Sorry I've been MIA for a while - I was in Indianapolis for a couple days and then Louisville for the wedding (a spectacular and sentimental affair) of some good friends. A couple quick items:
Glenn Reynolds looks at the recent increase in gun crime in England and somehow comes to the conclusion that it's caused by gun control. Apparently he hasn't been watching this phenomenon. To me it looks more like the increased availability of guns (in spite of gun control laws) correlates with the increase in gun crime.
Nathan Newman says we can fix Social Security by removing the cap on Social Security (payroll) taxes. Currently once you've earned around $80000 in a given year, you don't have to pay any more, which is why many view it a regressive tax. That said, I'm not sure extending the tax is the best solution. For one thing, it creates a huge incentive (to the tune of $100B, according to Nathan's calculations) to adjust payrolls by going with alternative forms of compensation. It might make more sense to do away with payroll taxes altogether by folding them into income taxes, which are broader in reach. You can make an argument that the current setup, which puts half the taxes hidden on the employer side and gives you the impression you're paying into some kind of account, is simply deceptive.
And re this post, here's a feel good article about myoelectric limbs, a technology of which I was completely ignorant. It's not quite the same as putting electrodes into your brain, but it seems to achieve basically the same effect.
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