We just did a Marketplace radio piece on “The Year in Repugnant Ideas,” and tomorrow we’ll release a podcast on a similar theme. We plan to revisit this theme in future radio shows and on the blog — as long as we don’t run out of repugnant ideas to talk about.
That’s where you come in. Please use the comments section below to tell us about ideas that you (or others) may find repugnant even though they might have a lot of value. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about:
In the Marketplace piece, we discuss the use of human wastewater for crop irrigation; the so-called “death panels”; and new solutions to the shortage in human organs for transplantation.
The podcast mainly focuses on the organ question, but also delves into repugnances past and present. For instance, take a look at this graphic from SuperFreakonomics Illustrated:
Thanks in advance for your great ideas.
and 
. You can also watch it on 
Still repugnant – Obama’s health care compromises.
Here’s an ironic one, considering our amazing new iPhone app, TinyVox ?The Infinite Tape Deck:
People are increasingly obsessed with recording everything. Everything. There will be no escape from scrutiny as everything is “captured as content” because our mobile devices are ubiquitous and increasingly absorbent of our experiences as they connect up to our virtual identities in the cloud. I find this repugnant, and economically it would seem to be quite valuable. Also: Attention Is A Currency. Gross, right?
Genetically engineering or selecting for smart/beautiful/otherwise-capable children. It might make for a better world; I find it repugnant.
Once accepted, now repugnant:
Dog fighting/cock fighting.
Throwing paper away instead of recycling it.
Driving an SUV.
Having a strong opinion (not bipartisan).
Sharing: once encouraged. Now, sharing is SO repugnant, it’s called socialism. The once moral value is now a political disease. And for shame.
Repugnant ideas on taxes from each side of the political spectrum.
1st: Make income taxes regressive, so you pay 25% (made up number) on you first $50k, then 20% on the next $50k, or whatever, so it is a downward sliding scale. People are incentivized to earn more because their marginal tax rate drops as they do so.
2nd: Tax people on their historical peak earnings. Increasing taxes disincentivizes people to earn more, only if by earning less do they decrease their marginal tax rate. Base people’s taxes on their historical peak earnings so they have no incentive to earn less.
Growing insects for food. (Not my idea — there was a TED talk on it.)
Once accepted, now repugnant: tobacco use (remember spittoons and ashtrays in banks?); kids riding untethered in cars (even the front seats, oh my!); mid-teen brides; child labor; boarding schools
Once repugnant, now accepted: porn; tattoos & piercings; an unmarried woman; atheism; Japanese goods; homsexuality; a woman’s publicly exposed midriff or thigh; divorce