Unintended consequences

Same-sex marriage
New Atlas reports about an effect in the US of European nations legally recognizing same-sex marriages:
Same-sex marriage recognition means 
highly skilled workers avoided US

The recognition of same-sex marriage across the European Union has had a negative impact on the US economy, causing the number of highly skilled foreign workers seeking visas to drop by about 21%, according to a new study.

The list of countries that legally perform and recognize same-sex marriage now stands at 36 and continues to grow. Despite fears that same-sex marriage would undermine the institution of different-sex marriage, research has shown that, after 20 years, those fears were unfounded. Indeed, same-sex marriage has consistently been found to be positive for couples, their children, and the general population.

Now, a new study by researchers from Washington State University (WSU) has found that marriage equality also has a major economic benefit.

“This [study] just shows that having more inclusive policies can make a country more attractive for skilled labor,” said Koroles Awad, a PhD candidate in economics at WSU and the study’s lead author.
Dang! Who would have thunk it? Now, what if the US supreme court gets rid of same-sex marriage rights in the US? Hm.


US foreign policy
A WaPo article (not paywalled) discusses a bad impact of US foreign policy in Venezuela, even though the US was warned that the bad effect was likely to happen:
Trump White House was warned sanctions on 
Venezuela could fuel migration

The internal debate over the policy underscores how U.S. financial measures can sometimes lead to unintended consequences

The Trump White House was warned that harsh sanctions on Venezuela could accelerate that country’s economic collapse and speed an exodus of millions of migrants to neighboring nations, according to three current and former U.S. government officials.

The Trump administration nevertheless imposed some of the harshest economic penalties in U.S. history on Venezuela in response to documented human rights abuses, extrajudicial killings and corruption by the regime of dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Today, however, Maduro remains in power, and a surge in Venezuelan immigrants has emerged as a flash point in the U.S. presidential election. Though Venezuelan mass migration to the United States only began after President Biden took office, concern among Trump officials about the sanctions’ potential effects, including on migration, was more extensive than previously known, according to interviews with more than two dozen current and former U.S. officials.  
“This is the point I made at the time: I said the sanctions were going to grind the Venezuelan economy into dust and have huge human consequences, one of which would be out-migration,” said Thomas Shannon, who served as undersecretary for political affairs at the State Department under President Donald Trump.

“The sanctions clearly helped generate faster out-migration,” Shannon said. “And you knew it was only going to be a matter of time before these people decided to migrate north.”



Wouldn't it be a total hoot if DJT's foreign policy toward Venezuela and resulting illegal immigration into the US turns out to be a necessary factor in getting DJT re-elected in 2024? Total hoot! 
😳


Q: Does that make DJT a supporter of illegal immigration?


By Germaine: Supporter of the Murphy's Law Foundation


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

That Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian Troll Sent It

Image
Here’s what Russia’s 2020 disinformation operations look like, according to two experts on social media and propaganda. By   DARREN LINVILL   &   PATRICK WARREN Internet trolls don’t troll. Not the professionals at least. Professional trolls don’t go on social media to antagonize liberals or belittle conservatives. They are not narrow minded, drunk or angry. They don’t lack basic English language skills. They certainly aren’t  “somebody sitting on their bed that weighs 400 pounds,”  as the president once put it. Your stereotypical trolls do exist on social media, but the amateurs aren’t a threat to Western democracy. Professional trolls, on the other hand, are the tip of the spear in the new digital, ideological battleground. To combat the threat they pose, we must first understand them — and take them seriously. MORE: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-troll-2020-election-interference-twitter-916482/ Posted by Jamie B.
Read more

The Nightmare Scenario That Keeps Election Lawyers Up At Night -- And Could Hand Trump A Second Term

Image
The Nightmare Scenario That Keeps Election Lawyers Up At Night -- And Could Hand Trump A Second Term   (Photo: Photos: Getty Images) Americans will almost certainly go to bed on Nov. 3 without knowing who won the presidential election. Since millions of people will vote by mail, constraints on time and resources will slow ballot counting into potentially a weeks-long process. Voting patterns suggest it’s likely that President  Donald Trump  could end Election Day in the lead in certain key states, only to be overtaken by Democratic opponent  Joe Biden  when more votes are tallied.  This could create a nightmare scenario during the three months stretching from Election Day to the Jan. 20 inauguration: a battle on the state and congressional level over who is the legitimate winner. This could include Congress reconvening on Jan. 6, presided over by Vice President  Mike Pence , with no consensus over its potential role in choosing the next president. This is arguably the most likely of th
Read more

Philosophical Question #14 – Lifestyle Choices

Image
Here is an interesting question in my list of philosophical questions: 1.) Should governments have penalties for those who live unhealthy lifestyles? A list of unhealthy lifestyles would include things like smoking, drinking, illegal drugs, prostitution, and other “vice” type activities. I guess the “government penalties” would be referring to monetary punishments, withholding medical treatments (insurance companies would love that), possibly imposing/regulating very high (exorbitant) prices on things considered unhealthy in order to cut down on their use, and other possibilities. 2.) Or, would you say that living an unhealthy lifestyle, likely resulting in a LOT of eventual personal pain and suffering, should be punishment enough for unhealthy lifestyles? When people make bad choices in life, often in their youth where ignorance and immediate gratification takes them over,  3.) Should a society be obligated to help "fix" them, by way of tax money?   Is that part of
Read more