Month: July 2013

July 23, 2013

Why social mobility matters—and income inequality does not

When it comes to household income, progressives tend to start with their intuitive understanding of fairness (i.e., some people have a lot more income than others), move to the solution (redistribution of income and wealth from those who have more to those who have less), and only then to develop a metric that justifies implementing their solution: income inequality. Continue Reading...
July 23, 2013

Value Creation for the Glory of God

The real estate crisis led to plenty of finger-pointing and blame-shifting, but for Phoenix real estate developer Walter Crutchfield, it led to self-examination and spiritual reflection. “The real estate crash brought me to a place of stepping back and evaluating,” Crutchfield says. Continue Reading...
July 22, 2013

Work and the Political Economy of the Zombie Apocalypse

One of the more curious cultural movements in recent years has been the increasing interest in zombies, and in particular the dystopian visions of a world following the zombie apocalypse. Part of the fascination has to do, I think, with the value of thought experiments in speculation about such futures, however improbable. Continue Reading...
July 22, 2013

Federal Data Hub: Say Good-Bye To Your Privacy

Undoubtedly, we live in an era where personal privacy is difficult to maintain. Even if you choose not to have a Facebook account or Tweet madly, you still know that your medical records are on-line somewhere, that your bank account is only a hack away from being emptied, and that cell phone records are now apparently government domain. Continue Reading...
July 22, 2013

Detroit: A Collapse of Real Integrity

Douglas Wilson has an interesting take on Detroit’s bankruptcy: “like a drunk trying to make it to the next lamp post.” Why this analogy? Wilson says we first have to understand that Detroit is inevitably in a defaulting situation; the question now is what kind of default. Continue Reading...
July 22, 2013

Cyber-Sex Slavery in the 21st Century

The combination of poverty, sexual trafficking, and technology has given rise to a new form of slavery: cyber-sex trafficking. As CNN explains, anyone who has a computer, internet, a Web cam, and an exploited woman or child can be in business: Andrea was 14 years old the first time a voice over the Internet told her to take off her clothes. Continue Reading...
July 19, 2013

Hobby Lobby Wins Significant Victory for Religious Freedom

According to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, for-profit businesses won a significant victory for religious liberty today. A federal court granted Hobby Lobby a preliminary injunction against the HHS abortion-drug mandate, preventing the government from enforcing the mandate against the Christian company. Continue Reading...