Christianomics: A blog on economics, politics, and law

With the dramatic leaking of Justice Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey, the following weeks were about what one would expect. Lots of shouting, lots of name calling, and very little common ground. And for an issue that is so simple (note: simple, not easy) I think many people have forgotten what they are fighting about. (0) In a rational, emotion-free world the pro-choice and pro-life movements would both agree they are trying to answer the same questions. When do we get our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? We take it for granted that we inherited these rights sometime between when we were conceived and when we die. But resolving the issue of abortion requires we know when they begin. From a legal perspective, federal law levies a $5,000 fine or jail time for the deliberate destruction or disturbance of an eagle egg. (1) There are also cases where assailants who killed pregnant women have been convicted of double homicide....

  Spoken like someone who has never managed the costs of running a business. Profit = price - costs Costs include but are not limited to: employees, certifications, facility mortgages, materials, gas, electricity, and taxes. Profit is becoming a demonized word, but the reality is if a company cannot make a profit then it cannot provide employment opportunities and it cannot provide goods and services to people in the local community. Most companies in the US. only make 8% profit. (1) With such a slim margin, if any of the above costs go up, then the average company has no choice but to raise prices just to stay afloat. It is absurd that the administration does not get such basic economics 1. https://wordsandnumbers.libsyn.com/you-just-hate-the-poor...

  The President in 2050: and so to curb the pandemic of obesity I will be signing these executive orders that will require OSHA to require all businesses to require their employees to take this new anti-obesity vaccine that is guaranteed to drop your BMI. Press: Mr. President what is the threshold for obesity? President: The threshold is a BMI above 30. Press: Will there be any medical or religious exceptions provided? President: Sadly no. Press: What about people who are obese but able to drop their BMIs by other methods? President: They will still be required. I’ve been patient with them but now my patience has worn thin. Press: Lastly, what about people who are already under the BMI for obesity or even those who are considered underweight. If they aren’t part of the problem will they be required to take this vaccine as well? President: Yes of course they will. I’ve already said we each have to do our part. Think of our kids.

  A lot of babies were killed yesterday. I've talked with a number of limited government/libertarian people who are pro-choice yet believe that abortion kills a human being. Their logic is simple - making an act illegal does not stop it from happening.  Prohibitionists saw their efforts fail when they outlawed drinking in the 20s. Those seeking to decriminalize marijuana today apply this same logic. Now I believe on a moral level that it is good to criminalize acts like murder and manslaughter. Laws are sometimes about prevention and sometimes about punishment. I believe abortion is at minimum, the equivalent of manslaughter and should therefore also be criminalized and punished as such.  But that doesn't remove the unintended consequences of Texas' new policy. It has been reported that abortion clinics in Texas were overwhelmed with women wanting an abortion before the law took effect.(1) Simply and sadly put, the supply was very limited and so the demand sky rocketed....

Economics studies how and why people allocate and use their limited resources. Everyone regardless of age, wealth, or ethnicity has 2 basic resources: money and time. Opportunity cost is the cost of choosing one decision over another. Money: I got a call the other day from Alliance Defending Freedom asking for financial support for their many ongoing legal battles (1). As someone interested in politics and the constitution these battles are very important to me. But then Glenn Beck called, asking for donations for the Nazarene Fund to evacuate as many Christians as possible from the trouble brewing in Afghanistan (2). Meanwhile Samaritan’s Purse was also pleading for supplies and personnel for Haiti following their 7.2 earthquake (3). I only have a limited amount of money and I cannot support every request though they are all important to me. By choosing to support one organization I am simultaneously choosing to not support another. Time: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as ...

  Seeing the tragedies in Afghanistan I am reminded why I bother to write these essays: Elections of politicians and their policy decisions have very real consequences for everyday people. Sometimes those consequences can be helpful and sometimes they can be lethal. Understanding economics, politics, and human nature are tools God has given us to achieve the former while avoiding the latter.

  Now that we are talking about mandatory Covid vaccinations Does the Constitution no longer say "My body my choice?" Asking for 60,764,800 unborn friends Source of the graph: https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2017/01/18/the-abortion-rate-in-america-falls-to-its-lowest-level-since-roe-v-wade

John Doe: I think I'm okay with the idea of a government vaccine mandate. If you're teetering on the edge of the cliff then you obviously should make every effort to get away from the cliff [and take the vaccine]. Me: But I've already survived covid, so from my view I'm not on the edge of the cliff and therefore don’t need to take the shot. John: Well you should still want to take it just in case. Me: But I don't. John: But you should. Me: Okay, make me. John: What? Me: Make me want to take it. Offer me a bribe. Give me $10,000 and I’ll get the shot. John: No! Me: Okay so what, $1,000? $500? John: No and no. Me: ...You aren't doing a very good job of offering me any incentive. Come on, you've been telling me this is really important. So how important is this? What would you be willing to give me? John: 50 cents. That's as high as I would go. Me: Really? 50 cents...Not even enough to buy something off the McDonald's dollar menu. Our country is suppose...

  "It’s increasingly impossible to deny that both in the US and globally, prices are on the rise. Why does this matter? Well, inflation acts as a stealth tax on everyday people. Other consumers are getting hit with “shrinkflation” as stores shrink the size of packages for a given price, a sneaky approach for retailers wary of the backlash that comes with raising sticker prices. Inflation doesn’t come out of nowhere. It’s what happens when the government prints money to pay for spending, rather than directly raising taxes. Either way, we all lose." Source: https://fee.org/articles/we-just-got-proof-global-inflation-is-surging/?utm_source=zapier

(4) I hate inflation. To be more specific, I hate when government fails at basic budgeting and steals from its people by creating (printing) new dollars out of thin air. And last year the presses were busy. Nearly a quarter of all US dollars ever to exist were printed in 2020.(1) Looking at this in terms of supply and demand, when the supply increases, the demand (and resulting value) will decrease. This is why the pastry in the picture costs so much more in April 2020 than it did in March 2019. Nothing changed with respect to the pastry itself. It has the same ingredients and the same nutritional value. The only thing that changed is the value of the paper used to purchase it. Simply put, the government is stealing from people’s savings accounts. But rather than taking a measurable quantity of money, it is imperceptibly taking away the money’s quality. And this is what makes inflation so insidious. By the time the effects of inflation are being felt, the damage has already been done....

  Full quote: Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. They may be more likely to go to Heaven yet at the same time likelier to make a Hell of earth. This very kindness stings with intolerable insult. To be "cured" against one's will and cured of states which we may not regard as disease is to be put on a level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason or those who never will; to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.

The law of supply and demand simply says that as demand increases, the price will increase until the supply catches up. What we saw with toilet paper in 2020 and what we are now seeing on the East Coast with gas prices is what happens when government (and private companies) stop the price from rising. We all get shortages. (1). Source: https://fee.org/articles/why-politicians-not-hackers-are-to-blame-for-the-gasoline-shortage/?utm_source=zapier

  "There is a big difference between equality and equity" - Kamala Harris (1) Equality is that of opportunity or equality under the law. This is how most competitions and sports are governed and also the principle applied in Luke 19 when the nobleman gives an equal portion of money to each of his servants. When the nobleman returns he commends the servants who brought a positive return on his investment. It is also noteworthy that the nobleman rewards the servants in proportion to their success. Equity is about equality of outcome. This is something you want in a production environment where you want each product (ie an airplane or a vaccine or even Krispy Kreme doughnuts) to be as good as the next. This provides stability. An example of this can be found in Matthew 20. The master of the house pays people to labor in his vineyards. He goes out throughout the day collecting more and more people to work his vineyard, and at the end of the day he pays them for their labor. To ev...

There is a growing lament among centrists and moderates that everything has become political (1). In Luke 11:17 Jesus says, “Every Kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.” And boy is America divided. From sports, to beans. Ice cream to pillows, politics (and the strife that it brings) seems to have invaded every aspect of our lives.(2) But how did we get here? The latest kerfuffle of the MLB All Star game is an excellent example. Following the drama of the 2020 election, the Republican-controlled legislature in Georgia passed a bill that changed election laws. The stated intent of the bill was to secure the integrity of their elections. Democrat politicians claimed this was a racist attempt to disenfranchise minorities. All of this is pretty typical for American politics. The MLB entered the picture when the Players Association threatened to move the All-Star game out of Georgia. After that it was game over. President Biden announced his support fo...

  "No amendment is absolute" - President Joe Biden Therefore I present what should be the newly revised amendments to the Constitution. AMENDMENT I Congress shall be allowed to pass laws establishing a religion, prohibiting the free exercise thereof; and abridging the freedom of speech, and the press; and the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and can limit the petition of the Government for a redress of grievances. AMENDMENT II The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, may be infringed. AMENDMENT IV The right of the people are not always secure against unreasonable searches and seizures AMENDMENT VI The accused shall sometimes enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial AMENDMENT VII A fact tried by a jury, may be re-examined in any Court of the United States AMENDMENT VIII Excessive bail may be required, also excessive fines imposed, and cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. AMENDMENT XIII Slavery and involuntary servitude, may exist within the United State...