Christianomics: A blog on economics, politics, and law

Google and Apple are removing the Parler app for not censoring posts which incite violence. As a Christian conservative/libertarian this puts me in a tough spot. I don't like that these companies are doing this, but at the same time I'm happy that the major credit card companies and PayPal have cut off payments to PornHub(1). I also think it's okay for bakers to refuse to bake cakes for any reason, religious, bigoted, or otherwise(2). So to stay true to my principles I have to agree these companies are within their rights to do this. Now I will add a big caveat that the CEO of Parler has made some compelling statements regarding double standards(3). This could become a very strong legal case pertaining to any platform that would go a long way to clarifying the role of Section 230 and the bounds of censorship by private companies. But for now, we will have to wait and see how things play out. (Update: Parler has announced a lawsuit against Amazon (3.1)) Freedom of speech, h...

We are halfway through December. This is the busiest time of year for companies like UPS, Fedex, and Amazon. And the question on everyone's mind is, “Can I get my package delivered by the 25th?” All of this is going on, just like it does every year, and yet….my local Post Office had one solitary person working the front desk. This would have been irritating on its face, but to add insult to injury, an older woman next to me heralded the Post Office’s “efficiency” and assured everyone that we would be in and out “quickly.” While I recognize that patience is a virtue and a Fruit of the Spirit, the Post Office was not efficient and after waiting 45 minutes (with a long line of people still behind me), I can also say it was not quick. Looking into the Post Office’s history reveals a long line of inefficiencies. They haven’t made a profit since 2006 and in 2019 alone the Post Office lost 8.8 BILLION dollars (that’s $8,800,000,000)(1) What’s the deal? Why does this happen? The Foundation...