Monthly Archives: September 2012

Paul Gregg: new ideas for disability, employment and welfare reform

Posted on September 27, 2012 by

While cuts to benefits and services will affect most people in the UK, disabled people have arguably been ‘the hardest hit’ – but while this makes the newspapers on a regular basis, academics have been slower to try and piece together … Continue reading →

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Are the criteria for social equality different for children?

Posted on September 20, 2012 by

“Equality of What?” has been a central question in political philosophy following Rawls. According to Gerald Cohen, the question asks “what metric [should egalitarians] use to establish the extent to which their ideal is realized in a given society.” Many … Continue reading →

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Romney’s Tirade against the Bottom Half Does Not Represent American Values

Posted on September 18, 2012 by

I was going to blog about some new education research, but that can wait. I feel compelled, instead, to write about Mitt Romney’s closed-door comments about government dependency, which were leaked by Mother Jones yesterday. Here’s what Romney told a … Continue reading →

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The Gravity of Health Disparities

Posted on September 12, 2012 by

This is my first post on Inequalities, and I thank Brendan and Ben for inviting me in, and Paul for months of great blogging, to be continued here. To introduce myself, I will try to convey something about the gravity — … Continue reading →

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Is Solidarity a “Moral Epiphenomenon”?

Posted on September 11, 2012 by

There is a theory in the Philosophy of Mind called epiphenomenalism. Roughly, the view is that mental states—beliefs, desires, sensations, etc.—are real, but that they do no real causal work. The idea is that while mental states are not mere fictions … Continue reading →

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Do people overestimate the levels of benefits?

Posted on September 6, 2012 by

For a couple of years now, I’ve had a poster on the wall of my office that shows the amount that different benefits in the UK are worth. When people notice it they’re often surprised by the headline levels of … Continue reading →

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Why is the Romney Campaign Lying about Welfare?

Posted on September 4, 2012 by

Mudslinging and downright distortion are now an integral part of the presidential race, but one recent advertisement from the Romney campaign stands out. The ad slams Obama for allegedly changing the work requirements that were set under the 1996 welfare … Continue reading →

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