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The proposition that big government gets things done — and the corollary that the bigger the government the better it gets — is one of those propositions that sound better the less one thinks about it. But it falls apart under even the slightest load of analytical and empirical examination. Best not to think too deeply about it if one wants to maintain that misconception.

In a recent post (Javier Milei at the UN) I had heaped praise on Argentina’s Javier Milei for cutting his government. Argentina’s economy was in shambles because of insane socialist (but I repeat myself) policies. I won’t go into the details of the absolute disastrous path that Argentina was accelerating on; you can look it up at your leisure. Milei upon assuming office began to put on the brakes and with some luck, will put his nation on the road to recovery. Continue reading “Big Government Rocks – Part 1”

Things have been moving fast since Trump won the Nov 5th US Presidential election. Trump has announced a few of his nominations for top executive position. I am most excited about Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as the director of national intelligence — a position that oversees intelligence agencies like the CIA, FBI and the National Security Agency (NSA).

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy have been made jointly in charge of a “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). That department is not part of the federal government, and the two will work pro bono. DOGE will only provide advice; various agencies of the federal government may choose to follow the advice or not, as directed by the head of the executive branch, the president of the US. Continue reading “Dept of Government Efficiency”

“The welfare State is a lie and the idea that the State generates wealth is also a lie. The State generates nothing; the State only destroys wealth and all it does is steal it from others to distribute it among friends.” — Javier Gerardo Milei.

President Javier Milei of Argentina, speaking during the General Debate at the 79th Session of the General Assembly of the UN in September 2024, prefaced his remarks by declaring that he was an economist and not a politician.

He basically told them that the collectivist agenda that the UN was following was likely to be disastrous and that it had lost its way. The UN needs to shape up, was his message.

Nicely done, Mr President, very nicely done indeed. Continue reading “Javier Milei at the UN”

Bertrand Russell (1872 – 1970), the celebrated English mathematician, philosopher and humanist began the prologue to his autobiography by declaring that three passions governed his life: “the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind.” One presumes that those passions were in the service of his ultimate goal of achieving happiness. We lesser mortals may not be moved by passions as lofty as Russell’s but we all strive for happiness which is our ultimate goal.

What makes us happy varies from individual to individual. But prince or pauper, we all want to be happy. Nobody likes to suffer. Around 2500 years ago, the Buddha declared the reality of dukkha (roughly translated as suffering, or a state of dissatisfactoriness) is a primary feature of sentient existence, and said it was the first of the Four Noble Truths. Continue reading “Superabundance and Happiness”

Physics is one of my favorite subjects. I have to confess that I find quantum mechanics particularly challenging. It’s above my IQ level. Still I try my best. But statistical mechanics is not that hard. Currently I am making my way through David L. Goodstein’s States of Matter (1975).

Goodstein is good. The first chapter, “Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics,” begins by situating the subject in its historical context: Continue reading “Ludwig Boltzman”

Not me. I don’t have a truck.

Oh what a circus, oh what a show!

Donald J Trump won! He will be the 47th President of the United States. Also the Republicans won the House and the Senate too.

Here are the main points why I celebrate:

1. 1. Harris is retarded. Not good to have a retard as the 1st female president.
   2. The Democrats having become an evil party. Their wokeness was sickening.
   3. Trump has become older and (hopefully) wiser.
   4. Trump has on his side JD Vance, RFK Jr, Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk, and Tulsi Gabbard. More than anything else, I love the team.

It’s a belated birthday gift for me (Nov 3rd). Couldn’t have asked for a better gift.

Time to celebrate. Perhaps I will go to the inauguration on Jan 21st.

“If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?”

In my previous post, Right to Property, I claimed that Indians don’t have a fundamental right to property, and instead it’s a constitutional right. I am not trained in law or constitutional law of India. Therefore it was not an expert opinion. Continue reading “Right to Property – India”

The US “Declaration of Independence”, 1776, states that “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”are unalienable rights given to all humans by their Creator. In incorporating the phrase “pursuit of happiness” in the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson (1743 -1826), a Founding Father and the 3rd president of the US,  was inspired by the English Enlightenment thinker and philosopher John Locke (1632 – 1704).

The pursuit of happiness requires one to be free from coercion by others, and the material means to follow one’s goals. That implies right to property. Continue reading “Right to Property”

It’s been a while since the last AMA post. Actually, I’ve been hugely distracted with the presidential race. I end up spending inordinate amounts of time on X and on YouTube.

And on top of that, I am easily distracted. If I see an interesting book, it immediately goes on my reading list. When comes time to get some work done, I decide to just dip into the pile of books just for a few minutes, and the next thing I know is that I’ve spent hours reading.

But that has its rewards. I learn stuff. Learning stuff is joy. Here’s something I enjoyed. Continue reading “AMA – the Very Large Numbers edition”