America's Welfare State fails

[DGuller]

Whenever I hear this old bromide repeated it makes me think people believe their is a test for causation, like you dip litmus paper in and if it comes out blue you have causation.

Quote unquote proving causation is just the act of attaching a plausible mechanism to an observed correlation and ruling out other plausible mechanisms with correlate similarly with the outcome.

I thought it was about setting up an experiment to see if the correlation holds up when you manipulate the independent variable.

[The Minsky Moment]

Article arguing the failure of the government programs to help the poor.
Instead of attempting to make poverty more comfortable, we should focus on creating wider prosperity. We should end those government policies, such as high taxes and regulatory excess, that inhibit growth and job creation.[/b] We should protect capital investment and give people the opportunity to start new businesses. We should reform our failed government-school system to encourage competition and choice. We should encourage the poor to work, save, and invest for their future.

Let's imagine a country that did all these things.  Taxes are low, little regulation, few barriers to business creation, favorable treatment of captial income, none of these Great Society welfare programs.
We could call that country that United States. That pretty much defines what US economic policy was in the 19th century Gilded Age and really continuing up until the New Deal era.
History suggests that such policies neither reliably eliminated poverty nor guaranteed high levels of employment.

[MadImmortalMan]

History suggests that such policies neither reliably eliminated poverty nor guaranteed high levels of employment.

What does those things? Has anything ever worked well for that?

[Razgovory]

However, none of the papers seems to analyze the pure existence of an unemployment insurance, merely the effect on when people search for a new job.

You lost me.  That's what we've been discussing: the effect of unemployment insurance on job searches.

Are we actually discussing this?  I think we're discussing whether unemployment insurance helps or hurts the poor.  You're the one who discusses the side effects of the policy without even acknowledging the fact that they need to be compared to the benefits.

Ecometrics Goddamn it!

[Admiral Yi]

[Razgovory]

Ecometrics?

[Siege]

Somebody hijack this thread, please!

Anybody!

[Ed Anger]

I had a monstrous shit.

[Siege]

We need more details. Photos too.

[Ed Anger]

I'd say it was 18 inches long. I named it U-235.

[Valmy]

History suggests that such policies neither reliably eliminated poverty nor guaranteed high levels of employment.

What does those things? Has anything ever worked well for that?

If there was everybody would be doing it.

[garbon]

History suggests that such policies neither reliably eliminated poverty nor guaranteed high levels of employment.

What does those things? Has anything ever worked well for that?

If there was everybody would be doing it.

Now let's not exaggerate.

[Valmy]

Now let's not exaggerate.

Ok everybody would be doing it where it was politically feasible to do so.

[garbon]

Now let's not exaggerate.

Ok everybody would be doing it where it was politically feasible to do so.

I'm not sure everyone would consider it a priority...unless we are defining everyone very narrowly.

[Admiral Yi]

If the state hires all unemployed people you have no unemployment.