America’s lost oomph
A while back, I wrote a response to another blog, which, among other things, claimed that American workers were more productive than ever. I used some data that was given in the article, and another piece of data that was left out of the article, to arrive at the conclusion that American workers were not becoming more productive, and it actually appears that we are becoming less productive. This article shows that I'm not alone in that assessment, among other things. And while I agree with a lot of the points made in this article, I have to disagree with the author's conclusion:
"So the odds rise that America’s economy will continue to lumber along at an underwhelming pace, and Americans will have no one to blame but their leaders."
It isn't our leaders who are to blame; it's us, the people who give them power.
Bill Gates' Guru: 'I'm Not Impressed With Silicon Valley.' 'I Don't Have a Cell Phone.' 'I Never Blog.'
I think I love this guy. Really. But, I do have a cell phone, and I do blog. The reason being that I don't have the luxury of spending a year or more writing a book, with the hopes that someone will publish it later. The thing is, you can't really argue with what he says about technology: the paperless office never happened, and even as computers fit in smaller spaces and cost less, people demand more, with the net effect being that consumption is increasing. And while I don't know for sure, I think landfills are filling faster. It seems that when technological advances provide solutions to problems, they don't actually solve anything at all, because the problem isn't technology, but it's the people using it. I, for one, would like to see a world less techno centric, and see people who are actually willing to change and behave in more sustainable ways. I just don't think that will happen any time soon.
Warren Jeffs to Utah State Legislature: God is coming
Okay, so I only included this link because it's local (I'm in Utah), and because I challenge all those who think grammar isn't important to read, and actually understand, what Mr. Jeffs says in his writings.
Yum, McDonald's In Another China Food Safety Scandal
A while back, I read a story (unfortunately I don't remember where) that said we (the U.S.) were going to start shipping chicken to China for processing, after which it would be shipped back here. I don't know why anybody thinks that's a good idea, except that it would somehow result in cheaper chicken. I realize that the linked article isn't directly related, other than it involves food. And I realize that it's one instance, and according to officials, one company. And I realize scandals happen here all the time too. For some reason, none of that makes me feel any better about sending chicken to China for processing. Grocery shopping shouldn't be an adventure for thrill-seekers.
Russian Billionaires in ‘Horror’ as Putin Risks Isolation
"All this war and talk of war has the country’s business elite “living in a state of fear” and trying to get their money out of the country, Kryshtanovskaya said by phone."Some people equate the situation with Russia to the Cold War, but this is looking more and more like some sort of prewar escalation. In the Cold War, everyone knew what the consequences of war between the U.S. and Russia would be. These days, nobody appears to even think that's a possibility, which makes it a big possibility in my opinion.
Slim chances seen for tax ‘inversion’ clampdown, analysts say
So, this is an example of why the U.S. should lower, or even eliminate, corporate taxes. Of course, that may never happen because the American public, brilliant as always, thinks that Corporate America needs to be taxed more. But, think for a minute about the old days when Soviet Russia tried to stem the tide of its best and brightest from leaving the country, and then tell me how it would be any different for the U.S. to try to stop corporations from reincorporating in another country. Instead of trying to force someone to do something against their wishes, it's usually better to try to make it more attractive for that person, or corporation, to do the right thing. To say that investors should only invest in businesses that pay American taxes is just foolish. A corporation that has the ability to lower its tax rate and doesn't is likely not the best investment.
Confidence In Supreme Court Lowest Since Gallup Started Tracking It
I don't see this as any change in the Supreme Court. It is more a change in the definition of "trust." It isn't the Supreme Court's job to make politically popular decisions; it is their job to decide whether laws are constitutional or not, and the Constitution is, regardless of what people think, vague enough as to need interpretation, which then results in a difference of opinion about what it says. That's the way it has always been.
But, the President, and other government officials, have steadily pried further and further into individuals' lives, putting the Supreme Court in the unenviable position of having to decide whether a politically popular law is constitutional. Many people today think the government is responsible for protecting the individual. I don't think that was ever meant to be the case. The constitution was primarily meant to impose limits on the power of the federal government, something that people want to ignore and claim that they have rights, like the right to healthcare.
So, when the Supreme Court makes a decision, such as the recent decision about birth control, and a lot of people don't like it because it means that the government can't force the rest of the world to do what they want, we lose confidence in the Supreme Court. Just because a majority of people like something does not mean it's constitutional.
Here's One Way to Ace a Public School's Standardized Test
Of course, the way to ace the test is to buy the textbooks that are sold by the test makers. Ok, another alternative is to cheat. Unfortunately, I lost a link to an article about the second way. But, forget for a minute about whether poor schools can afford the books that the tests are based on, and just consider what it means for every kid to learn from the same books. Some people, probably a lot of them, don't see a problem with that because "facts are facts." But as I've said many times before, the world is not even close to as factual as many people believe it is. Science hasn't explained most things; it is mostly theory that appears to our limited senses to be true. History is subject to interpretation. And the list goes on. If kids are all taught the same "facts" then we can be pretty sure they will all arrive at the same conclusions, a kind of groupthink phenomenon. I doubt anyone thinks that would be a good thing. I think that standardized testing may have a place, but that's a subject for another time. Standardized education is another thing altogether, and just an outright bad idea. Diversity matters.
The Most Hyped Digital Currency Since Bitcoin Has Officially Launched
In last week's "That's the news" post, I made the comment that should bitcoin become popular enough, other virtual currencies, claiming to be better, were sure to pop up. And sure enough, they are, or at least one is. I'll be interested to see, when the competition between currencies begins to heat up, how the "insiders" try to get government to pass regulation in an effort to protect their interests against that competition. Everybody is against regulation, except for that regulation that protects their own interests, and I don't think virtual currencies are any different.
Arizona execution takes nearly two hours to kill prisoner
Well, I'm against the death penalty, especially in light of the number of people who have been found innocent on death row. I don't know the number. I don't have to. If the number is one, that's one too many. This is foolish arguing about the most humane way to put another person to death. And the claim that a firing squad or guillotine is more humane is ludicrous. End the death penalty, and solve a lot of problems.
Of course, some people might say that our prisons are already overcrowded, and this would make the situation worse. And I say, solve the problem, then, that is causing so many people in our country to end up in prison. For one, there are people spending years in prison on simple drug possession charges, even as some states are making possession legal. But the real problem is that we are not teaching our children in a meaningful way how to respect each other. Somehow, "respect" has been translated into "like". If I don't like someone, I don't respect them. And property rights? Many people don't respect others' property rights. Thus, higher crime, either violence against others, or violation of others' property rights, i.e. stealing, or vandalism. I'll bet there isn't one standardized test on how we should treat others.
Have We Reached Peak Bacon?
The rich can keep oysters, but BACON?!? What am I supposed to eat? That cheap chicken from China?
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