IntenseDebate - Stefano

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - The Debacle of Margari... · 1 reply · +4 points

For the record, margarine is awful, awful stuff. Tastes horrid and is far worse for you than butter. Even the government nutritionists have been forced to realize that of late.

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - Is Social Security a P... · 0 replies · +2 points

LoL at people who sling insults online and struggle with the reading comprehension.

It is a Ponzi scheme, and my response was to the question of "why is it worth debating the terminology?"

The whole premise of the program, from its initial sale to the public until now, is that it is a "retirement fund." That it is not, and that courts have supported this deception, doesn't change its nature. In fact, it is the very deceptive nature of the program that makes it analogous to a Ponzi scheme.

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - Is Social Security a P... · 3 replies · +6 points

I think the reason for arguing that it is a Ponzi scheme is the effect of such an argument. Ponzi, and Madoff, and those like them are roundly derided as horrible monsters, while SS is seen as a benevolent act of government and an essential service.

It's helpful to see who the real villains are.

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - To Serve and Protect &... · 0 replies · +3 points

Gilbert-

Challenge to identify mistreatment by police? Really? Read Bourbon for Breakfast. Read my essay at http://refugeofscoundrels.blogspot.com/2011/06/in...

Or just google Jose Guerenas, murdered by a swat team for no good reason.

A better challenge might be to find someone who doesn't know anyone who has been hassled by police for no good reason. They are nothing more than revenue agents for the state in most cases.

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - The Inventor of the Di... · 0 replies · 0 points

Project Gutenberg is amazing.

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - What Will Keep Our Foo... · 0 replies · +1 points

The system is an unmitigated disaster.

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - What Will Keep Our Foo... · 0 replies · +2 points

And since producers would pay these private inspectors for their service, the inspectors would have far more to gain by doing a good job than by accepting a bribe and opening themselves up to lawsuits and a loss of reputation.

Currently, if the USDA gives a product the ok, and it's loaded with salmonella, you eat it and die. Do you have any legal recourse against the USDA? Of course not. They shut down random food suppliers until they think they find the culprit, fine them, pocket the fine, and then go on about their business.

Where is "consumer protection" in this equation?

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - Suddenly, It’s B... · 0 replies · +2 points

But when I eat feces, I definitely prefer it irradiated.

seriously, though-this is an argument for consumer choice. I buy most of my meat from a nearby farm, but not everyone has that option.

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - Suddenly, It’s B... · 1 reply · +2 points

I just think it's funny that when I was in grade school, they terrorized us about acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer; now, the relative thickness of the ozone layer is sometimes cited as a cause for global warming.

12 years ago @ Ludwig von Mises Insti... - Iraq, Afghanistan, War... · 0 replies · +2 points

I think it's hard to argue that x is worse than y when it comes to this subject.

If the problem with war is the death and destruction it causes, then the proponent of a little is just as bad as the proponent of much.

That said, I'm pretty sure the point is just that opposition to war shouldn't be along purely partisan lines. and he makes that case well.

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