Tag: us

Ages Of Discord

Turchin has some great stories about unity vs. polarization over time. For example in the 1940s, unity became such a “problem” that concerned citizens demanded more partisanship: Concerned about electoral torpor and meaningless political debate, the American Political Science Association in 1946 appointed a committee to examine the role of parties in the American system. 4 years later, the committee published a lengthy (and alarmed) report calling for the return of ideologically distinct and powerful political parties. Parties ought to stand for distinct sets of politics, the political scientists urged. Voters should be presented with clear choices.

DIY Phone Farmers

D’Alesandro’s $2000 a month revenue high didn’t last. In 2018, there was a “very sharp downfall”. Advertisers started to crack down. “I think the people putting money into it weren’t exactly sure how it was being used,” he added. In December, D’Alesandro posted his last video to YouTube. In the video description he wrote, “It’s been a great ride, but I feel I need to quit now and focus on other things to grow as a person.” Other farmers have felt the dip too. Goat_City, the farmer who had over 100 phones, is only making around $10 a day now. CallMeDonCheadle took a break after the profits over the past couple of years decreased dramatically. “It has a lot to do with it being less passive and admittedly I can sympathize now that I have a job. Not everyone wants to spend their free time clicking at screens to make fractions of pennies every hour, especially if they have families, friends, and living life in general to attend to.”

The US is behind on 5G

No American company makes the devices that transmit high-speed wireless signals. Huawei is the clear leader in the field; the Swedish company Ericsson is a distant second; and the Finnish company Nokia is third. It is almost surprising that the Defense Department allowed the report to be published at all, given the board’s remarkably blunt assessment of the nation’s lack of innovation and one of the biggest impediments to rolling out 5G in the United States: the Pentagon itself. The broadband spectrum needed to create a successful network was reserved not for commercial purposes but for the military.

Bounty Hunting

Within the world of law enforcement, bounty hunting is something of an aberration. An accident arising from the combination of common law, frontier justice, chattel slavery, and capitalism. No other job is more American. Bounty hunting’s legality is a mishmash of confusing requirements, regulations, and certifications that vary widely by state.

Idaho deregulatory polity

Something rather remarkable just happened in Idaho. The state legislature opted to—in essence—repeal the entire state regulatory code. The cause may have been dysfunction across legislative chambers, but the result is serendipitous. A new governor is presented with an unprecedented opportunity to repeal an outdated and burdensome regulatory code and replace it with a more streamlined and sensible set of rules. Other states should be paying close attention

as of jan 2020, they’ve cut regulations by 40%.