Absolute / relative

Misc, to-do

• sometimes we end up doing something relative, when we should be shooting for absolute
  • opponents of raising the minimum wage ask, rhetorically: if $15/hr is good, why not 30? why not 100?
  • the Democrats and Republicans fall all over themselves competing over which one is better at
    • balancing the budget
    • being "tough on crime"
    • being a "friend of Israel"
  • instead of trying outdo each other (which ends in both parties ending up more extreme than they would have been otherwise, sort of a Red Queen situation….the Red Queen is the downside of cooperation), they should each stake out some goal, and point out that going beyond that goal is counterproductive (relates to tradeoffs)
  • reminds me of supernormal stimuli, stickleback experiments…….urges for more (that is to say, relative) as opposed to a particular value (absolute) can be gamed much more easily
  • it may be that issues that seem to involve character are particularly vulnerable to this danger
  • found on Facebook: "Hamas is a bully, Obama is a wuss"