tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post1893249797681644226..comments2024-03-27T15:55:32.875+01:00Comments on W-wa Jeziorki: An end to the Entitlement way of thinkingMichael Dembinskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05657728002439035765noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-1304944315678928792011-12-02T16:00:27.365+01:002011-12-02T16:00:27.365+01:00Saw this and thought 'How apt'.
"The...Saw this and thought 'How apt'.<br /><br />"The thinness of the new atheism is evident in its approach to our civilization, which until recently was religious to its core. To regret religion is, in fact, to regret our civilization and its monuments, its achievements, and its legacy. And in my own view, the absence of religious faith, provided that such faith is not murderously intolerant, can have a deleterious effect upon human character and personality. If you empty the world of purpose, make it one of brute fact alone, you empty it (for many people, at any rate) of reasons for gratitude, and a sense of gratitude is necessary for both happiness and decency. For what can soon, and all too easily, replace gratitude is a sense of entitlement. Without gratitude, it is hard to appreciate, or be satisfied with, what you have: and life will become an existential shopping spree that no product satisfies." Theodore Dalrympleadtheladhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547876597884642821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-31708108530288109112011-11-29T13:06:32.731+01:002011-11-29T13:06:32.731+01:00How about the entitlement of "I need a car&qu...How about the entitlement of "I need a car"? Very few people need one. But they buy them, and crowd the roads nonetheless. <br /><br />Then, as a public transport user, my bus is stuck in the traffic jams caused by these car drivers who can't or won't use public transport.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-47268656005261776252011-11-29T11:51:53.215+01:002011-11-29T11:51:53.215+01:00If the end of the entitlement talk is really to co...If the end of the entitlement talk is really to come, good part of this blog will be no more !<br /><br />Because i live in the suburbs, everyone else must pay for my train connection ! <br />Because i've built my house in the swamps, the city must build me drains !<br />Because i want a smooth ride, all streets in my distant suburb must be asphalted !<br /><br />(Mat. 7:3-5)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-71030905615527052272011-11-28T20:39:33.099+01:002011-11-28T20:39:33.099+01:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.pvnam_2http://theoriginofsextaboo.blogs.sapo.pt/3031.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-29182156060176716222011-11-28T12:12:11.782+01:002011-11-28T12:12:11.782+01:00@MD
I realise that Mr Woods (or I for that matter)...@MD<br />I realise that Mr Woods (or I for that matter) is not an economist, and that the increase in the interconnectivity of markets and economies since the 20's means that losses at the top can spread through to many more people. The question however is not whether fiscal policies have an effect, it's which type of 'fiscal' policy do you follow. Do you let the banks go to the wall or not? Do you vastly increase the debt on the populus and keep the bubble inflated or not? Are the political and civil repercussions manageable? The evidence seems to speak, at least in the 1920's example, that less is more. Looking around and reading in my admittedly unspecialised way I'm reminded of two quotes: 'The chief cause of problems is solutions.' and 'Specialisation is a dangerous. It gives us experts and not wise men'.adtheladhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547876597884642821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-58277811761161822392011-11-28T11:55:25.478+01:002011-11-28T11:55:25.478+01:00I agree wholeheartedly about the Chinese crap, des...I agree wholeheartedly about the Chinese crap, destined for the dustbin almost immediately upon purchase, being the cause of China holding most of the debt. <br /><br />The only consolation is the the Chinese have very little chance at present to offload any of the sovereign bonds.Andrzej Knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-54717011503795963022011-11-28T07:31:42.862+01:002011-11-28T07:31:42.862+01:00@ AdTheLad - I'd hate to have a simpleton such...@ AdTheLad - I'd hate to have a simpleton such as Thomas E. Woods getting us out of the mess we're in. Listen to 4:07 to 4:23. He's suggesting that tinkering with levers such as monetary or fiscal policies has no effect, and markets should find their own levels. This rather implies a complete lack of monetary or fiscal policies at the outset of the recession - not the case.Michael Dembinskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05657728002439035765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-79194836176171409692011-11-27T23:49:18.300+01:002011-11-27T23:49:18.300+01:00MAybe there are a few tips here http://www.youtube...MAybe there are a few tips here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcUmnsprQIadtheladhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11547876597884642821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-18797641189280921592011-11-27T22:58:31.853+01:002011-11-27T22:58:31.853+01:00@ SGH
Protesters 1, Saying "I've got min...@ SGH<br /><br />Protesters 1, Saying "I've got mine so screw it" 0.<br /><br />They may not have a clue what to do about it, but at least the protesters are saying publicly that things must change. Who knows? Something could come of it, if that enthusiasm were properly channeled. <br /><br />Of course you've worked hard to be where you are, and that's to be admired. Yet doesn't that make you more qualified than most to be part of the solution?DCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-14302791950257839412011-11-27T19:39:05.163+01:002011-11-27T19:39:05.163+01:00Oh, may it really come to an end. But way of think...Oh, may it really come to an end. But way of thinking has to be changed not only on the level of state institutions, but also down, in companies and in families, with emphasis on upbringing - children after all should not be used to getting everything they want. Here's where the problem begin. We have the generation spoilt by the communism, now we have generation spolit by their parents and some other institutions (media...).<br /><br />I don't sympathise with those young people you mention. Occupiers don;t come up with any constructive idea how to turn around the capitalism or how to bring in a new system. They protest, I work ten hours a day and stay happy to have a job, keep my mouth shut and don't complain. I'm suspiciously meek...<br /><br />Thanks for the link. Hope I wrote some worthwhile posts thereafter as well ;-)<br /><br />I would compare greed and fear with entitlement. We're talking about two different realms...student SGHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01367244307612092688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2650609952674727820.post-2173521585713596422011-11-27T18:32:22.285+01:002011-11-27T18:32:22.285+01:00I'm glad to see some balance in the discussion...I'm glad to see some balance in the discussion of what entitlement actually mean - it's not just for poor folk anymore. Yet many of us still carry around this obsolete thinking: you're either pro-business, survival of the fittest, and all government is bad. Or you're just an opportunistic socialist trying to figure out how to get money without working. <br /><br />I see something in between. There is an excellent opportunity for well-planned government regulation to head in some of the directions you suggest. (And by well-planned, I also mean simple, easy to understand, and easy to implement. This takes some effort.)<br /><br />Example: Mobile phone providers. There should be an option for customers to opt-out of the business of subsidizing other customers to get a new phone every 2 years. Government could demand that along with the current plans they provide (some people will never give up the idea of a "free" phone) that a customer be allowed to pay the full cost of the phone up front, and then pay a lower monthly fee for service. It's lower because the subsidy for free phones is not part of the monthly price. <br /><br />Right now those of us who choose to use our phones for 4 or 5 years or more are forced to subsidize the wasteful practice of those who get a new phone every 2 years. It's a small bite, but in the right direction I think. And it's a simple enough example to hopefully make my point. <br /><br />Right now the mobile phone providers have no incentive to curb this anti-green practice. I can think of no market mechanism to make this happen, so it has to come from government.<br /><br />I could provide other examples, but they start to get more complex and would require a much longer comment.<br /><br />One thing I'm curious about: is it really a good idea to have credit default swaps remain legal? Doesn't this pervert the original market forces - who ever though intentionally wrecking a business could be profitable? Perhaps I don't understand enough about economics to see the downside to making these illegal.DCnoreply@blogger.com