Political spending is a classical example of a zero-sum conflict. If Dustin gives $1M to Clinton and Peter gives $1M to Trump, they might both be happier if all the money went to charity. This suggests the following scheme: rather than having people contribute directly to Hillary or Trump, they give the money to me and choose a charity. If I receive $1 for Hillary … More Repledge++

(Reposted from Facebook,  I would prefer put it here than have it lost to the sands of time.) The state of Washington will soon vote on on a large revenue-neutral carbon tax, and will probably reject it. As relayed by Vox, I found the story one of the most compelling political tragedies of the season, … More Initiative 732

Between the hours of 6am and 10am, the Bay Bridge is miserable. Which is a particular shame, because that’s when everyone wants to use it. Right now congestion on the bridge adds 22 minutes to my trip to SF. (Using BART would add a comparable amount.) Google’s “typical” traffic estimate is between an 8 and 53 minute rush hour delay. This is a … More Could raising tolls radically improve commuting?

Distributing information is a tricky problem for capitalism. On the one hand, information wants to be free. For every person who values Stephen’s Sausage Roll at $20 but isn’t willing to pay $30, we are leaving $20 of value on the table. For every person who values a course of Solvadi at $40,000 but isn’t willing to pay $84,000 we are … More Could we make information free?