-
-
Examine the Full Context
I have been reticent to comment on the war between Israel and Hamas because I am not an expert on the Middle East. However, I am qualified to comment on the faulty thinking that underlies some of the claims and demands being made by Palestinian supporters. Critics of Israel’s war against Hamas frequently claim that…
-
Reject the Arbitrary
Those engaged in policy debates often make arbitrary assertions. The arbitrary can take many different forms, but it always includes a claim with no reference to actual facts. It is an assertion without evidence to validate it. Because it has no cognitive value, we should reject the arbitrary out of hand. An example comes from…
-
Why the Left Keeps Winning
An opinion piece in the Marin Independent Journal in California provides an interesting example why the Left keeps winning policy debates. The article states, All landlords are human and some humans are more concerned about profits than people. Because of this, I happen to believe that some rent control is a good thing. Though the…
-
Unwilling to Consider Alternatives
A recent piece by columnist LZ Granderson argues that school choice is “a cover for segregation.” It is a rebuke of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which outlawed segregation in government schools, and it is an attempt to create separate but unequal schooling in the name of God. School choice, he claims is…
-
Paul’s Lack of Conceptual Clarity
On Monday, we examined Elon Musk’s claim that working from home is “morally wrong.” Such a claim derives from a lack of conceptual clarity. Musk is hardly alone. Today, we will examine a claim that a home mortgage is a form of rent control. Mark Paul, an assistant professor of economics at Rutgers, writes, Some…
-
Musk’s Lack of Conceptual Clarity
Last week, Elon Musk declared that working from home is “morally wrong.” He went on to say that it isn’t fair that those who deliver food or work in construction can’t work from home. Musk may be a very astute businessman, but he demonstrates a lack of conceptual clarity in making such a statement. Conceptual…
-
-
The Whole Truth
The headline for a recent article on CNBC.com declares, “The 7 most affordable U.S. states to retire—and none of them are Florida” illustrates the intellectual dishonesty that is prevalent in today’s media. The article states that Michigan is the most affordable state in which to retire according to a study issued by Bankrate. This is…
-
A Century of the Wrong Framework
For more than a century, discussions of government policy have followed the wrong framework. The resulting policies have not solved the problems that they were intended to address. Indeed, those policies have just made the problems worse. The wrong framework leads to bad choices, and bad choices lead to undesirable results. I call the framework…
-
The Progressive Framework is Anti-individual
The Progressive framework subordinates the individual—every individual—to the group. That framework is anti-individual and demands that the individual sacrifice his values and ambitions—his life—to the group. When the collective is the standard, what happens to the individual is regarded as irrelevant. When put into practice, this framework unleashes a power struggle as various groups compete…
-
Framing Public Policy Issues: Method
Effectively framing public policy issues begins by identifying the proper standard of value. However, selecting the proper goal is only the start. If we do not embrace the proper method for selecting and evaluating facts, then we will not make the best policy choices. There are two components to the proper method: context and alternatives….
