Comments on: Scaring Ourselves to Debt

By: John Ray

John Ray — Thu, 28 Oct 2004 00:27:00 +0000

Yes. I agree with the commenter above. It is not the damage done SO FAR that matters — though that is heinous — but what could happen next if the fruitcaskes are not stopped as soon as possible

By: Joshua Zader

Joshua Zader — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 00:33:00 +0000

Haven’t read his article, but my initial reaction is: Doesn’t this neglect the importance of the fact that terrorists are increasingly able to utilize weapons that can kill — not dozens, or hundreds, as in the past — but tens of thousands of people at once?

I mean, the prospect of bringing a suitcase nuke into Los Angeles, or an untreatable viral infection into New York, is more than a hypothetical pesky nuisance. And they seem to be just what radical Islamics would love to do, if we let down our guard.

By: Lemon Merengue

Lemon Merengue — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 22:56:00 +0000

Your ex-girlfriend huh? Too clever by half maybe.

By: Peter Rossi

Peter Rossi — Sun, 24 Oct 2004 17:59:00 +0000

Will, I agree with the whole thrust of the article + your comments but I think the real problem is the nature of democracy – there is currently a big incentive to buy votes with promises to placate fear. Thus, fear (of terrorism, GM crops..whatever) is stoked to provide a political base. This is exacerbated by lobbyists (the Greens, neocons…pick a conspiracy theory).
What to do? Well, obviously, the government can just employ impartial risk analysts who will produce wonderfully impartial risk analyses, unimpaired by politics!
The problem is that politics is not rational in the way which would provide a solution to this issue – and socialistic politics which have embraced science are hardly good examples here.
My solution, in which I am not very confident, would be to remove politics from areas prone to fear-mongering (I don’t know how) and hope the market would sort it out by providing incentives for people to learn. Fear-mongering is successful in part because people can off load the consequences of their irrational decision making on others. Although, bringing the market in to sort out national security is a pipe dream.

(BTW, thanks for the link)

By: Peter Rossi

Peter Rossi — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

(BTW, thanks for the link)

By: Lemon Merengue

Lemon Merengue — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Your ex-girlfriend huh? Too clever by half maybe.

By: Joshua Zader

Joshua Zader — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

By: John Ray

John Ray — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes. I agree with the commenter above. It is not the damage done SO FAR that matters — though that is heinous — but what could happen next if the fruitcaskes are not stopped as soon as possible

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