Episode 20 – Marvel Universe – Civil Minority War Report

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We unleash Robert’s nerdcore flex on the Marvel Universe, and specifically, Captain America: Civil War. He brings an angle of the precog crime a la Minority Report to the discussion as well. We also discuss some recent AnCap action in the YouTubes and a list of random stuff stolen at the border.

For show notes and more, visit: www.ReadRothbard.com/Episode-20
Source: The Read Rothbard Podcast – Episode 20 – Marvel Universe – Civil Minority War Report

So, What About the Lesser of Two Evils?

election, lesser of two evils, vote, voting, cartoon, illustration

The above cartoon I thought was pretty appropriate, especially given the recent amusing hoopla over national voter registration day. I mean, even if you spent only five seconds on google, twitter or facebook, you probably encountered at least one of their annoying ads “evangelizing” on why it’s SO important to get registered to vote for whoever you happen to think the lesser of two evils might be. Yeah, BIG choice there.

I’m not sure who all these people think they’re fooling. Just like this other ad featuring a bunch of movie stars pleading with us peasants to get out the vote and make sure that either the Left’s Wallstreet Candidate “A” or the Right’s Wallstreet Candidate “B” keeps a firm boot planted on everyone’s back. It’s almost as if they think that special interest groups pumping millions into political parties, media bias, the weight given to urban districts over rural districts, and that funny game called the electoral college isn’t already over-riding that little thing called individual voice.

But in the end, while national elections might be prone to leave one feeling frustrated or excluded, I do think there’s a lot of hope for getting involved on a local level. By educating yourself on local leaders and issues that have real potential to impact your community (including you as an individual, your family, local economy, private business, local taxes and much more) your voice has the potential to make a positive difference where it really counts!

Looking for even more libertarian fun? Be sure to check out our libertarian artists page for artist interviews and artwork from a variety of different artists in our community! You can also check out Libertopia’s very own artwork page here (which has a ton of libertarian political cartoons, illustrations, memes, infographics and more), or download our 60 page art ebook at Libertopia: Collection One!


Source: Libertopia Cartoon

Episode 19 – Snowden – Feeling Very Superstitious

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Fresh from the oven! Recorded today. Posted today. A recent business trip took me away from home for awhile so we are just now able to get together again. We discuss the Oliver Stone film about Edward Snowden….ummm….’Snowden’ appropriately enough. Robert also gives a shout out to the narrator of the audiobook version of Larken Rose’s The Most Dangerous Superstition. Much comparing and contrasting ensues.

Show notes and more available at: www.ReadRothbard.com/Episode-19
Source: The Read Rothbard Podcast – Episode 19 – Snowden – Feeling Very Superstitious

On the heels of Snowden movie, Voluntaryist releases its sequel to Saving Snowden comic.

Saving Snowden Headshot

Snowden, the dramatic retelling of NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden’s bold acts in exposing government spying, has been released in theaters. In conjunction, we here at Voluntaryist Comics have released our own feature of Edward Snowden taking down tyrants with Shielding Assange: The Voluntaryists vs. the NSA 2.

Shielding Assange is the sequel to Saving Snowden, a fictional action tale of Snowden escaping Putin with help from liberty-loving super humans.

Both Saving Snowden and Shielding Assange are available in print at Indyplanet (links below).

It’s great to see mainstream entertainment covering one of the most important whistle-blowers in modern history.

comic-advertisement-shielding-assange Voluntaryist Comic

 


Source: Volcomic

The Incompatibility of Feminism and the Minimum Wage

In this article, my goal is to convey why feminists cannot logically support current minimum wage legislation. For the purposes of this argument,

A feminist is someone who:

  1.  Opposes systems which disproportionally advantage men over women; and
  2.  Believes that the wage gap exists

This may not truly represent what it means to be a feminist, but it is fair to say that most feminists meet both of these qualifications. If you are a feminist who does not meet these qualifications, then this article does not apply to you. It is, however, easier to refer to this bundle of beliefs as “feminism” for the sake of making a concise argument.

The wage gap is the belief that, on average, women get paid 77 cents for every dollar a man makes while doing the same work.

A libertarian is a person who, among other things, opposes the minimum wage and does not believe that the wage gap exists.

The Case Against the Wage Gap

Libertarians claim that if you control for all factors— including hours worked, life choices, and field of study— you find that women get paid the same amount as men for the same work. But Libertarians take things one step further. Not only do they believe that the wage gap does not exist, they believe that it cannot exist.

They prove that it is in a firm’s best economic interest to pay women the same as men:

Wage Gap Irrationality Proof

> Imagine that women earn 30% less than men.

> Instead of offering a man $100,000, a company could offer a woman a job for $80,000 and save $20,000

> It is in every company’s interest to maximize profits and, therefore, they would all do this until the average wage of women equaled 80% that of men.

> Once the wage gap was reduced to 20%, companies would offer jobs to women for $90,000 in order to save $10,000 by the same logic.

> Women would then make 90% of what men did and the process would repeat itself until the market reached perfect efficiency and the wage gap was eliminated.

While this is objectively the best way to maximize profits, it only applies to a world in which sexism does not play a role. The libertarian viewpoint that the wage gap cannot exist depends solely upon the notion that firms would rather make profit than be sexist. Let’s call this assumption the “Conjecture of Efficient Markets”.

The Feminist Perspective

Since (according to condition 2) Feminists believe that the wage gap does exist, they must also believe that it can exist. Unless they disagree with the logic presented in the Wage Gap Irrationality Proof, they must, therefore, object to the Conjecture of Efficient Markets.

In other words, since Feminists cannot prove that it is economically rational to pay women less than men, they must believe that the wage gap exists because business owners value it more than profit. Let’s call this belief the “Theory of Patriarchal Pervasiveness

The Minimum Wage

Libertarians oppose the minimum wage and my argument is that Feminists should too.

According to condition 2, feminists believe that the wage gap exists. Therefore, on average, they believe that when a man gets paid $16/hr, a woman gets paid ($16 * .77 =) $12.32/hr.

But this is where it gets good, so let’s recap:

A feminist is someone who:

  1. Opposes systems which disproportionally advantage men over women; and
  2. Believes that the wage gap exists

Libertarians do not believe that the wage gap exists because of the “Wage Gap Irrationality Proof” and the “Conjecture of Efficient Markets”

Feminists reject the “Conjecture of Efficient Markets” because they accept the “Theory of Patriarchal Pervasiveness”, which is the belief that companies would rather maintain the wage gap than increase profits.

Now imagine that the minimum wage increased to $15/hr and notice that 15 is greater than 12.32— making the woman’s wage illegal. A rational person might suggest that the business owner should increase the woman’s wage to $15/hr. This would maximize profits because $15/hr is cheaper than the man’s wage of $16/hr and would give the employer a gain of $1 per hour compared to an employer who only hired men.

But, as we had previously established, feminists believe in the Theory of Patriarchal Pervasiveness. Therefore, they believe that businesses prioritize maintaining the wage gap over maximizing profits. Reflect back to the example in the Wage Gap Irrationality Proof. They were in the same situation. They could have hired a woman for more than the wage gap and made the difference between the two genders’ wages in profit, but (according to feminists) they were so sexist that they refused to do so. Why, then, would they do it after a minimum wage hike?

According to the feminist Theory of Patriarchal Pervasiveness, they won’t. Since they won’t be willing to pay women more than the wage gap, they won’t hire them at all.

Before the minimum wage hike, women at least had the option to work, and afterward, all of their job prospects became illegal.  Feminists must, therefore, believe that this would create massive unemployment among low-income women. Men, on the other hand, would not be affected since their wages are above the minimum level. Is it a coincidence that men like Bernie Sanders have pushed for a higher minimum wage than Hillary Clinton? If women are unemployed, I guess they can “get back in the kitchen”. Since this is a system that disproportionately favors men over women, it violates condition 1 of feminism and is, therefore, an inconsistent policy for them to support.

Until the wage gap is eliminated, feminists should refrain from supporting minimum wage legislation. According to their own beliefs, even raising the minimum wage first and fixing the wage gap after would adversely affect millions of women across the country.

#incoherentideologyproblems

The post The Incompatibility of Feminism and the Minimum Wage appeared first on LJC.IO.

Source: Liam Cardenas

Hello

I don’t have much to say at this time, but I wanted to start this blog because I’ve been squatting on this nice 3-letter domain (they stand for my initials) and I’ve had some thoughts that I’ve wanted to share.

I don’t want to use Medium because I like to have control over my content. I am a programmer so I could make my own site, but I don’t feel like it.

I have another website coming out soon, so keep checking back for updates (it will be really cool!)

Thanks for checking out my site and I hope to see you in the comment section!

The post Hello appeared first on LJC.IO.

Source: Liam Cardenas

Episode 18 – In Time: Part Deux – JT's Got His D!ck in a Clock (1:07:32)

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We’re back again, and this time uninterrupted. And special bonus – I watched the 2nd half of the movie. We do it some real Justice on this one and tear the Marxo-Keynesian tripe to pieces. Oh…and we unload the d!ck in a box. Can’t believe we missed that on the first show. Plenty of Murray in this one and below. Enjoy!

For show notes and more, visit: www.ReadRothbard.com/Episode-18
Source: The Read Rothbard Podcast – Episode 18 – In Time: Part Deux – JT's Got His D!ck in a Clock (1:07:32)

Ep. 10: Voluntaryism Revisited

If you’re having trouble conveying the ideas of libertarianism, anarchy, or anarcho-capitalism to your friends, family, neighbors, or coworkers, don’t give up.  Anarchy has a marketing problem and I believe the solution is a small shift in messaging toward Voluntaryism.  In this episode I continue the discussion of Voluntaryism and defend against a common objection. … read more
Source: Battle For Liberty – Ep. 10: Voluntaryism Revisited

Episode 17 – In Time with Keynesian/Marxist Nonsense

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We take on the Justin Timberlake Action/Thriller In Time about a society where time becomes currency and the rich prey on the weak, or so the story goes. We bust this one up good and quick. We do get cut short so be on the look out for more on this one coming soon. Enjoy yourself.

For show notes and more, please visit: www.ReadRothbard.com/episode-17
Source: The Read Rothbard Podcast – Episode 17 – In Time with Keynesian/Marxist Nonsense

Bastiat, Rolling In His Grave

That familiar old question from the grocery clerk, “paper or plastic,” is quickly being replaced by a State-mandated “did you bring a reusable bag, or shall we punitively charge you for your evil plastic bags?”  Ok, I admit, that’s not exactly how a savvy grocery clerk would put it.  But nonetheless that’s the message that’s … read more
Source: Battle For Liberty – Bastiat, Rolling In His Grave