tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post7109736368166309489..comments2024-03-14T11:50:14.761-04:00Comments on DarwinCatholic: What If A Law Can't Be Enforced?Darwinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-69805484709676028152010-05-07T14:30:42.147-04:002010-05-07T14:30:42.147-04:00* puts on white lab coat * Forgive me, sir, but w...* puts on white lab coat * Forgive me, sir, but whether you have an opinion about the relative harmfulness of various drugs is not relevant. The fact, as demonstrated through repeated and widespread clinical trials, is that many illegal drugs (like ecstasy) are less harmful than legal ones (like alcohol).<br /><br />The trials to which I refer have been performed mostly in western Europe. It is nearly impossible for American researchers to conduct legitimate research into the effects of drugs, since the War on Drugs makes it egregiously difficult for researchers to get funding and approval for protocols for drug research. I have found much more valuable information in Lancet than in any American journal. Which is sort of embarassing.<br /><br />JoelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-6945989750719448292010-05-06T11:03:23.916-04:002010-05-06T11:03:23.916-04:00Joel,
Mexicans cross the border because they want...Joel,<br /><br /><i>Mexicans cross the border because they want to do work in exchange for money in order to support their families, and they believe (accurately) that their prospects of accomplishing that here are much better than there. Why Americans have a problem with this is a mystery to me: any economist will tell you that people who work hard for pay raise the productivity of the entire nation and thus make all of us richer. </i><br /><br />I agree that immigration is the natural consequence of the wage disparity between the US and Mexico, and that we should simply open up and let it happen. (The problem, after all, is not immigrant workers, but cross border crime organizations -- a separate issue.) <br /><br />As for why people are upset about it, when you get down to it many of the same people are upset about many other aspects of free trade as well. Many people only like those aspects of free trade that they see as immediately benefiting them (in a small frame of reference) and try to fight back against the rest. Unfortunately, that seems like a permanent fixture of our political dynamic, since it is so very human.<br /><br />On drug legalization -- I don't have an opinion, honestly, as to whether various "soft" drugs are less addictive and harmful than alcohol or tobacco. Clearly, the reason those latter two are less regulated is that they have a long history in our culture while pot and LSD don't. (Heck, I've had people tell me that if it were invented today caffeine would be illegal, but here I am on my second cup of coffee while I type...)Darwinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08572976822786862149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-77668063258325670312010-05-06T09:07:23.713-04:002010-05-06T09:07:23.713-04:00I'll agree with Joel on the free market being ...I'll agree with Joel on the free market being at work in illegal immigration. When it makes sense to hire someone only if you can pay them $5 an hour, there seem to be fewer consequences to hiring an illegal immigrant than to hiring an American who you can legally pay no less than $7.80 an hour, including SSI and Medicare tax. I'd be curious to see if illegal immigration would shift at all with the eradication of the minimum wage, i.e., would Americans take those jobs? My guess is "no" because of the built-in incentives (in the form of welfare) for not working for a low wage. <br /><br />If Congress were really interested in stemming illegal immigration, I think they would have to eradicate both the minimum wage and a lot of the benefits of not working. Since that will never happen, illegals are a necessary part of our economy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-22597399519881189132010-05-05T23:28:04.333-04:002010-05-05T23:28:04.333-04:00Re: drug laws - it is inaccurate and damaging to ...Re: drug laws - it is inaccurate and damaging to treat all illegal drugs as though they were the same. Marijuana, LSD, and ecstasy are all less toxic and less addictive than alcohol or tobacco. On the other hand, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine are all more toxic and more addictive than alcohol or tobacco. Changes to the law that would bring our enforcements in line with reality spring readily to mind, though I will freely admit that I don't expect to see such changes in my lifetime, politicians being the way they are.<br /><br />Re: immigration - what we are seeing on our border is the free market at work. Mexicans cross the border because they want to do work in exchange for money in order to support their families, and they believe (accurately) that their prospects of accomplishing that here are much better than there. Why Americans have a problem with this is a mystery to me: any economist will tell you that people who work hard for pay raise the productivity of the entire nation and thus make all of us richer. This is not a zero-sum game, not even close. But I do not expect to see our immigration laws changed in a manner calibrated to make us all better off. Politicians being the way they are, I actually expect to see draconian measures similar to Arizona's new law enacted in other states, trampling on equal rights and punishing people who have demonstrated a willingness to work hard and provide for their families. Alas.<br /><br />JoelAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13522238.post-42831232586605995342010-05-04T12:57:49.437-04:002010-05-04T12:57:49.437-04:00Although Mexico is a powder keg, the next illegal ...Although Mexico is a powder keg, the next illegal immigration wave is coming from southeast Asia. Our failure to get some form of manageable immigration enforcement in place has the potential to make large areas of the US ungoverned space.Brucehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17153868693582723934noreply@blogger.com