Equality is unnatural

It has always been obvious that abilities are unequal and that the pursuit of human equality is therefore a foolish dream.  So it is interesting that acceptance of inequality is in fact hardwired.  Leftism is even more inhuman than we thought

Looking at a rich banker on a yacht, most people could be forgiven a stab of resentment. But the rich-poor divide exists because it is human nature, a study has found.

A series of experiments have found we are usually in favour of redistributing wealth from the rich to give to the poor. But if that threatens to upset the hierarchy, by making the rich poor and the poor rich, we are much less likely to support it.

It appears ordinary people are in favour of the class system, because they believe in a ‘just world’ where those with a higher income are more deserving.

THE STUDY

The findings, from a study published in the journal Nature, emerged from a game in which people redistributed cash rewards to other players.

The researchers found people’s aversion to ‘rank reversal’ begins when they are just six years old, after asking children to play their game.

Adults and older children were often happy to redistribute cash payments between unknown players in a game, taking from the rich to give to the poor.

But when this threatened to upset that order, by making the poor richer than those at the top of the ladder, they were 11.5 per cent more likely to refuse the cash reward.

Those who are higher up in the hierarchy are more invested in keeping it as it is, the results suggest.

For every point increase in the socioeconomic status of someone playing the game, they were 2.3 per cent less likely to destroy the rich-poor divide.

The findings, from a study published in the journal Nature, emerged from a game in which people redistributed cash rewards to other players.

Yet even Tibetan herders, cut off from the modern world, refuse to overturn the rich-poor divide.

Another possible explanation, according to co-author Dr Benjamin Ho, associate professor of behavioural economics at Vassar College in New York, is that our caveman past taught us that hierarchy makes sense.

He said: ‘Attempts to take from the rich and give to the poor could lead to violence that makes everybody worse off.

'You see this in the animal kingdom where wolf packs and chickens will fight to create a pecking order, but once a pecking order is created, they will fight to preserve it so as not to upset the balance.’

The researchers found people’s aversion to ‘rank reversal’ begins when they are just six years old, after asking children to play their game.

Adults and older children were often happy to redistribute cash payments between unknown players in a game, taking from the rich to give to the poor.

But when this threatened to upset that order, by making the poor richer than those at the top of the ladder, they were 11.5 per cent more likely to refuse the cash reward.

Those who are higher up in the hierarchy are more invested in keeping it as it is, the results suggest.

For every point increase in the socioeconomic status of someone playing the game, they were 2.3 per cent less likely to destroy the rich-poor divide.

Professor Nigel Nicholson, an evolutionary theorist at London Business School, said: ‘As evolutionary science and numerous research studies shows, status ranking really matter.

'Not only does it carry access to resources and life-enhancing benefits, but it also helps guarantee these for the next and succeeding generations since rank is largely heritable, especially for males.’

The caveman origins of our support for hierarchy are supported by the game results in a group of nomadic Tibetan herders, who know little about capitalism but were exceptionally averse to reversing the roles of rich and poor.

The study concludes that people are not only averse to losing their own rank, but to seeing others lose theirs too.

It states: ‘Our economic game shows that humans exhibit an aversion to reverse rank similar to the patterns of behaviour found in the animal kingdom - a behaviour designed to reduce in-group violence and conflict.’

But the authors, led by Zhejiang University in China, add: ‘One reason why participants may feel that rank ordering should be preserved is a belief in a just world. 'They may assume that those earning a higher income are more deserving.’

SOURCE

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Judgement Day as Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces prison for enforcing immigration law

Former Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, a border enforcement crusader now targeted by a federal prosecutors, could learn as early as today if he will be found guilty of criminal contempt.

He was indicted, and was tried last week, on charges of criminal contempt for continuing patrols to find those crossing the U.S./Mexico border illegally, after liberal Federal judge G. Murray Snow ordered him in 2011 to stop enforcing the law.

The Federal government alleges Arpaio continued border patrols that discriminated against Hispanics.  Arpaio argues the court order was vaguely worded, and he changed the manner in which he conducted the patrols to made a good faith effort to comply.

Arpaio’s fate will be decided by Federal Judge Susan Bolton, a Bill Clinton appointee.  It was Bolton who in 2010 blocked Arizona’s law allowing police to check the immigration status of detained suspects.

Arpaio, who won national praise for his tough approach to crime and efforts to secure his county’s border with Mexico, lost his re-election after he was targeted by liberals nationwide and charged with crimes.

Arpaio is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s “Public Integrity Section” (PIS,) which was behind the prosecutions of Republican former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, Republican Alaska Senator Ted Stevens and Democrat former senator and vice-presidential nominee John Edwards.  McDonnell and Stevens were both convicted.

McDonnell’s conviction was unanimously throw out by the Supreme Court, which ruled the PIS falsely applied the law.  Stevens’ conviction was also thrown out after the PIS admitted to widespread misconduct in the case, but by then Stevens has lost his Senate seat, his reputation was ruined and he had perished in a plane crash.

Edwards was found not guilty by a jury that found the PIS, once again, has misapplied the law.

In the weeks before the 2010 election, when it became apparent Democrats may lose, then-IRS official Lois Lerner spoke with PIS Chief Jack Smith, PIS Deputy Chief Raymond Hulser and PIS “Election Crimes” Division head Richard Pilger to discuss possibly targeting and arresting citizens operating anti-Obama “Tea Party” groups.  During that meeting, PIS officials reviewed confidential taxpayer information on Obama critics, which is generally illegal.

SOURCE

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Ted Cruz opposes using hiked premiums on healthy people to pay for the needs of the very ill

Obama used general revenue to finance his schemes so the precedent has been set

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), an early advocate of repealing Obamacare, says his objective for the last six months “has been to reach consensus, to bring together and unify the Republican conference” on an alternative to Obamacare.

Cruz said the way to do that is to “focus like a laser” on lowering premiums for everybody, including people with pre-existing conditions. And that means taxing wealthy people like Warren Buffet to help stabilize premiums for people with pre-existing conditions.

On Sunday, Cruz told ABC’s “This Week,” “There is widespread agreement in Congress there’s going to be significant assistance” for people with “serious diseases, serious pre-existing conditions.”

Here's what Obamacare does. It takes tens of millions of young healthy people and it jacks up their premiums, it doubles or triples their premiums, and takes all that extra money -- not for them, but uses it to cross-subsidize people who are sick. I don't think that's fair. I don't think that makes sense.

I'd much rather use direct taxpayer funds. Let's use Warren Buffett's taxes and not some 30-year-old who's struggling and just beginning her career. Don't double her premiums to cross-subsidize other people. That's what Obamacare does. It's wildly unfair.

Cruz said low-income people are not the only ones who would be subsidized for pre-existing conditions. He noted that there are “two different sources of federal taxpayer funds on the exchanges.”

First, there are tax credits to help low-income people afford their insurance premiums.

“But number two, the Senate bill has over $100 billion in funds for the stabilization fund that are designed to stabilize those premiums. The objective has to be -- and I think the way we get this done is focus on lowering premiums. If we're lowering premiums, it's a win/win for everybody.”

Cruz said he continues to believe Republicans can pass health care reform. And if repeal and replace can’t be done at the same time, he favors passing a repeal bill that would take effect in a year or two, “then spend that time debating the replacement.”

“And if a year from now, two years from now, three years from now, premiums continue to skyrocket, we will have failed. But if they go down, if health insurance is more affordable, that's a big win for everybody.”

The plan proposed by Senate Republicans allows people to pay health insurance premiums from health savings accounts, which use pre-tax dollars. Cruz took credit for introducing that proposal, and he called it a “big deal.”

He’s also advocating a “consumer freedom option,” which says consumers should be able to choose what kind of insurance they want to buy:

“If you want to buy a plan with all the bells and whistles, with all of the mandates under Title 1 (Obamacare), you can buy that plan, those plans will be on the market. Those plans will have significant federal taxpayer money behind them.

"But on the other hand if you can't afford a full Cadillac plan, you should be able to buy another plan that meets your needs. And so the consumer freedom option gives you, the consumer, choice whether to go with the full Cadillac or a skinnier plan that's a lot more affordable, and for a lot of consumers, that may be much better than having no coverage whatsoever, which is what they have now.”

President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday, “For years, even as a ‘civilian,’ I listened as Republicans pushed the Repeal and Replace of ObamaCare. Now they finally have their chance!”

On Monday, Trump tweeted: "I cannot imagine that Congress would dare to leave Washington without a beautiful new HealthCare bill fully approved and ready to go!"

SOURCE

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CNN



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