tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post3433978912589947746..comments2024-03-29T03:57:26.974-04:00Comments on Grim's Hall: Entropy and Income InequalityGrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-74278459133470492742015-10-31T00:52:23.314-04:002015-10-31T00:52:23.314-04:00I recall seeing similar numbers a decade ago for b...I recall seeing similar numbers a decade ago for black Americans compared to Swedes.Assistant Village Idiothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01978011985085795099noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-50771569853637848652015-10-28T15:34:21.799-04:002015-10-28T15:34:21.799-04:00Exactly. When we see a cost--a reduction in wealt...Exactly. When we see a cost--a reduction in wealth--it's incredibly important to think clearly about what caused it, if we think we're going to be able to make a change that might eliminate the cost and thereby increase wealth.<br /><br />Often there's a lot of talk about how much cheaper various necessities of life would be, for instance, if only we could eliminate profit, or the middleman. If we don't understand what profit and middlemen contribute to the system, we'll only muck things up by targeting them for elimination.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-40963245594528588492015-10-28T15:27:25.079-04:002015-10-28T15:27:25.079-04:00OK, although it only 'goes beyond' if you&...OK, although it only 'goes beyond' if you're right that there's an additional causal factor. The <i>numbers</i> don't get any worse: they are what they are. <br /><br />I suppose it's worth pointing out the additional cause you posit, though, insofar as it suggests that merely finding ways to increase the efficiency of the transfer wouldn't end the problem. People who advocate for it have to accept that they're going to make their "state" poorer overall as a consequence of it being -- by their lights, at least -- fairer overall. Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-90641045784544969552015-10-28T14:25:01.783-04:002015-10-28T14:25:01.783-04:00The problem goes beyond what you suggest. It'...The problem goes beyond what you suggest. It's not just that there are administrative friction or losses when the government redistributes $50K from you to the guy with $10K a year. It's that the total wealth of an economic system depends in large part on the degree to which it creates incentives for productivity. Even if there were zero waste in the redistribution, you'd still find that total production dropped. Inequality is a big part of the driver that causes productivity to increase in the first place; eliminate it, and you find you've got more equality and less average wealth. That may be a trade-off that a lot of us like--balancing the benefits of a safety net against a loss in overall wealth--but there's no point hiding the cost of the safety net. We pay for it not only in the cost to the net taxpayers, but in the per capital wealth of the whole country.Texan99https://www.blogger.com/profile/10479561573903660086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-36425869047052596552015-10-27T15:31:18.123-04:002015-10-27T15:31:18.123-04:00American states are richer because they are more e...<i>American states are richer because they are more efficient, but the cost of that is that while the "average" is higher the terminals are further apart. </i><br /><br />And as we've seen in this article and others, our lower-end terminal tends to be pretty well off compared to those other, more closely spaced by forced design societies.<br /><br />Eric HinesE Hineshttp://aplebessite.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-18572633946272538172015-10-27T15:16:30.801-04:002015-10-27T15:16:30.801-04:00Well, the idea is that efficiency isn't the po...Well, the idea is that efficiency isn't the point. They accept inefficiency in order to effect a greater income equality. American states are richer because they are more efficient, but the cost of that is that while the "average" is higher the terminals are further apart. Grimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07543082562999855432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5173950.post-48040325663060042842015-10-27T15:02:48.432-04:002015-10-27T15:02:48.432-04:00Feudalism is more efficient than this. It's cl...Feudalism is more efficient than this. It's closer to the Iqta system practiced by Islamic religious/secular lords.Ymar Sakarnoreply@blogger.com