The problems with Paternalism

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

Ok, so I did martial arts when I was in my teens and twenties.

But apart from the techniques of combat, I also learned a little of the cultures of the East.

The Japanese have a concept called 'On' - no real English word is exactly equivalent, but consider ' Obligation' s a starting point. If someone gives you something, then you owe them. And this is mutually acknowledged in their culture.

Nobody wants to feel obliged to anyone else, unless they really have to. And if you do end up owing someone, you have to repay them.

Japanese companies will lay on healthcare for the workers, and all sorts of other fringe benefits. It does mean that the private healthcare that Japanese people get is met at little or no cost to the taxpayer - however, the average Japanese company does expect a lot of conformity, commitment and kow-towing in return.( Read more... )

Religion, home schooling, and State Control

[mintogrubb.livejournal.com]

Ok, the topic this month is about Religion and Ethics and related stuff.

So, how about this-

In the UK, the State has mandated a syllabus - every child should learn literacy and numeracy skills , as well as things like History , geography and science subjects.
If you want to teach your kids at home, there is a minimum standard that you to keep to, or the Government Inspectors will pull you over.

One step up from home schooling , there are the so called ' Faith Schools' - being outside direct government control, they can do things like select pupils on entry. This means that they get to weed out potential troublemakers - a big plus for any teacher or a kid who wants to learn. Middle class people in the UK will start attending church for a bit to get their child into a C of E or other Independent school. Catholic run schools are a bit stricter on entry selection and so the Protestant Independent schools are usually targeted instead by the Laodoceans in our society who simply take up a faith in order to get their kids a better education.

But, this is not a problem for the churches so much as a matter for the State. For although Catholic and Protestant Independent Schools serve as beacons of excellence - drawing high performance staff and pupils out of a mediocre State system into a higher performing environment, there are problems of assimilation if the faith community has a negative view of society as a whole. ( Read more... )

Monthly Topic - Self-Imposed Religious Segregation

[paedraggaidin.livejournal.com]

Continuing on the religion and education theme....

( Read more... )

Stimulus? Still a failure.

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

The failure of the stimulus isn't exactly news, and hasn't been for some time. Thankfully, more and more people are getting on board.

For instance, it looks like we might not have needed it to begin with. Granted, since stimulus of this nature doesn't work, we never need it, but the justification for it isn't so strong anymore:

"We had to hit the ground running and do everything we could to prevent a second Great Depression," Obama told supporters last week.

...

IBD reviewed records of economic forecasts made just before Obama signed the stimulus bill into law, as well as economic data and monthly stimulus spending data from around that time, and reviews of the stimulus bill itself.

The conclusion is that in claiming to have staved off a Depression, the White House and its supporters seem to be engaging in a bit of historical revisionism.

...

The argument is often made that the recession turned out to be far worse than anyone knew at the time. But various indicators show that the economy had pretty much hit bottom at the end of 2008 — a month before President Obama took office.

Stanford's John Taylor showed us that tax credits and directed spending was fairly worthless:

Individuals and families largely saved the transfers and tax rebates. The federal government increased purchases, but by only an immaterial amount. State and local governments used the stimulus grants to reduce their net borrowing (largely by acquiring more financial assets) rather than to increase expenditures, and they shifted expenditures away from purchases toward transfers.

Some argue that the economy would have been worse off without these stimulus packages, but the results do not support that view.

Even Harvard's Robert Barro is on board to an extent. While he has yet to come around on the fact that stimulus has not ever been shown to work, he's at least noting that the merits of spending need to be more important than the stimulating impact:

"In the long run you have got to pay for it. The medium and long-run effect is definitely negative. You can't just keep borrowing forever. Eventually taxes are going to be higher, and that has a negative effect," he said.

"The lesson is you want government spending only if the programmes are really worth it in terms of the usual rate of return calculations. The usual kind of calculation, not some Keynesian thing. The fact that it really is worth it to have highways and education. Classic public finance, that's not macroeconomics."

With murmurings that we may need a second stimulus, the question remains as to why we'd pursue such a thing given the track record of the first. At this point, if you're still a proponent of Keynesian-style stimulus, why? What will it take to convince you that it will not succeed?

Sigh.....I just don't get it:

[underlankers.livejournal.com]

Why is Hungary going back to Arrow Cross policies again?  I mean really, if you're talking about cultural traditions, this may qualify as cultural traditions but are the kind that like crucifixion, gladiator games, and offering dripping hearts to the Sun God are deservedly left in history books:

http://esbalogh.typepad.com/hungarianspectrum/2011/06/forced-labor-battalions-thats-what-they-sound-like.html

 

( article behind cut )