2
" Think about ethanol again. The benefits of that $7 billion tax subsidy are bestowed on a small group of farmers, making it quite lucrative for each one of them. Meanwhile, the costs are spread over the remaining 98 percent of us, putting ethanol somewhere below good oral hygiene on our list of everyday concerns. The opposite would be true with my plan to have left-handed voters pay subsidies to right-handed voters. There are roughly nine right-handed Americans for every lefty, so if every right-handed voter were to get some government benefit worth $100, then every left-handed voter would have to pay $900 to finance it. The lefties would be hopping mad about their $900 tax bills, probably to the point that it became their preeminent political concern, while the righties would be only modestly excited about their $100 subsidy. An adept politician would probably improve her career prospects by voting with the lefties.
Here is a curious finding that makes more sense in light of what we‘ve just discussed. In countries where farmers make up a small fraction of the population, such as America and Europe, the government provides large subsidies for agriculture. But in countries where the farming population is relatively large, such as China and India, the subsidies go the other way. Farmers are forced to sell their crops at below-market prices so that urban dwellers can get basic food items cheaply. In the one case, farmers get political favors; in the other, they must pay for them. What makes these examples logically consistent is that in both cases the large group subsidizes the smaller group.
In politics, the tail can wag the dog. This can have profound effects on the economy. "
― Charles Wheelan , Naked Economics: Undressing the Dismal Science
5
" Science n’ Shit in a Hip-Hop Style with Stephen Hawking
(Kick-snare, kick-kick snare).
‘Let me tell you my plan for the human race, well I would but I can’t,
‘Cos I can’t move me face,
So my computerised voice is how I’ll go,
I type with me eye to keep the flow
We’re all gonna go live in outer space
Where zero gravity will stop me dribbling all over the place
I’ll tell y’all how I’ll get there:
With some rockets built into me special wheel chair
The moons of Jupiter, in perfect animation
We’ll all live in a huge space station
I’ll be able to dance and chase all the fanny
And finally get me end away with me nanny.’
Science n’ Shit in a Hip-Hop Style with Stephen Hawking II
‘From the moons of Ganymede, Io & Titan,
I’ll tell y’all somethin’ that’s sure to enlighten
In space, there are galaxies nebula & stars
And dying suns that are going super no-va
But no anomalies can compare,
To how much I wanna run my fingers through your hair
Sir Patrick Moore, a true space oracle,
With your knowledge of cheats and gorgeous monocle
I’m coming out as gay, and I don’t give a hoot
I’m the first fuckin’ vegetable that turned into a fruit
Word. "
― , Shorts