Posts tagged “economics”

A human being whose life is nurtured in an advantage which has accrued from the disadvantage of other human beings, and who prefers that this should remain as it is, is a human being by definition only, having much more in common with the bedbug, the tapeworm, the cancer, and the scavengers of the deep sea.
James Agee, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men

I have been in a great quandary over trusts. I do not know what attitude to take. I do not intend to play a demagogue, but on the other hand, I do intend to see that the rich man is held to the same accountability as the poor man. And when the rich man is rich enough to buy unscrupulous advice from very able lawyers, this is not always easy.
Theodore Roosevelt
in an August 15, 1899 letter to a friend

1984

1984

The future is always closer than you think.

Misdirection and Contraception: On Hobby Lobby

Imagine yourself in a bar where a pickpocket takes money out of your wallet and with it buys you a glass of chardonnay. Although you would have preferred a pinot noir, you decide not to look that gift horse in the mouth and thank the stranger profusely for the kindness, assuming he paid for it. You might feel differently, of course, if you knew that you actually had paid for it yourself.

The subjects of every state ought to contribute towards the support of the government, as nearly as possible, in proportion to their respective abilities; that is, in proportion to the revenue which they respectively enjoy under the protection of the state. … The rich should contribute to the public expense, not only in proportion to their revenue, but something more than in that proportion.
Adam Smith (June 5, 1723 – July 17, 1790)
Wealth of Nations

The Price of Being Connected

Let’s take a look at my current connection costs here in Los Angeles: Service Purpose Approximate Monthly Rate DirecTV HD Satellite TV + 2 HD DVRs $135 AT&T mobile phones + data $235 Verizon land line (for alarm system) $24 Time-Warner Cable Internet $50 So I’m paying almost $450.00/mo to stay “connected”. Eek.

What Is This?

davidgagne.net is the personal weblog of me, David Vincent Gagne. I've been publishing here since 1999, which makes this one of the oldest continuously-updated websites on the Internet.

bartender.live

A few years ago I was trying to determine what cocktails I could make with the alcohol I had at home. I searched the App Store but couldn't find an app that would let me do that, so I built one.

Hemingway

You can read dozens of essays and articles and find hundreds of links to other sites with stories and information about Ernest Hemingway in The Hemingway Collection.