Socio-Economics

Dated Apr 12, 2020; last modified on Sun, 14 Mar 2021

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Jul 4, 2020	»	On Socio-Economic Classes 13 min; updated Nov 24, 2023 #meritocracy #inequality #socioeconomics Our Lot in Life Not recognizing your blessings feeds into the dark side of capitalism and meritocracy: success is a choice, and that those who haven’t achieved success are not unlucky, but unworthy. I’m relatively lucky. I don’t know how much of the techie hubris that I bear. I have unresolved feelings about meritocracy and fairness. Race is usually used as a proxy for bridging the gap, e.g. affirmative action at colleges. But who is affirmative action better suited for - a rich black kid or a poor white kid? I’m in the camp that believes wealth is a bigger divider than race. ...
Apr 26, 2020	»	Philanthropy 4 min; updated Feb 19, 2023 Criticism/Defense Of Billionaire Philanthropy Taxes will probably not go to the same causes, e.g. reforming the bail system, grassroot efforts for migrants, etc. Admittedly, these are things that the government should be doing, but it seems that the government doesn’t do enough. Furthermore, some of these issues so politicized, e.g. immigrants, that government support can be fickle. Foundations are more effective than governments as they do their due diligence, e.g. Bill Gates. Reforming the government is a long battle. ...
Nov 21, 2020	»	Experiments/Theories in Socioeconomics 2 min; updated Sep 5, 2022 Programmable Money South Korea’s COVID-19 stimulus payments were programmed to expire in Aug 2020, and could only be spent at qualifying shops. Australia’s cashless welfare card [currently in pilot stages] cannot be withdrawn as cash, nor used at alcohol, tobacco and gambling joints. Monzo, a UK-based digital-first mobile baking app, supports IFTTT recipes. This enables budgeting logic, “If I spend at KFC, then move $5 to my penalty pot”. The Self-Esteem Craze in America In the 80s and 90s, there was research that low self-esteem was related to undesirable results, but there wasn’t any conclusive work that high esteem causes good outcomes. The self-esteem craze was defined by a simple inspiring message, a lot of half-baked research, prevalent confirmation bias, cottage-industry (books, videos, seminars). Self-esteem grew into a panacea for academic performance, crime, teen pregnancy until more rigorous research arrived. Similar overhyped[?] panaceas: power posing, growth mindset, grit. ...
Oct 28, 2021	»	Socio-Economic Equity in Tech 7 min; updated Sep 5, 2022 When it comes to STEM diversity goals, Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) tends to be excluded from the URMs under discussion, e.g. . However, AAPI as a blanket term obscures the struggles of member groups, e.g. \(62\%\) of AAPI adults aged 24 and older have an associate’s degree or higher, compared to 28% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders of the same age. AA comprises \(\approx 50\) ethnic groups, while PI has \(\approx 20\). ...
Oct 31, 2021	»	In Defense of a Liberal Education 5 min; updated Sep 5, 2022 #education Societal Preference for STEM Over the Liberal Arts Not everyone can [wants to?] take the sciences, but they were pushed out of their passions into applicable degrees like Business and Communications. The initially high economic return to applied STEM degrees declines by more than 50% in the first decade. People who major in LA don’t get first jobs that are as lucrative, but they do catch up. Governments tend to claim a shortage of STEM workers (who are valued for innovation and national defense), and allocate funds for increasing the student pipeline. However, the fact that STEM wages have stagnated, and new grads struggle to find jobs casts doubt on the claim. Furthermore, the data is murky (e.g. who is classified as STEM, is a STEM degree a pre-requisite for a STEM job) that it can be massaged to support a specific policy. ...
Dec 13, 2019	»	Socio-Economics (5 items) An Overview of the World's Current State; On Societal Oppressions; Experiments/Theories in Socioeconomics; On Socio-Economic Classes; Philanthropy;
Feb 1, 2015	»	Overly Convenient Excuses 2 min; updated Mar 14, 2021 The Proper Use of Humility Confessing your fallibility but doing nothing about it braggery, not humility. Designing fail-safe machinery is good humility. Dismissing evidence for evolution because we can’t really know for sure that evolution is correct is misplaced humility. The Third Alternative Sometimes we justify questionable policy by claiming its absence is undesirable, e.g. believing in Santa makes children behave nicely, and therefore Santa-ism is the best of all possible alternatives. ...