Category: Society

If you’re a Confederate, you’re not an American

Moving back to the South after living in the Northeast for many years, I immediately began to notice the far-increased number of Rebel flags aflight. Growing up in rural Louisiana, I honestly can’t remember seeing them that often. Now they seem more popular than ever, from the standard version down to purple-and-gold and other college-color-themed versions. I think many of those who fly the flag conflate it with both American patriotism and Southern pride, and it is that delusion I wish to address.

Confederates, I have a news flash for you: the Confederacy was the greatest threat ever faced by the United States of America, and by flying that flag you signal your disloyalty to the country of your birth. Many of you claim that it is a symbol of Southern pride and values, and indeed, the United States permits you the right to fly it and proclaim whatever meaning for it you wish. But historically, the Confederate flag regained popularity during the Civil rights movement, when it was placed atop the South Carolina statehouse and elsewhere in obvious retaliations against the cultural change taking place.

The Confederate flag was, and is, the symbol of a nation. By supporting that nation, a nation created expressly to maintain the practice of slavery, you show your allegiances are not with the United States of America. So for those who fly the CSA flag: you’re not patriotic Americans, you’re Confederates living in the past.

Posted on by praveenghanta 5

Another Immigration Post

I just saw a presentation by George Borjas, a Harvard economist specializing in immigration issues. His research seems to support the common-sense opinion on the effects of large-scale illegal immigration: it has some positive economic benefits, but it also redistributes wealth somewhat from poorer Americans to richer Americans. Since illegal immigrants compete for jobs mainly at the bottom of the economic scale, their arrival tends to increase the wealth of those who use labor (business owners and the upper-middle class), while decreasing the wages of unskilled Americans.

This is perhaps not very surprising, and refines my previous article’s view as to why illegal immigration has continued for so long: it has some benefits, and those benefits accrue primarily to middle and upper class Americans, who tend to vote at a higher rate than the poor. Only recently has the cultural backlash against Latinization reached a level necessary to unbalance the old equation and force immigration reform.

Though most of Lou Dobbs’ rhetoric is of little value, he is right on this: America cannot begin to have a rational immigration policy until it can control who immigrates.

Posted on by praveenghanta 1

Fixing Social Security

Two words: Social Security. Together they’ve come to represent a massive defined-benefit pension system in which all working Americans must participate. The system worked well for decades, when life expectancies were lower and a smaller percentage of the population was in retirement. Now, even though a full 12.4% of most workers’ gross salary is devoted to Social Security, the system may run bankrupt before young Americans today retire. Some Republicans are proposing to privatize the system, while Democrats are fiercely fighting change. Why not start with a simpler question: why does Social Security even exist?

Social Security was originally intended as a way to guarantee that the elderly would not fall into poverty after leaving the work force. It has now become the primary, and in many cases, only savings program in which most Americans participate. But why force Americans to save? This is perhaps the most socialist part of the American economy, wherein every working American must set aside one-eighth of their pay for retirement. Rather than forcing Americans to save, why not return Social Security to its original purpose of providing benefits to the impoverished elderly?

By reducing the scope of Social Security benefits so that they cover only the elderly poor, the program will again provide a safety net for the elderly, and not a forced savings program. The resulting program shrinkage can be used to both cut taxes and make the program solvent over the long term.

In practice, this kind of change could be implemented through significant means-testing of Social Security benefits. The change could phased in so that it affects only young workers, while preserving benefits for those who have paid higher rates for decades. By modifying Social Security from a savings program into a safety net, we can both cut taxes and provide for the less fortunate among the elderly. Who doesn’t want that?

Posted on by praveenghanta 0

On Illegal Immigration

Well, what do you want? Do you want cheap labor, or do you want sound borders? Illegal immigration has been an economic boon to the US, providing between 10 and 20 million workers that have moderated the costs of construction, housekeeping, daycare, food service, and agriculture even while oil and other commodity prices are pushing inflation up.

Illegal immigrants have increased the US workforce by 5-10% in recent years, and have been a key factor in recent economic growth. The price: some displacement of poor American workers, growing Latin-American influence on US culture, and insecure borders. Economists are having a hard time measuring American job loss to illegals, chiefly since growth has provided other opportunities (they also find it difficult to measure any net loss in tax collections or state benefits). And while the Mexican border may be insecure, the Canadian border is the only border previously used by anti-American terrorists.

The only price paid so far, then, is the increasing Latinization of American culture.

Politicians on the social right are pandering to some Americans’ xenophobic fear of cultural dilution with the onslaught of immigrants. If you view cultural diversity as a threat, then for you the fear and costs are real. While the border should be secure both on principle and so that the US can create a rational immigration policy, the benefits of illegal immigration have so far outweighed the costs. And guess what: that’s exactly why it’s been allowed to go on for so long.

Posted on by praveenghanta 2

On True Costs – and airline security

First, welcome to my blog. I hope to take my incessant ramblings on politics, economics, and societal issues and crystallize some of those thoughts into coherent entries here; if my entries aren’t well written, I hope that they are at least thought provoking!

So, what is the concept of “True Cost”? If we had the power to know the true cost and benefit of each action we intend to take, surely decision-making would become a trivial process. In reality, people cannot predict the future, and they often disagree agree on the cost or benefit of a particular outcome. Still, this form of analysis has its place in policy-making, as it enables us to rationally approach topics that too often are debated in purely emotional terms.

Take, for example, the current security measures implemented in the airline industry. While fears of terrorism are well-founded, given events of recent history, at what point will the cost of extra security, delays, and trashed cosmetics outweigh the perceived benefit of increased security? No real terrorist has ever been caught by airport screeners (which is not to say it will never happen); but is this really the most effective way to effect airline safety?

More broadly, more Americans died from slips and falls (according to the CDC) during 2001 than from terrorism. Should we then live in fear of ladders and slick floors? Thinking individuals can work to balance security and risk in airline security – but they can do so only by weighing the cost and benefits, and not by reacting irrationally in the face of a new threat.

Posted on by praveenghanta 0