As always, there's plenty to talk about: the Miers nomination (let's get the e-mail dialogue up here), the baseball postseason, the upcoming Iraqi constitution referendum. Amidst all that, I didn't want August Wilson's passing to go unremarked. I saved the NYT obit and also this appreciation piece. I just started reading the obit this morning on the bus. I'll post my own perspective on Wilson and his work this weekend.
The other NYT piece that I read on the bus this morning that caught my attention was this Tierney column. Some of his stuff has been annoying, but some of it seems reasonable. More evidence, I suppose, that I'm moving to the center on stuff, leaving behind the leftism of my youth. In particular, I'm moving towards Tierney's position of being distrustful of "big government", and beginning to think that market-based solutions often make more sense.
(Whether this is a cause or effect of me studying finance and economics for the first time is unclear to me.)
In particular, tell me what's wrong with his "modest proposal to fight global warming, save energy, cut air pollution, ease traffic congestion, reduce highway fatalities and, while we're at it, reform Social Security": a "Solve-Everything Tax" of 50-cents per gallon of gas, with the proceeds going to private (or personal, if you will) retirement accounts.
Granted, I'd rather see the proceeds of such a tax go to public transportation. But I'm finding I'm not a priori opposed to the personal retirement accounts idea. Heresy.
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