supply the readers with the information to decide for themselves”
Virtually every word takes a side on an issue (nouns, verbs, adjectives). Even what most of us consider "reality" has dissenters.
Will we see the
New York Times change their name to
New-Amsterdam-but-stolen-by-the-British Times?
Putting that aside, how about Israel? Most folks would say it's a legitimate state, but there are a few who dispute that. Could using the name of a state be a problem? Yes, look at
Macedonia:
It became a member of the United Nations in 1993, but as a result of a dispute with Greece over its name, it was admitted under the provisional reference of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, sometimes abbreviated as FYROM.
Best to write nothing, that way no one will be offended.
posted by Quiddity at 7/03/2010 11:10:00 PM
This guy is on your side:Obama's Deficit Commission has two co-chairmen, Republican Alan Simpson, who wants to slash entitlements, and Democrat Erskine Bowles
who ...
Erskine Bowles, the Democratic co-chairman of the bipartisan White House Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, floated a long-term goal of reducing federal spending to about 21% of U.S. gross domestic product, slightly above the recent norm but significantly lower than current spending projections.
While praising Democrats' recent health-care overhaul for expanding access to services, Mr. Bowles also emphasized the need to find significant savings in federal health spending and other entitlement programs. If not, he added, "it will just consume the budget."
Fellow panel member Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wisc.), the top Republican on the House Budget Committee, termed the discussions "productive."
"The explosive growth of government spending is clearly the problem, and I was encouraged by the growing consensus around this obvious reality," Mr. Ryan said later in a written statement.
"other entitlement programs" probably means Social Security.
posted by Quiddity at 7/01/2010 08:50:00 AM 
