excerpt:
At its core, TABOR codifies limits on both taxation and spending. It was so successful that Colorado announced for the fourth year in a row that it would refund taxpayers $1.7 billion this time.
However, TABOR is not a panacea for government overreach. Although TABOR limits the amount of Colorado’s taxes and expenditures, it does not limit the state’s regulatory provisions, which are expanding without limit. Defenders of a free society must take a multifaceted approach to limiting government.
David Hebert and Thomas Savidge, The Daily Economy, December 17, 2024.
DRH Comment: I spoke with an economist friend in Colorado who told me that even though it’s a way to limit taxes and spending, TABOR has some problems. But it’s much better than the state-level situation in California.
By Roger Pilke Jr., The Honest Broker, December 16, 2024.
excerpt:
The resolution (reproduced above) also calls for “faculty, students, staff, and administrators to [unite] We have become a powerful group advocating for and taking significant action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on our campuses, communities, states, and nations. ”
The entire campus was to engage in political advocacy;
“[We are] We urge policy makers, including regents, system administrators, and campus leaders, to take action quickly and systematically to avoid the worst impacts of extreme weather events, devastation of human habitats, ecosystem collapse, and loss of biodiversity. Encourage them to make changes. ”
This looks more like a Greenpeace mission statement than anything remotely related to the mission of a flagship state university.
and:
In 2022, the university hosted a climate advocacy conference, “Right Here, Right Now Climate Summit,” in response to faculty requests. This “Summit” highlighted celebrities (below), activists, and many recommendations for political action. There was no obvious connection to the university’s current mission.
and:
The decision has been made that all eight courses that I have developed and taught as part of the Graduate Certificate Program will no longer be offered. This meant that all the classes I had been employed by Colorado State for graduate student development and mentoring would no longer be offered. Provided. 8
I asked the ENVS Chair to take full responsibility for leading the survival of the Science Policy Center (we also found an external partner) and to once again oversee the Science and Technology Graduate Certificate Program, but he said, “No. Absolutely not.” You won’t let me do that.
By David Friedman, David Friedman’s Substack, December 13, 2024.
item [a living wage] That sounds like it means something — enough wages to live on. This is supposed to mean a salary below which you’ll die, but this term usually doesn’t.
If you are reasonably resourceful and energetic in a warm climate, you may be able to survive on no income at all, given the existence of food banks, dinners for the poor, and other free food sources. do not have. Some homeless people probably do that. Even for those without those benefits, the income sufficient to survive is much less than people who use this term imagine. Economic historians estimate that throughout most of history, average real income worldwide was about one-twentieth of the current U.S. average. This means that a significant portion of all people who have ever lived earned their income with an income equal to less than $2. Thousands of dollars a year. Of course, even if that income were enough for someone to stay alive in the modern United States, that lifespan would probably be shorter than most modern Americans live.
Just like most people’s lives in the past.
In search of an objective definition, if we abandon the idea of literally interpreting the term as income that does not lead to death from starvation or exposure, it is tempting to interpret it as income that does not shorten life expectancy due to low income. . However, this is more than the average income in the United States. That’s because there are multiple ways in which additional income, even modest amounts, can extend life expectancy beyond what most of us live on. Experts in safe driving and the safest cars money can buy. Elite medical facilities spend one week each year testing everything that could go wrong.
As far as I know, what people actually mean by a living wage is a wage that you can imagine living a tolerable life. It really depends on one’s tolerance standards and how wide a range of options one considers, such as substituting lentils for meat, sharing a room with four roommates, or buying only second-hand clothes. it’s different.
DRH Comments: When I was in my late teens and early 20s and was low on funds, I would sometimes buy clothes at Goodwill. That’s no longer necessary. But a few years ago, I couldn’t find a heavy jacket that I could wear in 40+ degree weather, even after paying up to $200. So I went to Goodwill and found something I liked – it cost $8.
By Fiona Hartigan, Reason, December 17, 2024.
excerpt:
But new research suggests that Americans’ support for mass deportation comes with an important and overlooked caveat. According to a survey by the Bulfinch Group and the National Immigration Forum, 60% of Republicans believe that immigration enforcement should prioritize violent criminals and people with final orders of removal, not “all individuals without legal status.” I think we should.” Three-quarters of Republicans say “family unity, respect for human dignity, and protection of persecuted people” must be “key priorities” as the government ramps up border security and immigration enforcement. agreed.
Overall, “a sizable majority of groups” who voted for President Trump say they “want the Trump administration to focus its immigration enforcement efforts on threats to public safety, rather than casting an open-ended net.” the forum said. The survey, conducted earlier this month among 1,200 adults, including 1,000 registered voters, found support for the idea among Democrats, independents, liberals and moderates alike.
By James Goodman, SciTechDaily, December 19, 2024.
excerpt:
A recent study reported the somewhat alarming finding that the social disruption caused by the coronavirus lockdown caused significant changes in the brains of adolescents.
Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle used MRI scans to examine the adolescent brain’s cortex, the folded outer layer responsible for complex thinking. They found that typical age-related thinning of the cerebral cortex accelerated after lockdown, with girls showing more pronounced changes than boys.
By Ian Froese, CBC News, December 16, 2024.
excerpt:
A Manitoba woman had her right leg amputated due to complications following knee replacement surgery two months ago.
Roseanne Milburn, 61, underwent a scheduled amputation last Friday after weeks of complications from a post-operative infection.
In late November, surgeons at Winnipeg Health Sciences Center began removing dead tissue from her right knee, with plans to stitch it up the same day after she was seen by an orthopedic surgeon at Concordia Hospital.
She was sent to Concordia but could not be returned to HSC as there were no beds available for specialists to complete the procedure. Instead, she languished on Concordia for eight days with painful wounds.
When he finally arrived at HSC, Milburn said he went under the knife for another infection, but it took a long time to stitch up the wound and he was told his leg was irreparable.
