“Glute”

I have strained my glute
On a couple occasions.
I wish I could tell you
How many occasions.
-Feb. 5, 2008, deposition

Mr Wolfowitz saw himself as the outsider to whom the established rules and standards did not apply.

The report conclusion is not a surprise. And I’m not surprised that the Bush administration will ignore the findings and continue to praise Wolfowitz as a uniquely qualified leader. I think this analysis by Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution addresses why the administration is tying itself to a sinking ship (emphasis added by me):

I take his continuing unwillingness to resign to be the biggest argument against his managerial abilities. He has lost the public relations battle and can no longer be effective. Why should he want the job any more? The obvious hypothesis is that he is emotionally committed to a losing battle, and is not placing much weight on the long-term interests of the institution he is running.

I have a feeling the final sentence will sum up the next 2 years of the Bush administration.

While interesting and informative, I think Professor DeLong missed the key point regarding Wolfowitz’s reasoning. It seems clear that Wolfowitz is one of many neo-conservative powerbrokers that do not believe the rules apply to themselves as they do to others. “We” are uniquely good and self-empowered is the basic tenet of neo-conservative realism. The situation can be summed up quite well by Machiavellian philosophy: Petty rules are not intended for great men.

Wolfowitz is in good company in selectively obeying the rules. Alberto Gonzalez recently lied obviously and repeatedly during Congressional testimony. Bush’s response was effectively “Heck of a job, Al!”. In contrast to such blatant disregard for Congressional authority, promoting one’s girlfriend seems quaint.

Though clearly not the thought-leader, George W. Bush is the cheerleader and role model for this philosophy of moral relativism. Bush had no use for international legal approval before invading a sovereign country. Of course, Wolfowitz was a key member of the team that planned and delivered that unjustifiable war. Bush’s choice to ignore FISA and the Geneva Conventions are further examples of the real limitation of rules on men possessed by a supposed greater mission. Bush’s extraordinary use of signing statements, which reserve the right to ignore the just signed law, give a true insight into the governing philosophy of the most influential group of leaders in the current US administration.

Gapminder is the organization behind the tool. Their Human Development Trends, 2005 presentation for the UNDP is a great example of a compelling online presentation. I’d like to hear the lecture that went with it.

You’re in the top 10% if you have $61,000 in capital. I’m still reading the full study but so far my main criticism is that by defining “wealth” as assets minus debts the study underestimates effects of established wealth. While I’m probably in the top 10% of the population based on assets, I have access to borrowed capital that allows my household to live closer to the top 1%. But my assets minus debts results in a net negative wealth and I’d be counted in the bottom 50% of the global population. Likewise debt for an Ivy League student is far different than debt for an immigrant laborer. In a sense, some types of debt and access to debt is deferred capital to which the majority of the global population does not have access.

The Press Release and Study Abstract
The Full Study: The World Distribution of Household Wealth