On Saturday mornings, we drive our daughter down to Naples for fencing lessons. Although Naples is not far away geographically, it takes roughly 45 minutes each way to get there with stop-and-go brunch and farmer's market traffic. Then her fencing lessons usually run about two hours long. This ritual requires that I tow along a … Continue reading A review of Tara Westover’s Educated (by a homeschooler)
Tag: Public Policy
Our largest tech companies dwarf the entire economies of developed nations
FAAMG = Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google The performance of the largest tech companies since the 2008 Financial Crisis: Data courtesy of Goldman Sachs.
The stunning corruption at the Federal Reserve gets even worse
A few days ago, two top officials at the Federal Reserve suddenly decided to retire. I'm sure most Americans do not care about the comings-and-goings of Fed officials, but this was a truly unprecedented situation. The Fed officials retired after they were caught front-running important announcements regarding monetary policy. That is to say, they profited … Continue reading The stunning corruption at the Federal Reserve gets even worse
As the supply chain collapses, shipping lines post record profits
You can file this phenomenon under "the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer" in financial crises. Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers with massive online presences would have loved for the coronavirus lockdowns to carry on indefinitely - sure, millions of Americans were thrown into poverty, but they were rolling in the dough, and … Continue reading As the supply chain collapses, shipping lines post record profits
Montana is dropping federal unemployment benefits to force people back to work
We eat out all the time here, so it has been difficult to miss the employment shortage in restaurants. At one sports bar, they were serving everything with plastic picnicware. Plastic cups, plastic plates, plastic forks... This is something you typically do not see in Florida by the ocean, as we try to protect marine … Continue reading Montana is dropping federal unemployment benefits to force people back to work
Why Are Folks Moving to Florida? (Especially Tech Folks)
I have been amused but not at all surprised by the flood of people from the tech industry who are moving to South Florida, and Miami in particular. Our business is in financial technology, and we were lured to Florida years ago. What made us relocate? First, we love Florida's conservative - libertarian tax code. … Continue reading Why Are Folks Moving to Florida? (Especially Tech Folks)
The Financial Experiment Behind President Biden’s Pork Spending Spree
Photo by John Guccione on Pexels.com Selfishness and greed, individual or national, cause most of our troubles. Harry S. Truman These days, I find it incredibly difficult to talk to politically conservative friends and impossible to suffer through conservative-leaning “news” programming. This has nothing to do with agreeing or disagreeing with their principles. I just … Continue reading The Financial Experiment Behind President Biden’s Pork Spending Spree
A Radically Different Way of Looking at Education Vouchers
Photo by Gary Barnes on Pexels.com [Note: I originally posted this on my Substack profile, but I am not sure I am cool with that platform or the folks posting on it now. I may write on that topic at some point. But as it stands, I do not want to lose the things I … Continue reading A Radically Different Way of Looking at Education Vouchers
Media Caricatures of Private Education – Elite Private Schools are Not the Problem with Education in the US
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com [Note: I originally posted this on my Substack profile, but I am not sure I am cool with that platform or the folks posting on it now. I may write on that topic at some point. But as it stands, I do not want to lose the things I have … Continue reading Media Caricatures of Private Education – Elite Private Schools are Not the Problem with Education in the US
George Will on the value of a classical education
To those who say we are threatened by a suffocating "hegemony" of Western civilization's classic works, the correct response is: If only that were the problem. The danger is not cultural hegemony but cultural amnesia, and the concomitant balkanization of the life of the mind. George Will, The Conservative Sensibility As I mentioned in an … Continue reading George Will on the value of a classical education
Days of Sunshine 