Episode 276 « Itunes Podcast « Peikoff.
I always enjoy listening to these podcasts on Monday. This week’s has Yaron Brook answering questions on:
This is why at work when people ask me how they can pay I respond with “Anything but pennies.” I would probably draw the line at all nickels as well.
Samsung pays Apple $1 Billion sending 30 trucks full of 5 cent coins | News Hound.
Update: Ah well, I thought perhaps it was too funny to be true. In talking about this with a co-worker I wondered where they would get all the nickels to pay $1 billion. After quick search
Just over a year ago my brother started his blog with a post largely about the coming “smart grid” and “smart meters” that were starting to be pushed here in Vermont. He summed up the potential issues with:
“Here’s the part that has worms crawling out of it. This same technology will also allow utilities and
Ah, the difference that 6 years makes.
HT: Ron Proulx for sharing on Facebook.
From The Objective Standard, which always has great and interesting takes on many issues.
The federal government has no legitimate role in forcing employers to provide insurance or in regulating insurance that employers may wish to offer. All such decisions should be left to employers, and potential employees should be free to accept or reject terms that an employer offers.
Conclusion to another great series from Don Watkins at the Ayn Rand Institute. He also has a great 6 part series titled “The Social Security Myth” that looks at the origins of the social security system.
Is Social Security a Wealth Redistribution Program? – Part 3 — Laissez FaireLaissez Faire.
I had taken a bit of a break from reading philosophy to give my mind a bit of a rest. I re-read for the umpteenth time, “Beguilement” by Lois McMaster Bujold. This is one of my favorite books, series actually.
It was something of a different experience reading it after having read of lot of Ayn Rand’s philosophy as I could see similar themes, especially in the main characters who, over the course of the series, go against what is expected of them and instead work for what gives
Today’s quote comes from a talk by Ayn Rand, I believe from the 1960’s, about the so-called Robber Barons of the 19th century, and how they were actually the greatest benefactors of the United States, contrary to what popular history tells us. About 5 minutes into the recording, which you can find here, she made a statement that jumped out at me enough to go over it repeatedly to write it down. The groups she is referring to are the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads.
In
“Since knowledge, thinking, and rational action are properties of the individual, since the choice to exercise his rational faculty or not depends on the individual, man’s survival requires that those who think be free of the interference of those who don’t. Since men are neither omniscient nor infallible, they must be free to agree or disagree, to cooperate or to pursue their own independent course, each according to his own rational judgement. Freedom is the fundamental
“In some ultimate sense, the total quantity of resources must of course be declining. However, a resource that would run out centuries after it becomes obsolete, or a thousand years after the sun grows cold, is not a serious practical problem. If it is going to run out within some period that is a matter of practical relevance, then the rising present value of the resource whose exhaustion looms ahead will automatically force conservation, without either public hysteria or political