Shortcuts 11/30/2012

The consequences of believing stupid sh#t: The Republican party has arguably become increasingly anti-science in the last few years. The majority of Republicans are creationist. Perhaps more interestingly, in 2008, the Republican party platform contemplated "addressing climate change responsibly."  In 2012, there was no mention of it whatsoever, reflecting growing denial about anthropogenic global warming in the party.

Republicans are shifting their platform to reflect the ideals held by their base. But there are consequences to an anti-science platform, and one of the most notable is increased alienation among those at the forefront of technology. Nate Silver has a great piece about how this may have contributed to their downfall in the most recent election cycle. 

Speaking of anti-science and its consequences: Some scary news about ice melt in Greenland. Apparently, polar ice caps are melting at three times faster a rate than 20 years ago.

Apparently, Carl Sagan was involved in covert ops: During the cold war, the US had plans to nuke the moon. And the US Air Force put Carl Sagan on the team that planned the operation.

8 loops = creamy: Someone is working on algorithms to help predict whether a recipe will taste good.

Not-so-easy arguments for the left: One popular argument of the left to increase marginal tax rates is that tax rates were much higher in the '50s and '60s, and the US economy still grew much faster then than it does today. This always struck me as a bit simplistic. Most critically, the US population was growing much, much faster then. It's natural that economic growth would also be easier to achieve then. It would also appear that the actual tax rates paid by the wealthiest back then were nowhere near as high as the marginal rates would seem to indicate. Not sure exactly what this means for tax policy, but it's an important point to keep in mind when debating tax policy.

Why marijuana legalization is about a lot more than Cheetos and Goldfish

"That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug, so don't break out the Cheetos and Goldfish too quickly."

-Gov. John Hickenlooper, after learning that Amendment 64 for the legalization of marijuana had passed in Colorado

I get it. It's funny.

But it reinforces the belief that marijuana legalization is a trivial matter. It's not.

In the last 40 years, according to Fox News, the United States has spent over $1 trillion dollars on the war on drugs.  Every year, almost one in every 300 Americans is arrested for a marijuana violation. About one in every six Americans who is in the federal prison system, is there because of marijuana. Meanwhile, three-quarters of the population opposes prison sentences for marijuana offenses.

There's an enormous disconnect between who we think should be going to prison and who we're sending to prison, and most of it can be blamed on senseless drug laws. 
 
Many prominent economists, including a good chunk of high profile conservative ones, strongly favor legalization, for all sorts of reasons. While there is plenty of conjecture to the contrary, the actual evidence has shown that the relaxation of marijuana laws has an inverse correlation with underage use and traffic fatalities. According to one study:

Traffic fatalities [are] the leading cause of death among Americans ages 5 through 34. The first full year after coming into effect, legalization is associated with an 8 to 11 percent decrease in traffic fatalities. The impact of legalization on traffic fatalities involving alcohol is larger and estimated with more precision than its impact on traffic fatalities that do not involve alcohol.

Draconian enforcement of marijuana is stupid. It's not supported by reason or evidence. It's unpopular.  It has ruined millions of lives. It's hugely detrimental to this country financially. Its prohibition has led to the creation of powerful cartels that terrorize millions on both sides of the border.

So no, this isn't about Cheetos and Goldfish, Gov. Hickenlooper.

It's about creating revenue for schools, rather than depleting state resources on a futile campaign to prevent something that cannot be stopped. It's a collective decision by a sovereign population to stop sending people to jail for something generally considered to be a trivial vice. It's a long overdue recognition that simple marijuana possession is not worth the attention of law enforcement authorities.

This isn't about starting an obsession with marijuana, Mr. Hickenlooper. It's about ending one.