Tag: politics

Proactive Politics

Let’s take a look back at the seminal date February 12, 2004. Just a month before, Gavin Newsom had been sworn in as Mayor of San Francisco for his first term. On that day in February, he ordered the clerk of the City and County of San Francisco to allow same-sex couples to get married. When news broke of his decision, he was flooded with a torrent of angry messages sent by people from around the world. He received and still receives death threats. Of course, Newsom also faced attacks from Republicans, but even more frustrating (and hypocritical), he was much maligned by his fellow Democrats.

Most of these Democratic politicians lacked the courage to publicly criticize him–why lose out on political contributions from the LGBT community and their allies? Instead, they did it behind closed doors, and through more subtle actions. Previously extended invitations to speak at events like the Democratic National Convention were rescinded, some elected officials even refused to be photographed with him.

The equilibrium trap

the quality of governance in the US tends to be low precisely because of a continuing tradition of Jacksonian populism. Americans with their democratic roots generally do not trust elite bureaucrats to the extent that the French, Germans, British, or Japanese have in years past. This distrust leads to micromanagement by Congress through proliferating rules and complex, self-contradictory legislative mandates which make poor quality governance a self-fulfilling prophecy. The US is thus caught in a low-level equilibrium trap, in which a hobbled bureaucracy validates everyone’s view that the government can’t do anything competently.

OWS potential

If OWS weren’t so stupid, they’d be able to achieve things. ows might find strategic success by using sousveillance at scale.

It appears that Occupy’s extreme non-violence/passivity has finally generated a social system disruption. Videos and pictures showing policemen using violence against passive protesters have gone viral (UC Berkeley students, Grandma, and open mouth were the leading examples). Stories about this violence are now sweeping the media (7910 news stories over the last 24 hours)

The Mafia Government

the mexican mafia acts like a government: collecting taxes, enforcing property rights and adjudicating disputes.

as the MM grew in power it started to provide public goods, i.e. it became a kind of government. Thus, the MM protects taxpayers both in prison and on the street, it produces property rights by enforcing gang claims to territory and it adjudicates disputes, all to the extent that such actions increase tax revenue of course. The MM is so powerful that it often doesn’t even have to use its own enforcers; instead, the MM can issue what amounts to a letter of marque and reprisal, a signal that a non-taxpaying gang is no longer under its protection, and privateers will do the rest.

Some common ground

if we get some schumpeterian creative destruction out of this, things will be much better:

  • usps: inefficient information transport
  • banks: corrupt, inefficient
  • agri / food: making people sick
  • tv / movies: obsolete distribution models
  • car companies: obsolete architectures
  • construction industry: 19th century methods

Occupy Sesame Street

paging Denise Long

Occupy Wall Street is a major movement both on the streets and on the web, but it isn’t getting the media attention it deserves. Why? Because it doesn’t resonate with kids. Kids drive the market and therefore the media, but they have absolutely no interest in seeing politically-charged 20-somethings sprayed in the face with mace. Pepper spray Snuffleupagus, however, and you got yourself a protest ready for prime time.

Gold smuggling

chavez is one of the most prolific comedians of our time.

Ever since the news broke last week that Hugo Chávez wanted to transport 211 tons of physical gold from Europe to Caracas, I’ve been wondering how on earth he possibly intends to do such a thing. It seems to me that Chávez has 4 main choices here. He can go the FT’s route, and just fly the gold to Caracas while insuring each shipment for its market value. He can go the Spanish route, and try to transport the gold himself, perhaps making use of the Venezuelan navy. He could attempt the mother of all repo transactions. Or he could get clever.