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Xaq Fixx

Xaq Fixx lives outside Charlotte, NC with his wife, Garland, 2 Cats, Dog and roomate. He supports the freed market and the voluntary society while opposing the initiation of force. He works to promote these pro liberty ideas at Fr33 Agents, The Freedom Activist Network.

Xaq is an avid practitioner of the DIY ethic, enjoying Home Brewing, Screen Printing, Art, Bike Maintenance and Customization, Cooking and fiddling with a soldering iron in his workshop.

As the Market Research Manager for an International Multi-Media Firm Xaq has spent the last 5 years traveling and exploring new technology, policy, & web marketing trends.

Posts

  • August 19, 05:04 PM

    Garland Featured in a Ponko Post on Laser Cut Jewelery Designers

    Check this out My wonderful wife, talented artist, and professional DIYer is featured on Ponoko in their post on 100 Laser Cut Jewelery Designers.  This makes me happy.

    AvantGarland.com -Garland’s Personal Site

    Eclectic Circle - Her Etsy Shop featuring her laser cut and screen printed designs.

  • August 17, 01:16 PM

    Tor (button) for Chrome.

    Excellent writeup on Lifehacker on how to install a Tor Button in Chrome.  Easy TOR use was actually one of my last sticking points in making the swtich over the Chrome as my primary browser.

    What is Tor?

    According to TorPorject.org: “Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security known as traffic analysis.

    Tor protects you by bouncing your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world: it prevents somebody watching your Internet connection from learning what sites you visit, and it prevents the sites you visit from learning your physical location. Tor works with many of your existing applications, including web browsers, instant messaging clients, remote login, and other applications based on the TCP protocol.”

  • August 10, 02:13 PM

    Video: Max Borders on Panarcharchy

    Max Borders discusses Panarchy at the John Locke Foundation.  He discusses polycentric law and territorial issues.  Interesting talk, one of the first I’ve heard from an admitted statist.   See more at the John Locke Foundation.
  • July 27, 03:37 PM

    David Friedman – “Anarchy and Efficient Law”

    “Anarchy and the efficient law” – David Friedman from Mises Brasil on Vimeo.

    Best Quote: “When you are young you worry about people stealing your ideas, when you are old you worry about people NOT stealing your ideas”

  • July 15, 09:56 PM

    Darian Worden’s – “A History of Anarchism”

    If you  missed Porc Fest this year, or attended and didn’t get to check out the Alt Expo, then you probably missed Darian Worden‘s talk, “A History of Anarchism.”

    If you are a history buff, an anarchist of any stripe, especially individualist or market oriented, or curios at all about anarchist thought and thinkers this MP3 is well worth the listen.

    Darian Worden – A History of Anarchism

    If you enjoy this, you can follow more of Darian’s writings at the Center for a Stateless Society, and hear him weekly on Thinking Liberty, one of my favorite podcasts.

  • July 15, 11:22 AM

    Project Bike: 1972 Honda CB175


    This is my next project bike, my dad’s 1972 Honda CB175. Unlike the Harley, the plan isn’t really to restore it so much as to reincarnate it. Also unlike the Harley, this is a real motorcycle that can do highway speeds, mazing out around 90 mph. After doing the necessary repairs and cleaning to get it running, I plan to reshape the tank, adding indents and kneepads, debadge the tank and filter cover, remove the sissy bar, replace the seat with a cafe seat, replace the handlebars with clip-ons, replace the air filter with pod filters straight off the carbs, heat wrap the pipes, replace the turn signals and brake light with LEDS, and the headlamp with an HID conversion kit. Everything will get a satin black coat of paint and maybe some pinstriped details, in red and white. More Pics below the cut….

  • July 07, 11:33 AM

    Project Bike: 1970 Harley Davidson M-65S

    Lots of work still needs done

    A coworker gave me this 1970 Harley Davidson m-65S mini bike built by Aermacchi in Italy for me to rebuild and keep.    It is no speed demon, maxing out at 45 mph or so, even though the speedometer say a much more optimistic 80 MPH.   Once complete, as long as I stay on the side streets, I should be able to start riding it to work and save a ton on gas.  I will also be able confuse the hell out of the bikers at the the bars the surround the lake, part of their minds wanting to kick my ass for riding what is almost a moped to a Biker Bar while another part of the minds who think my rare vintage Harley.

    Behind the cut you can check out more stats, more pics of my bike, and a pic of what is supposed to look like in much better condition.

    All these pics were taken before giving the bike a badly needed bath, some of what looks like rust is actually just dirt and grease.

    Gallery:

    Some Stats:

    Original Price: $235 ($1284 in 2009 Dollars) Vehicle Ident. # (VIN): 8AXXXXH0 Engine: 2-Cycle, Single Cylinder, 63.86 Cubic Centimeters Bore and Stroke: 1.732 x 1.654 Inches Compression Ratio: 9:01 Gas Capacity: 2.5 Gallons Clutch Type: Multi-Plate, Oil Path Primary Drive: Helical Gears Final Drive: Single Chain Transmission: 3-Speed, Constant Mesh, Foot Shift Gear Ratios, overall: 1st: 23.986:1, 2nd: 13.833:1, 3rd: 9.134:1 Carburetor: Dell’Orto Front Fork: Ceriani Electrical System: 6V Saddle Height: 28.7 Inches Ground Clearance: 5.0 Inches Wheelbase: 44.8 Inches Weight: 134.5 Pounds Tire Size (Front): Pirelli 2.50 x 17
  • March 31, 11:21 AM

    ATP101 – An Introduction to Anarchism (via C4SS)

    Gary Chartier presents the lectures for the Center for a Stateless Society’s Foundational Certificate in Anarchist Theory and Practice “ATP 101 An Introduction to Anarchism” The course is built around Linda & Morris Tannehill “The Market for Liberty”

    Course Syllabus(PDF) from C4SS

    Free Audio Book of “The Market for Liberty” (Via Free Keene)

    Free PDF of “The Market for Liberty” (Via the Ludwig Von Mises Institute)

    Dead Tree Version of “The Market for Liberty”

  • March 20, 10:21 AM

    Review: “Extreme Brewing” by Sam Caligone

    Sam Caligone's "Extreme Brewing"

    A good, basic book for new brewers with hints and tips for more experienced brewers. If you haven’t brewed before and want to get started quickly, this is a great option.  Loaded with pictures and experience from some of America’s best Craft Brewers.  The author, Sam Calagione, is the owner and brew master for Dogfish Head Brewery and his knowledge of and passion for beer shine through.

    As a more experienced brewer you will get the most benefit from the sections on Beer Pairing (with Cheese or Chocolate), recipes for beer and food recipes featuring beer.

    While this may be a good, quick way to start your first batch, for new brewers that are techincally inclined, or more detailed orinted I recommend John Palmers “How to Brew” and Stephen Snyder’s “The Brewmaster’s Bible“

  • March 14, 05:20 PM

    (pic) Honey-Molasses Porter in Secondary

    Strawberry Wine and Honey-Molasses Porter

    My first real experiment in wine making, a 1 Gallon strawberry batch, on the left.  5 Gallons of Honey-Mollasses Porter in the Secondary on the right, with a spot for my 5 Gallon batch of Belgian Raspberry Red in the middle.

    The 5 Gallon batch of Hefeweizen that we saw in the secondary last time is now bottled.  Pics of that coming soon.  There will also be some video of the brewing of the Raspberry Red, and perhaps even the bottling of the Hefe.

Blog

Posts

  • September 03, 03:07 PM

    Friday Afternoon Links

  • September 03, 04:03 PM

    How Apple's newest iPods prove (and disprove) that it learns from design mistakes

    by Chris Rawson (RSS feed) on Sep 3rd 2010 at 1:00PM

    When Apple released the third-generation iPod shuffle in 2009, I saw it as a perfect example of the design hubris that many Apple detractors point to. From a usability perspective, there really wasn't anything wrong with the second-generation iPod shuffle -- it had a minimal number of buttons, true, but their functions were fairly obvious. In a textbook example of the emphasis of form over function, Apple's third-generation iPod shuffle removed all of the controls from the device itself and moved them to the headphones' inline remote. Not only was the remote far more complex to use than the old shuffle's simple buttons, it also meant that, if you wanted to use third-party headphones, you'd either have to give up all control over the iPod or shell out more money for an inline remote adapter. The third-gen iPod shuffle got savaged in reviews, and it deserved it.

    Apple's fourth-generation iPod shuffle mercifully brought the buttons back. Apple even lists "buttons" as a feature on its page for the iPod shuffle. In a rare departure from typical Apple design, the fourth-generation iPod shuffle is much larger than the third-gen; it's not that Apple can't make a music player the size of your thumbnail, but it seems like Apple realized that it shouldn't. So, the return of buttons to the iPod shuffle proves that Apple doesn't always emphasize form over function. Right?

    Unfortunately, although the iPod shuffle proves that Apple is perfectly capable of learning from its design missteps, the new iPod nano and iPod touch both feature design compromises that are almost as boneheaded as the buttonless third-gen iPod shuffle. Click "Read More" to see the way these new iPods, nice as they are in some respects, are in other ways an example of a "one step forward, two steps back" design.

    The new iPod touch finally got the rear-facing camera many people were expecting in 2009. When the 2009 iPod touch debuted without the widely-expected camera, many people were left scratching their heads and trying to figure out why the diminutive iPod nano got a camera while Apple's flagship touchscreen iPod didn't. The chief argument back then was that the iPod touch was simply too thin to include a decent camera like its thicker, more expensive brother, the iPhone.

    However, the 2010 iPod touch somehow manages to be 1.2 millimeters thinner than the 2009 model while still introducing a rear-facing camera with the ability to shoot video at 720p. So, Apple hasn't been forced to compromise the functionality of the iPod touch in order to satisfy its inexplicable desire to make the devices thinner and thinner each year, ... or has it?

    If you take a look at the tech specs for the new iPod touch, you might notice that the camera only takes still photos at a resolution of 960 x 720. Basic number crunching shows this to be a camera resolution of 0.7 megapixels -- far lower than the iPhone 4's 5 megapixels, and lower even than the original iPhone's terrible 2 megapixel camera. Granted, megapixels aren't everything; I think my iPhone 4's 5 megapixel camera takes superior photos compared to my wife's 10 megapixel (but cheapish) Fuji point-and-shoot. But still, it seems to me that being 2.1 millimeters thinner than the iPhone 4 doesn't justify having a camera that takes still photos with such low resolution that you might as well not even bother with them. Apple can point to its new iPod touch and say, "There, now it has a camera," but anyone with a lick of sense will point right back and say, "Yeah, but that camera sucks."

    What about the iPod nano? Just like the third-gen iPod shuffle, the sixth-generation iPod nano has sacrificed many features a previous model possessed in order to squeeze into a smaller form factor and go with a buttonless design. The new iPod nano has a multitouch screen, and while I'll admit the new UI looks intriguing, look at what the nano's lost to get it down to that iPod shuffle-like form factor:

    1. No video playback (introduced in 2007 with third generation)
    2. 136 fewer vertical pixels compared to fifth generation - reducing the screen resolution by 36% (though ppi is higher)
    3. No voice recording (introduced in 2008 with fourth generation)
    4. No camera (introduced in 2009 with fifth generation)
    5. Much smaller screen: 1.54 inches diagonal in sixth gen compared to 2.2 inches in fifth gen

    For the same price as last year's iPod nano, you get a much smaller device with a new multitouch-based UI, but you also lose many of the features the old model had. That's form over function all the way, and it's just as bad, in its way, as Apple getting rid of FireWire on its MacBooks. It's the same principle at work: once you intro a feature, you'd better have a very good reason for taking that feature away in a subsequent model, ... and "Gee, look how small it is now!" doesn't cut it every time.

    The new iPod shuffle proves Apple is able to emphasize function over form. Here's hoping the 2011 iPod touch's camera and the 2011 iPod nano continue that trend, because particularly in the nano's case, form has prevailed over function this year.
  • September 03, 03:44 PM

    Noise Complaint Leads to Police Shooting, Killing 17-Year-Old

    Last Sunday night, police in Morganton, North Carolina shot and killed 17-year-old Michael Sipes. The officers were responding to a noise complaint called in by a neighbor in the mobile home park where Sipes lived. His mother says there were three children in the home on the night Sipes was killed, and were likely he source of the complaint.

    According to Sipes’ mother and others in the house, the police repeatedly knocked on the door to the home, but never identified themselves. They say both Sipes and his mother asked more than once who was outside. A neighbor who heard the gunshots also says he never heard the police identify themselves. Police officials say the officers did identify themselves.

    According to those in the trailer at the time, as the knocks continued, Sipes retrieved a rifle, opened the door, and stepped outside. That’s when Morganton Public Safety Officer Johnny David Cooper II shot Sipes in the stomach “four or five times.”

    More here and here. Profile of Sipes here. The story is still fresh, but at first blush he certainly doesn’t seem like the kind of kid who would knowingly confront police officers with his rifle.

  • September 03, 09:00 AM

    iFixit celebrates Friday with teardown of Virtual Boy, the greatest game console man has ever known

    We still have memories -- some would say nightmares, but we digress -- of hanging out at a neighbor's house and taking turns playing matches of Mario's Tennis, our biological ocular displays assimilated into a rubber mask that engulfed our brains and left us in a permanent state of viewing the world in red wireframe. Crude 3D though it may be, it's still a part of history we must accept, and if you happen to own a Virtual Boy, we have just two things to say to you. One: we're insanely jealous. Two: if you ever need to know how to rip it to shreds for repair / stress relief, iFixit's got you covered. In the world of Man with Screwdriver vs. Game Console, yet again Man wins. Seems a perfect ending to a week that featured Atari 2600, Nintendo Famicon, RCA Studio II, and Magnavox Odyssey 100. Check out highlights in the gallery below, or hit up iFixit for the whole shebang.

    iFixit celebrates Friday with teardown of Virtual Boy, the greatest game console man has ever known originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |  iFixit  | Email this | Comments
  • September 03, 09:30 AM

    Google Wave Lives On (in a Box) [Google Wave]

    Google has announced that despite Wave's demise as a Google App, its open source code will continue to be developed into a fully-functional application available to anyone with the desire to host it. More »


  • September 02, 05:02 PM

    MSI WindBox III gets a bit more oomph, still lives on your LCD

    If your current WindBox is growing a bit long in the tooth, MSI has a newcomer with somewhat more respectable internals. Since it's a fanless machine designed to live on the rear of your LCD, you won't be ordering one with a Core i7, but the included Core 2 Duo chip is certainly a step above what's been offered in the past. It's designed primarily to be used as an ultra-low power solution for folks needing to handle the simplest of simple tasks, though the integrated graphics are purportedly capable of HD playback (on a good day). It's packing DVI, VGA and HDMI outputs, six USB 2.0 sockets, a pair of mini-PCIe slots, inbuilt 802.11b/g/n WiFi and a Bluetooth module, but your guess is as good as ours when it comes to price or availability.

    MSI WindBox III gets a bit more oomph, still lives on your LCD originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |  MSI  | Email this | Comments
  • September 02, 05:03 PM

    GameStop Pulls Medal of Honor From Military Bases

    donniebaseball23 writes "EA's Medal of Honor reboot doesn't ship until October 12, but it's already seen a fair amount of controversy thanks to the publisher's decision to allow people to play as Taliban in multiplayer. The controversy just got escalated another notch, reports IndustryGamers, as the world's biggest games retailer GameStop has decided it won't sell the title at its stores located on US military bases. The new Medal of Honor won't be advertised at these stores either. GameStop noted that they came to this decision 'out of respect for our past and present men and women in uniform.'"

    Read more of this story at Slashdot.

  • September 02, 06:43 PM

    Tea kettle concept almost boils your water with an incandescent light bulb

    Incandescent light bulbs are definitely not in fashion these days (the last time we stepped inside Ikea we were greeted with their announcement that the company plans to stop selling them) because of their total lack of efficiency. Don't tell that to this concept for a tea kettle, however, which uses the wasted energy of the bulb (nearly 98 percent) to make water for your tea. Now, it doesn't actually bring it to a boil -- just to 194 degrees Fahrenheit -- but many tea enthusiasts will tell you that your water should be just off the boil anyhow. So there.

    Tea kettle concept almost boils your water with an incandescent light bulb originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink Gizmodo  |  DeZeen  | Email this | Comments
  • September 02, 06:00 PM

    Shocker! Google's Android logo boosted from Atari Lynx title 'Gauntlet: The Third Encounter'

    Back in the early 90's whilst playing our Atari Lynx -- friendless and alone, of course -- we couldn't have imagined that a second-rate spinoff of the popular Gauntlet franchise would unlock the secrets behind the birth of Google's Android OS. But, lo and behold, what has one of our faithful tipsters found down here, amongst the ruins of Gauntlet: The Third Encounter? That's right, nearly irrefutable proof that the Android team (or at least its graphic designers) have plumbed the depths of Epyx's not-quite-masterpiece for the iconic droid logo we've come to know and love. Sure, the top-down scroller provided all kinds of new character classes like the "Nerd," "Punkrocker," and "Pirate," but only one of these fresh faces would provide the blueprint for Android's public face. It's hard to argue that there isn't some level of appropriation here, given the multiple similarities between the two pieces of art, right down to the antennae, dotted eyes, general size and shape, and even the strip which cuts across the midsection of the bot. Oh yeah, and the character is named Android. We personally would like to hear what Google has to say for themselves in regards to this blatant theft of intellectual property, and as for the Epyx artists who slaved over a hot Amiga to bring this image to life -- the taste of sweet justice is yours.


    [Thanks, Davey]

    Continue reading Shocker! Google's Android logo boosted from Atari Lynx title 'Gauntlet: The Third Encounter'

    Shocker! Google's Android logo boosted from Atari Lynx title 'Gauntlet: The Third Encounter' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments
  • September 02, 09:30 PM

    Market Anarchism in Russia

    From anarchist Ivanov on Fr33 Agents…


    Russian Market Anarchism of the Late 20th – early 21st Centuries: An Overview

    “In 2009, a group of market anarchists from the Association of Anarchist Movements was founded the League of Individualist Anarchism. League operates in accordance with the agreements of the Association of Anarchist Movement and in opposition to parliamentarism. Now the League is comprised of anarchists who share mutualist, agorist and individualist attitudes. Members of the League act in the cities of Yaroslavl and Omsk, on Sakhalin and in Moscow region. The main activities of the League are disseminating articles and brochures, posting flyers, and translation activities. Currently, the Russian language for the first time translated texts of Lysander Spooner, Voltairine de Cleyre, Samuel Edward Konkin III, Wally Conger and Kevin Carson. The second edition of Benjamin Tucker’s brochure “Liberty, equal for all” is coming soon. The League has a website, its members are active in social networks and the Russian-speaking segment of LiveJournal and the League of Individualist anarchism is set on joining the Alliance libertarian Left.”

    See also: Land Under The Feet — Commentary by Russian anarchist writer Herbert Maridze, discussing Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s response to wildfires, current state of affairs in Russia, and the authorities’ campaign against antifascists and environmentalists.

  • September 03, 04:03 AM

    Skype 5.0 beta brings 10-way video calling to the world

    Skype's Windows client is showing a bit of ambition today as its latest beta version now boasts a mighty 10-way video calling implementation. The earlier v5.0 beta threw up five-way vidchat, but it'd seem Skype kept its software engineers working through the summer and now we've got double the visual fun. Which would be awesome if we actually had nine other people we cared to see while talking to them. This update also brings a UI makeover, your typical stability and call quality improvements, and a neat automated call recovery feature. Download away, if you must.

    Skype 5.0 beta brings 10-way video calling to the world originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |  Skype Blog  | Email this | Comments
  • September 03, 08:00 AM

    Altoids tin BBQ grill

    It's time again to fire up the ol' grill. Check out this itsy bitsy BBQ grill made out of an Altoids Sours tin. Instructables user vmspionage was inspired to build the little guy after seeing the eBq. [via Slashgear]

    More:

    Read the Full Story » | More on MAKE » | Comments » | Read more articles in Altoids and tin cases | Digg this!
  • September 03, 08:45 AM

    Samsung Galaxy Player 50 hands-on

    Shared by Xaq Fixx
    I really hope they kick up the game and bring something like the rumored YP-MB2 stateside (Super AMOLED, 1Ghz Processor, etc.)
    Remember how Samsung downsized the Wave to make the Wave 723 and killed off the pricey, fancy Super AMOLED display in the process? Yeah, well, the same rule applies to the Android-powered Galaxy line -- so if you were hoping to see some mind-blowing contrast ratios on Sammy's new PMP... well, you can just keep on hoping (and besides, even the mighty Tab has gone the TFT route for now). The Galaxy Player 50 is pretty cute in the flesh, featuring a 3.2-inch WQVGA LCD with multitouch capability, Android 2.1, and your choice of 8GB or 16GB worth of internal storage with microSD expansion up to 32GB. It's also packing a 2 megapixel cam on back and support for 802.11n -- and heck, like the Philips GoGear Connect it's even got a mic, basically putting it just one spec sheet line item shy of being an actual smartphone.

    For all intents and purposes, the PMP feels like a midrange Android smartphone when you're holding and using it; it's reasonably responsive, and we were happy to see that it has Google Maps Navigation on board (along with the Android Market and all the other standard "Google Experience" Android apps). We found the keyboard a bit cramped, but there's only so much you can do with a portrait virtual QWERTY keyboard on a 3.2-inch display, and we imagine we could get used to it with time. Needless to say, the total package feels more put-together than the GoGear, and if we were rocking a dumbphone, wanted to keep our music compartmentalized, and couldn't stand the thought of adding an iPod touch into our lives, we imagine the 50 would be on our short list. Follow the break for Samsung's press release -- and don't forget to have a gander at the gallery!

    Continue reading Samsung Galaxy Player 50 hands-on

    Samsung Galaxy Player 50 hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Sep 2010 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments I really hope they kick up the game and bring something like the rumored YP-MB2 stateside (Super AMOLED, 1Ghz Processor, etc.)
  • September 03, 07:27 AM

    UAE Man-in-the-Middle Attack Against SSL

    Interesting:

    Who are these certificate authorities? At the beginning of Web history, there were only a handful of companies, like Verisign, Equifax, and Thawte, that made near-monopoly profits from being the only providers trusted by Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. But over time, browsers have trusted more and more organizations to verify Web sites. Safari and Firefox now trust more than 60 separate certificate authorities by default. Microsoft's software trusts more than 100 private and government institutions.

    Disturbingly, some of these trusted certificate authorities have decided to delegate their powers to yet more organizations, which aren't tracked or audited by browser companies. By scouring the Net for certificates, security researchers have uncovered more than 600 groups who, through such delegation, are now also automatically trusted by most browsers, including the Department of Homeland Security, Google, and Ford Motors­and a UAE mobile phone company called Etisalat.

    In 2005, a company called CyberTrust­which has since been purchased by Verizon­ gave Etisalat, the government-connected mobile company in the UAE, the right to verify that a site is valid. Here's why this is trouble: Since browsers now automatically trust Etisalat to confirm a site's identity, the company has the potential ability to fake a secure connection to any site Etisalat subscribers might visit using a man-in-the-middle scheme.

  • August 26, 12:56 AM

    Ctrl-V, Ctrl-X, Ctrl -Z

    Ctrl-V, Ctrl-X, Ctrl -Z tools...(Read...)

  • September 02, 05:03 PM

    LED suit lights up the night - Hack a Day

  • September 02, 05:03 PM

    Barcode Infiltrator - Hack a Day

  • September 02, 05:02 PM

    Car computer requires PIN for ignition - Hack a Day

  • September 02, 03:02 PM

    There’s No Such Thing As a Free Vacation

    In a debate between Ezra Klein and Reihan Salam about the desirability of regulations requiring employers to give workers paid vacation, Klein writes:

    Broadly speaking, employees with the power to demand more paid vacation do so, and employees without the power to demand more paid vacation get less—or in some cases, no—paid vacation. A law guaranteeing paid vacation would primarily tilt the playing field toward low-income workers, rather than against them, as is the case now.

    Would it actually tilt the playing field in their favor, allowing everyone to nab some time off and finally take that dream vacation to Walley World? Or would, as Salam argues, a policy mandating paid vacation days simply shift compensation from one form (cash) to another form (days off)? I think the following explanation offers a helpful way to think about mandatory paid vacation:

    A paid vacation is a kind of accounting fiction—you continue to draw a paycheck (and health care benefits, etc.) even while you're on vacation. But nobody's going to pay you to go on vacation. You're paid for the work that you actually do. The money you get on your vacation days is part of your payment for the work you do on the other days. Over the long run, if the government mandates a certain number of paid vacation days, then positions that currently offer fewer vacation days then that will become less lucrative.

    In the real world, wages tend to be sticky, so a government mandate of more vacation probably wouldn't lead to immediate pay cuts, but a government mandate of more vacation probably wouldn't involve immediate implementation anyway. The point, though, is that while we definitely could use public policy to shift the money/leisure mix the American workforce receives, we can't just conjure up free money through a regulatory mandate—if everyone is made to work less, then everyone will earn less money.

    That explanation comes from former Atlantic staffer and current Center for American Progress Action Fund blogger Matt Yglesias (who makes sure to note that he thinks that there may not be anything wrong with legislators choosing to make the trade-off between hours worked and cash earned). I’m not quite as confident as Yglesias that we wouldn’t see some wage reductions relatively soon after implementation, but the basic point is perfectly sound; in the long run, those forced days off would translate into less cash compensation. And who would that likely hurt the most? Given that, as Klein informs us, low-wage workers are currently among the least likely to have paid vacation, those eventual wage reductions would probably hit those low wage workers—who probably need actual cash in their pockets the most—the hardest.

  • September 02, 03:30 PM

    Merge Firefox's Bookmark and Navigation Toolbars to Save Space [Firefox Tip]

    We already know Firefox isn't the most pixel-friendly browser, and bookmark bars make it even worse. Reader Marand shows us an easy way to save space without losing quick acess to your bookmarks. More »


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