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jake-head-shot.jpgJake Young is a MD/PhD student at Mount Sinai School of Medicine focusing in Neuroscience. He is due to graduate in 2032. He received a BS and a MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University -- where he spent most of his time drinking heavily and building vegetable catapults instead of learning information that would now be eminently useful. When he is not failing terrifically to perform his sworn duties, he enjoys watching bad movies, ethnic food, and running.

Pure Pedantry is a blog about science -- social sciences and otherwise -- as well as academic and scientific culture. No one can live on science alone, so I also like to dwell on pop culture, periodically explore the humanities, and indulge in other types of geeky goodness.

Jake is joined periodically by two wonderful guest bloggers: Kara Contreary and Kate Seip. See the About Page.

DISCLAIMERS: 1) Jake Young is not a licensed physician (yet). He is merely a medical student. The information published on this site is not intended for use in medical decision making. Please seek advice from a licensed, medical professional before making any health decisions. 2) The opinions expressed are my own or those of my co-bloggers. They do not represent the views of SEED magazine or the educational establishments we currently attend.

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More on "Libertarian Paternalism"

Category: Government PaternalismLibertarian politics
Posted on: June 6, 2007 11:03 AM, by Jake Young

I wrote about my skepticism about libertarian paternalism before.

Here is some more skepticism. Glen Whitman writes about one type of policy advocated by libertarian paternalists -- the opt-out program. In opt-out programs, you are enrolled in what the government says you should do -- such as a savings account -- unless you specifically say that you don't want to do it. The problem as Whitman points out is in how difficult it is to get out. If you make it a bureaucratic maze to extricate yourself from a program, you have essentially made that program mandatory. (He discusses the slippery slope in two post, here and here.)

Meanwhile Ilya Somin at Volokh has more on the problem of expert opinion. Who needs them!

Hat-tip: Volokh Conspiracy.

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