The genius of capitalism is in convincing the wage slaving masses in doing all of society's work, not only convinced that they are working purely out of their own free will, but grateful to their owners for the opportunity. In "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" by Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer not only convinces the neighborhood … Continue reading How to get other people to do all your work, and be thankful for the opportunity

One of the common critiques of Universal Basic Income is "why should people be getting handouts?" There are two ways to answer this - from a pragmatic or theoretical perspective. From a pragmatic perspective, the "good" unquestionably outweighs the "bad. For one, we would end poverty which by itself would be enough to justify it. … Continue reading Is Universal Basic Income a “Handout”?

One thing that shocked me as an American when I was traveling the world was discovering that there were people from other countries who actually liked their governments and felt like they were actually being represented, something I never felt at home. I remember speaking in astonishment to a Swiss woman on a walking tour … Continue reading America’s Failed Democracy

Let's not mince words here, Fuck baby boomers. Baby boomers created this mess. So long as they remain at the steering wheel, they're not going to fix it. Their #1 concern is preserving their retirement, not looking out for the younger generation, the earth, or hell anything concerning the future of mankind. They grew up … Continue reading F*ck Baby Boomers

A comment on a HN thread Why I Quit Tech and Became a Therapist stood out to me (bolding is on my behalf): I've been having the same existential crisis for a couple years now. I started working at a FAANG company right out of college, then after a bunch of personal health problems ended … Continue reading Realizing Your Job Isn’t Meaningful

One common criticism against Universal Basic Income is "people shouldn't be dependent on the government". I agree, in an ideal world we should all be as self-sufficient as possible. Everyone should contribute to humanity, whether that be via harnessing and utilizing some skill, or even simply being a good parent and respectful citizen who doesn't … Continue reading We are all Dependent

A while back this guy who runs a political podcast added me on Facebook. He had seen some of my work and liked it. He would post a lot on his Facebook wall, usually low-effort angry rants about the general public's economic illiteracy. Occasionally he'd bash Universal Basic Income (UBI). I'm a huge supporter of … Continue reading The Importance of Intellectual Humility

"Why should anyone get free money for doing nothing?" This moral argument is a common criticism of Universal Basic Income, typically followed by "people should have to work for their money". Well the first contradiction here is that in any capitalist economy, the money you receive is not necessarily money earned from work. In fact, … Continue reading Why Should Anyone Get Free Money?

One thing that pisses me off is when people dismiss a presidential candidate because he/she "lacks political experience". Politics was never supposed to be a career track. Politicians simply represent the will of the people. There is no college major or career that better qualifies you to represent the will of the people. If anything, … Continue reading Politics Should Not Be A Career Track

"At Yahoo, I designed and built a large project. This took about six months to deliver. At the time, the company was doing quarterly reviews that I think Marissa had imported from Google. Anyway, my manager had rated me as "meets expectations" for a few quarters because this project and the one I had previously … Continue reading Stack Ranking Should Be Illegal