Wired 14.04: Geekonomics

From Wired Magazine:

Wired 14.04: Geekonomics: "Why abundance sucks, and other unexpected lessons of the game economy."

Inequality

There is an interesting conversation on inequality at Cato Unbound. Here is a quote from Tom G. Palmer:

Cato Unbound: "Of greatest importance, the best way to reduce poverty is to increase wealth. As the late Peter Bauer, a pioneer of development economics, used to put it, poverty doesn’t really have causes; it’s the natural state of humanity. Wealth is what is caused. And it’s wealth that needs an explanation. We now have a rather good understanding of what causes wealth: good institutions. The most important institutions for producing more wealth are those associated with security of property and the freedom to exchange."

The Myth of the Wage Gap

The Myth of the Wage Gap

This is a short piece marketplace did on the gender "wage gap." The whole piece revolved around the opinion that while employers aren't consciously paying women less, there exists what Heidi Hartman calls "institutionalized societal differentiation" that burdens women with an unfair share of the childrearing burden and holds them back economically.

Hello..... anyone heard of the word CHOICE? Women don't have to have children. It's a choice that they make that affects their earning potential. That is why women earn $0.76 for every dollar a man makes- because they are CHOOSING to become teachers rather than engineers, and nurses rather than lawyers. If having children is of high enough value to you, you will sacrifice higher wages for the joy of having a family.

Society does not owe workers more money based on their family status. This would be paying people based on "need" instead of merit. Last time I checked the philosophy "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need" doesn't work very well.