Modern democracy is based on the following system: Low inflation Tax rates to cover services Services provided for no additional at point of use You can have all three of these, and people love having low inflation and services provided for no additional charge. Highways without tolls, city parks without a fee to enter, everyone …
Author Archives: stidmatt
Quick answers to structural problems
This article by Strong Towns is a good one, read this before reading my commentary on it. I mostly agree with this article. I do not believe there is a free quick fix to ending the insane housing inflation we are experiencing in this country. We have had restrictive zoning which has reduced the quantity …
Results of compromise
The center-right party in Austria has spent the last couple of years doing everything it possibly can to get votes from the far right. They have denied Schengen membership to Romania and Bulgaria and have not been supporting Ukraine with military weapons. They’ve played right into Putin’s hands. Yesterday, the far right still won the …
Ukraine game theory, 2024 edition
I first wrote a game theory tree for Ukraine in January 2022, when I drew out a plan for why Russia would back down if the West responded with a military threat and there wouldn’t be a war. The foreign policy team (Blinken & Sullivan) at the White House clearly does not understand game theory; …
Lublin and the formation of a distinct Ukrainian identity
For over two years, Russia has been invading Ukraine, claiming that Ukraine is historically Russian territory. This makes as much sense as claiming Northern Italy is historically German. While this is technically correct, there have been 1000 years between then and now which have sent these two regions on different paths. Recorded history starts around …
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Foreign policy positions
Based on CFR, this is how I would answer: China We need to strengthen our ties with every country in Asia to ensure that any invasion by the People’s Republic of China of its neighbors will be a suicide mission. To ensure peace on the continent, bring back SEATO and invite India, Nepal, and Bhutan …
Election systems vs government systems
For years, the left has commonly claimed that the reason the United States does not have universal health care is that it has a presidential system rather than a parliamentary system. This is also claimed to be the reason third parties have not formed a government in the United States since 1861. The first reason …
Effective policy
The problem with technology visas is first of all countries don’t need this to record entries and exits. It’s the principle of the thing. If tourists were regularly traveling visa free to the US and committing terrorist attacks I would support ESTA. The problem is that has never been a thing. None of the 9/11 …
The proper way to respond to terrorism
Today is the 23rd anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States in Alexandria, Virginia, and New York City. I will keep it simple: we did not respond to the attacks appropriately. The main thing we did right was remove the Taliban from power in Afghanistan following their attack on our country. But what …
Putin controls Germany
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-put-temporary-controls-all-land-borders-source-says-2024-09-09/ Germany is tightening border controls in response to the Alternativ fur Deutschland “winning” state-level elections in Germany. At least, this is the narrative. Alternativ fur Deutschland won only 30% of the vote in Sachsen and 32% of the vote in Thuringen. They won fewer votes than CDU in Sachsen but got the most votes …