The Origins of "Champagne Socialism"
A look at the many origins of champagne socialism, a phenomenon of wealthy people who are fans of left-leaning politics.
Tipping: Yay or Nay?
I've never been a fan of tipping. Partly because of the inconvenience of it, and partly because of the awkwardness of it. The inconvenience is fairly straight-forward: at restaurants and other such venues, you must temporarily turn into Rain Man in order to perform the necessary calculations to determine the proper tip amount. If you…
Game Theory: Why I Hate Dining With Large Groups
Some friends ask you to go out to dinner with them. It'll be fun, right? Well, if you're like me then it will unleash a living hell of anxiety in your brain. I've been to one or two large dinners in my life, and most of the time they are less than enjoyable experiences. Why?…
Zach's Complete Guide to Things That Should Be Common Sense
People often smugly use the term "common sense" to belittle people and make themselves feel better. "Ha! That's common sense, that person is an idiot for not knowing it!" But perhaps some tidbits of knowledge aren't as common as some people think. Everyone probably has a set of things that they think should be "common…
[Video] If The Government Decided Which Car You Drive
I haven't done a video in awhile because, well, they take a lot of time to make and I've been lacking dedication. But I liked this idea so I ran with it. Plus I always delight in the opportunity to scream at my lamp... If you're like me, then you're probably skeptical whenever the government…
The FDA and the Trolley Problem
As a general rule, I'm not a big fan of big government. In my opinion, most government agencies that seek to regulate aspects of our lives are ineffective and wasteful at best and destructive at worst. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was, until recently, a government agency that I was on board with. I…
Will Future Generations Reject the Sharing Economy?
In case you are unfamiliar, the hot new trend amongst forward-thinking millennials is the notion of the "sharing economy", which is a loose term for a sort of Utopian society in which people do not own property, but instead basically "rent" everything. The concept of not owning property will probably seem absurd to older generations,…
How Are You Voting With Your Money? Lessons from the United Airlines Debacle
I don't often talk about current events in detail, but this one was just too juicy to pass up. This past Sunday, a doctor was forcibly removed from a United Airlines flight for...doing nothing wrong. It sparked a multitude of outbursts on the internet (and some pretty funny memes), and has caused United to issue…
People Keep Confusing the Words "Free" and "Forced"
For something to be "free" means that it comes without cost. If someone is "free", then they have control over their choices and actions. For someone to be "forced" means that they no longer have control over their choices. The terms are inherently opposite, and yet we sometimes confuse them. In America, we like to…
Why the Teachings of Milton Friedman Should be Required Learning for All
Milton Friedman was a Nobel Prize winning economist who lived from 1912-2006. His economic philosophies relied heavily on economic freedom and laissez-faire capitalism. He was the economic adviser to the Reagan Administration, and made numerous contributions to the field of economics during his lifetime. Upon hearing that he was the economic adviser to Reagan, many…