Jacob Davies

A Second Porsche Won’t Fill That Hole

by

by Jacob Davies A nice short piece on inequality in the NYT: Many economists are reluctant to confront rising income inequality directly, saying that whether this trend is good or bad requires a value judgment that is best left to philosophers. But that disclaimer rings hollow. Economics, after all, was founded by moral philosophers, and … Read more

“One nation, under fraud”

by

by Jacob Davies I don’t have much use for the Daily Caller generally, but you should read this. The banks ran their mortgage units like a 1999 dot-com: no paperwork, everyone runs around like chickens with their heads cut off, next week we’re all either millionaires or fired. But mortgage lending is a 30 year … Read more

Not Complicated

by

by Jacob Davies Imagine that 310 people reside in the United States of America, and that it's a small village, not a country. Of those 310, 238 are adults not in the care of others.The rest are children, institutionalized elderly and disabled, and members of the armed forces; their needs are taken care of directly. … Read more

The Real Servant Problem

by

by Jacob Davies Just a quick note on servants, which we were discussing in the comments to a previous thread. The big problem I have with servants who work directly for one person or family – and especially full-time servants – is not about productivity, and it’s not based on aesthetic dislike for the idea. … Read more

Segregation Nation

by

by Jacob Davies Some maps of the racial make-up of American cities by a guy called Eric Fisher. Red is White, Blue is Black, Green is Asian, and Orange is Hispanic, and each dot is 25 people. Data from Census 2000. New York City: Detroit: The SF Bay Area: Click on any of them for … Read more

Little House On The Playa

by

by Jacob Davies

midweek

My idea of a restful, refreshing vacation is to drive hundreds of miles to the middle of a high-altitude desert to a spot where there is nothing but dead salt pan for miles in every direction, no water, no flora or fauna, spend several days working like a dog in the hot sun to build a little camp, spend a couple more days hanging out in it with my friends and whatever lunatics wander in off the street while enjoying day-and-night pounding techno music and explosions, with only the primitive comforts we build for ourselves in a little kitchen and a sun shower, then tear the whole thing down and pack it all away again for next year.

This isn't a post about What Burning Man Means. I have no idea what it means to most people. For me it's a chance to spend some intensive time with some good friends, experience some really weird stuff, watch some big fires and explosions, and enjoy a pretty solid attempt at a total rejection of mainstream culture.

Read more

Hope I Get Old Before I Die

by

by Jacob Davies There was a long and widely-discussed piece in the NY Times Magazine on Sunday about the increasing tendency of 20-somethings to move back in with their parents, to fail to find a solid job, and to delay getting married or having children. The median age at first marriage in the early 1970s … Read more