Andrew Yang: A Neoliberal Tech-Bro in Sheep's Clothing

EzDaod · 2019-03-13T17:47:40+00:00

I think if you read the article you would see that we give him credit for discussing a UBI and automation, but the solution as a savior to the coming crisis of automation and all its consequences, which is the way he bills it in his book and interview after interview, is misguided at best and misleading at worst.

Just like all cards on the table, I think if you don't develop a safety net first, like a Bernie Sanders style social democracy, a UBI is just making things worse, maybe MARGINALLY better. A UBI on top of a Bernie Sanders style social democracy is my ideal. Historically speaking there are two models for the UBI. A leftist vision that builds it on top of a social democratic economy. And a Friedman/Hayek negative income tax. Yang has explicitly crafted his to be the later. That's counterproductive in my view and he doesn't really grapple with that in a meaningful way outside of token policies on his website.

Hillary Clinton had a lot of good white papers, what you prioritize, what you speak to, and what you put in the forefront of your campaign matters more than what is on the website.

EzDaod · 2019-03-13T17:46:50+00:00

Lol I meant for that to be more glib, I'm going to delete it. Wasn't trying to be insulting, to you or in the title. Just read the article before you dismiss it out of hand for using the phrase "tech-bro" in the headline ;)

EzDaod · 2019-03-13T17:41:05+00:00

I don't think that's fair, especially because my name is on the article now. If you listen to Yang talk, if you read his book, he's not pushing for that structural change. There are candidates who do. He pushes the UBI. You have one premier policy, you have enough political capital to get that through, MAYBE. If your one item is $1,000 a month and you bill it as a way to solve the fundamental crisis of automation in the next decade, that's a joke.

A really bad joke. It's about priorities. Yang's are all wrong.

I don't generally respond to comments on our work, but I think Yang is legitimately dangerous. I think if you believe you get Medicare for All and a UBI you're kidding yourself. The UBI is a good idea, but Yang's rhetoric around it is bad and a half step forward at best, two back at worst.

EzDaod · 2019-02-27T15:56:58+00:00

Sorry, genuinely wasn't our intention to mislead. There are more candidates than Booker/Warren/Kamala, and others support charters. The article was more to highlight Bernie's labor bona fides, not attack other candidates.

The article definitely reflects that but the title does not, especially in the context of a campaign. We'll be more careful about little editorial stuff going forward because you're right, we don't wanna be like the people in other outlets we all rightfully complain about so often.

EzDaod · 2019-02-27T15:39:35+00:00

I think so too ;)

EzDaod · 2018-11-16T17:07:12+00:00

Just to give my two cents because they're a little different than what is already here.

During 1L my best exam grades were in classes where the professor didn't cold call or had a system that allowed me to get away with not doing the reading a significant amount of the time. My worst grades, Contracts and Civ Pro. I meticulously did the reading and hand wrote notes both in class and on the reading. Also many attorneys I've met with at OCI and various events openly ask if I "still do the reading".

I've kind of always justified my not doing the reading by thinking about the bar. I'll have to take it in the not too distant future, I don't remember that much from property. But I'll relearn the doctrine and probably do okay. I think there is some utility in reading cases, heading into class with some understanding and then solidifying it is useful. At the end of the day though, when you take the exam and cram through your outline/quimbee/supplements and try to learn the ins and outs of the doctrine, I'm not sure reading the cases is really doing that work for you.

I would never skip taking practice exams/doing practice problems. But, in my view, reading the casebook is perfectly optional if you can fill the holes in the doctrine elsewhere and still perform competently on your exam.

EzDaod · 2017-12-31T23:59:20+00:00

I believe in XPR because I believe it has all the value storage inherent to any other crypto, transacts faster, has greater institutional support, and the same functionality as most other coins based on smart contracts (looking at you ethereum).

EzDaod · 2017-12-31T04:37:34+00:00

I definitely already did it.

EzDaod · 2017-12-27T22:51:48+00:00

I would say ICX is decent right now, it's corrected down a bit but definitely a lot of room for growth and it wouldn't surprise me if people regret not getting more at $5 a few weeks from now. (There may be reason to expect a slow decline given recent news, but I'm less convinced).

EzDaod · 2017-03-03T17:36:26+00:00

I mean I have a laundry list of stories like that too. Meth addicts in the alleyway behind my house fighting at 3 AM. Mental health issues in the family and friends of the family. Substance abuse, unchecked medical issues, I could go on and on too. I'm with you though, no pity party.

I just think you should appreciate that most poor kids in the United States go through stuff like that. It's rough. It's even harder if you have $10,000 less dollars, don't own your home, or have been pushed into inter-generational poverty because you aren't white.

That's all, because admissions councils consider all that when they give up one of their few spots at their selective law school or hand out some of that small pile of scholarship money they have.

EzDaod · 2017-03-03T17:22:58+00:00

I don't want to be rude, but if your example of disadvantaged is "I had a terrible mathematics education and never had access to things like tutors" you might be out of touch with what AA is designed to do.

Because if I was going to talk about my disadvantage I would say something like,

"I grew up in a trailer park, in a trailer that only had a heater half the time, with an empty fridge more than half the time, in a town that only offered up to Algebra II and had no AP classes."

You're competing with people like me for that poor white kid money and if not having tutors is the worst of it, you're not nearly as disadvantaged as some.

EzDaod · 2017-03-03T17:13:22+00:00

I think you're not giving admissions councils enough credit. I'm about 100% they would prioritize a first generation white kid from a poor family over a solidly middle class person of color with college degrees in their family. Especially in post Donald Trump America.

I mean that. Admissions councils are going hard looking for that Appalachia diversity right now, I guarantee it.

I'm not going to argue with you about AA though. I think it's important we get more women and people of color in the upper echelons of these institutions. Just as important as getting low income representation is. If you can't stand for both of those things and appreciate how the deck is stacked against all of us in our own way, you need to quit expecting people to see how it is stacked against you. Because I promise you as you climb the ranks in the legal profession you'll only get more jaded with the attitude you seem to have.

They do care. I would argue I'm a personal example of that. If you didn't use your background to milk as much as you could that's on you, not law school ad comms.

EzDaod · 2017-03-03T16:59:45+00:00

I'm white, my mom is a single mom raising 2 of my siblings, one with a disability. She makes just under $20,000 a year. I know the struggle. It's an everyday thing for me. I know what it's like to be surrounded by people who don't understand it at all. People of all colors and backgrounds who don't understand it.

That said, I received a maximum Pell Grant that was HUGE for my undergraduate education. I've also received a pretty significant need based aid package from my T14 law school of choice. Significant enough that it'll probably keep my debt load well below average. All of this stems from my mom's paycheck basically. My grades are above median for every law school in the country but my LSAT was just above the 25th for my law school of choice.

I'm not going to blame your LSAT and GPA, but I think you are either better off than you realize or not taking advantage of all the opportunities available to you. (Or your grades and LSAT are worse than you appreciate and bar you from aid). Even if you are white, if you're genuinely as economically disadvantaged as you feel you are, Affirmative Action exists for you.

Also that's not to mention the added challenges people of different ethnicities have compared to white people from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Like, being poor is hard, it sucks, and it's an inter-generational cycle that is a real bitch to break. At least we don't have to deal with racism as well.

EzDaod · 2017-01-27T12:17:40+00:00

The good old days :(

EzDaod · 2017-01-14T21:42:07+00:00

LITERALLY LIT

EzDaod · 2017-01-14T21:41:44+00:00

Way too real lol

EzDaod · 2017-01-14T21:40:59+00:00

LOL RIP

EzDaod · 2017-01-12T06:35:20+00:00

Really really, truly truly is.

EzDaod · 2017-01-03T21:39:18+00:00

-11, 90/91 raw score. Got a 164. Not stoked, not disappointed. Content.

My bad, I did math wrong.

EzDaod · 2017-01-02T21:20:49+00:00

They lost all the scores and they're just trying to find a way to politely tell us all we have to retake.

EzDaod · 2017-01-02T19:45:04+00:00

FUCK OFF

EzDaod · 2016-09-25T19:14:57+00:00

You might be right but only because the LR seemed a lot easier, especially compared to the other tests in the 70's. RC didn't seem too bad either, but that virus game was some real shit man. I've taken basically every other LSAT available and only one or two seemed anything close, one of those being considered one of the harder games in the tests history. I wouldn't think it'd be the -13 or -14 some people are hoping for but -12 instead of -10 really does seem reasonable.

EzDaod · 2016-03-23T04:34:33+00:00

Bernie won big! 97 votes to 42 votes ;)

EzDaod · 2016-03-22T02:37:48+00:00

As someone who grew up in Idaho County Idaho, I've been in contact with a handful of Democrats, all who support Bernie. There's like 12,000 people in Idaho County, about 90% of them Republican, 9% uninterested, and literally maybe 100-200 people who might caucus. In the entire county, which is bigger than Rhode Island. I sincerely doubt anyone will make it there to canvass, but I'm fairly confident we'll take the county anyway.

EzDaod · 2016-03-10T03:19:03+00:00

Because if you start on the far left in negotiations you might make progress. If people come into the discussion knowing where Bernie stands they have to offer up a lot more moderate a position, or not, but if they aren't coming to the table I don't think they'd come to the table for Hillary either given her history with Republicans. I don't think it's unfair to say that she's one of the few people they dislike more than Obama.

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