If the U.S. had any balls... or the ability to make a decision other than what fundraiser Obama needs to go to next, or what ill conceived PR stunt will make the evil Rethugnicans look bad, we could supply the EU with the fuel they need.
But no, we are too weak/indecisive to do that.
Putin is an ex KGB guy who has publicly stated time and time again he wants to reconstitute the old Soviet Union, but both Bush and Obama want to pretend he's something else. He's not. This is how he plays. He thinks nothing of killing innocents.
Given that the commander of the "Seperatists" is ex-FSB it is highly unlikely that they did not get immediate instructions from the Russians on how to use the Buk system within hours of capturing it. They were very effective shooting down cargo planes at high altitude earlier in the week.
If you anger your customers you go out of business. The Barbara Streisand principle - where attempting to hide data on the Internet makes it more visible is what you are seeing. Ten million cases of business listening to their customers you aren't going to read about, one business who tries to stifle a bad review is big news. Business is nothing without customers. Government... you have no choice. When Government gets together with business, and creates a quasi government entity, then things are fucked up the most. That's how we got a housing crisis, and a fucked up health care system, and a host of other massive problems that government and business working together make worse with every "fix". I have seen this with my own eyes.
Business is built upon the idea that hoarding is good. Non-disclosure agreements, trade secrets, copyrights all serve to censor the free and open transmission of knowledge.
Good lord man where do you get such absurd notions of the world? Is this what they are teaching at school? Do you honestly believe if you are paid by someone to develop an idea - that the idea is owned by the world? No, it's owned by the person who paid you to develop it. If you go to McDonalds and order a hamburger, does the person making it have the right to take a bite first? That's your logic. Without patent protection (something GOOD the government does) there would be zero incentive to invent anything.
It's the whole "alternative energy" lie in a nutshell. The guy who cracks the alternative energy puzzle, and I mean really cracks it - comes up with a new energy source that can power cars, airplanes, factories, everything -- he will be richer than Bill Gates and Steve Jobs combined. Isn't that incentive enough? Don't you think all kinds of people are toiling away like crazy to solve this problem and reap the rewards? But Noooooo we can't trust human nature, and human ingenuity - they did, after all, get us out of the stone age, and invent everything you see around you, no, we have to have the government "help". Bullshit. Their "help" has set the whole process back decades if not more. Do you really think the oil and gas companies are so fucking stupid they don't know that we'll run out of oil, and when that happens they will be content to just disappear? Do you think the people at the top of these companies don't want to stay at the top with all their hearts and souls and will do everything they can to stay there?
Your cut and paste about "It is common for business people to..." has about as much validity as "It is common for idiots to drool". People who die ate bread. So don't eat bread, or you'll die.
Govt's greatest potential is in creating money to free individuals from having to do what "little Napoleon" bosses tell them to do.
Again I am stunned by your words. How is this money "created"? In no case in human history has the supply (resources) ever been distributed equally to everyone. All attempts to do so have resulted in a society where a few rich people oppress everybody else. I strongly urge you to go visit places that were under Communism - Russia, Eastern Europe... and talk to people who actually lived there during these times. You'll discover that the Capitalist System - for all it's failures - is the best system ever devised to lift everyone up. Napolean, by the way, was the leader of a government...
I'm not a people person. People make me depressed.
That is very sad. People are the most interesting thing on the planet.
Why should I suffer a lifestyle below the poverty line, because I don't sell?
Despite the endless prattling to the contrary, the workplace has changed drastically over the last 20 years. Because of computers, and personal productivity, just about everybody spends less time working, and more time interacting in groups, trying to make other people bend to their will, accept their ide
When Harry Reid refuses to bring this to the floor of the Senate... and all the lib/progs scream that it's those evil House Rethugnicans who are the party of "No"
When enjoying the great outdoors on the water I have a Bad Elf GPS on a lanyard, a lightening alert clipped to my belt, an iPhone with a backup chart plotter/navigation app, timer (for DR plot), a VHF handheld (with DSC), and a PLB. I feel like a cop on the beat with all that crap attached to me!
Put the GPS, the PLB, the and the lightening alert in a watch and I'm in.
The current offerings - that I have played with in the store - are cute, and show promise, but are a long ways from being usable.
I get that you're cynical and angry and pessimistic, I really do. It's hard to be an optimist in a world dominated by breathless media predicting gloom and doom 24x7x365. It's hard to be an optimist when the political message is "America sucks and needs to be radically transformed". This message, by the way, is a new invention of the Democratic party, and it's why I left the party... Another story.
So you found a few cases where the spin doctors cherry picked a case here to prove that ALL businesses censor (You picked a CONTRACTOR and a reviewer that LIED) - this case flies in the face of hundreds of thousands of cases where the opposite is true -- and the usage/data cap debate, which is far, far more complex than your single article portends. Then you make the wild eyed claim that capitalism and SLAVERY are connected - Wow did you ever jump the shark there. And then you claim that Technology won WW2 - a gross oversimplification. Fact is that wars accelerate technological evolution. Next, you tell me that Prodigy and Compuserve were "businesses" idea of the Internet - no, these were two ventures that came and went during the Internets commercial growth period. Next, you claim that government "nourished" the computer industry - without specifying the percentage of the market share of chips they were buying.
These all read like desperate attempts to justify your cynicism and general negativity about the world. I really am sorry you feel this way, google "Self Fulfilling prophecy" and see what you learn.
In any organization "The cream floats to the top". The folks in low level management jobs - who have been there for years - have reached their level of incompetence. In business, poor sales results in some of these folks being let go - in Government and Education this doesn't happen AT ALL because there is no measure of performance applied to anyone, and the public sector/political party Union alliance makes it impossible for anyone to get fired. This isn't some evil plan designed to oppress the masses, it's the way it is. You think your low level managers in business were bad, wait until you get into the public sector.
Managers who spin the "Wheel of Blame" (the fickle finger of blame as you cal it) don't end up being executives. And if they do, they don't last long.
It seems, however, that you are slowly beginning to realize one very important fact of life:
The ability to make small talk, chat up the boss, and scapegoat trumped any technical skills.
You've almost got it. I'm going to give you a very important, very real piece of advice here, that if you follow, will double, triple, even quadruple your income and your success. Ready?
The ability to build relationships, work with people of varying degrees of intelligence, and be well liked IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS DOING GOOD WORK IF NOT MORE SO. You have to actually like and respect other people though....
Now if you want to walk around bitter at the world, certain that the "system" is rigged against you, while holding an attitude that your shit doesn't stink, and you are stud, and all your work is beyond reproach... that your boss is an idiot, everybody is an idiot, etc. then you're going to have a miserable, unproductive life and live in a state of perpetual anger. As such, you'll be easily manipulated by the evil people in the world, and you'll miss out on the most precious gift available on earth - your life.
Oh no, reality and facts.vs. the ivory tower. I predict a massive flame war against such a rational, well thought out, and logical post based on reality. I'll bet people who can't find England on a map will display their superior knowledge of what it's like to live there.
Its the politicians that made these arguments. The insurance companies would prefer that you ride WITHOUT a helmet. Why? Because if you get in an accident, and end up a vegetable, or paraplegic, or worse you're going to cost them a bloody fortune. If you're not wearing a helmet there is a higher chance you'll die and then they are only out single lump sum payment.
You're going to need to give me some evidence that Business actively prevents "shining a light" on it's activities.
The Social Media revolution has thousands of examples of how ordinary folks exposed shoddy products, shoddy business practices, polluters, and the like. Smart companies today monitor digital chatter for negative comments and try to solve the customer's problem - this isn't preventing shining a light, it's smart business practice. Happy customers buy shit, pissed off ones don't, and they tell their friends how much product X sucks. Nobody buys shit, business fails. This is not true for government. Government is so stupid it bails out failing companies who make shitty products just to keep the bribes, er, contributions coming in to the party in power.
Millenials, completely immune to interruption based marketing, pay more attention to testimonials and recommendations from people in their extended social network. More and more we have a business environment where ratings, review, and social mentions are how products are judged. The Internet has made it much, much harder for businesses to do bad things.
My experience with business is that it promotes lying. Liars are rewarded. I don't like to lie, so business has no use for me.
This is very sad to hear. It seems you had a bad experience with some manager, or business owner, and have applied this across the board. Well, I have a confession to make. I am the CEO of a small company with 40 employees. And I am certainly not a liar. My experience has been that there are plenty of young, immature managers out there -- as well as some sales folks - who lie without remorse but they are not the majority and they do not rise to executive management except in rare cases. The worldview that business is evil, and government is benign, is a fantasy being sold by people who want to control you, turn you into a peasant, and live rich lives at your expense. This fantasy has been around since the turn of the last century.
The U.S. was kicking ass long before the world technology was invented. We had capitalism and a unique system of government with constraints on centralized power when Europe still had monarchies. We led the entire world for most of the last century, and won two world wars - saving the world from totalitarian rule and genocide the second time around. This wasn't because we had better engineers. This is because we had limits on the power of government, and because we believed in ourselves.
Your view of the Internet is warped, no doubt from your liberal education. Business was invested heavily in private networks when the Government had punched cards and batch/JCL. Business was invested in interactive computing when the Government was using Unit Record Technology. The idea of common computing standards (http is what made the internet happen, not the hardware) was fought against by the makers of proprietary private network solutions - because they had invested huge sums developing them. The original Internet was a PRIVATE NETWORK - the government didn't do squat, the defense contractors did. The original internet was so poorly built it was hacked almost immediately - creating the world's first computer crime. So the fantasy that the government built the internet is just that, a fantasy.
Government is for the people, by the people, of the people. Business makes money more important than people.
You really need to get involved in actual government - as opposed to the idea of what government ought to be. Then, work for a very big corporation... and a small one. Once you've done that, get back to me, I suspect you will have a very different outlook. Both organizations are made up of people, not ideas.
Yes, and you can be assured that the manufacturer of those meters paid big bribes, er contributions, to the proper political party to ensure a lifetime, guaranteed contract to build the things at obscene profits, that will be returned to the proper political party's coffers.
And to think money laundering is illegal in this country.
In the U.S. you might pay dues to a Union, who in turn uses those dues to wine and dine politicians and make "contributions". Once elected, the politician owes the Union legislation that favors the Union, not the workers. You pay money for food, to an agribusiness conglomerate, who does the same thing. This is no different than the bribes paid in other countries, it is simply sanitized.
The government never shrinks. It simply continues to consume wealth for the benefit of the employees. Who have foolishly been allowed to form unions, who strive to extract the maximum wealth from the taxpayers for themselves. It is so rich at the top that our leaders main goals are to stay at the top, living like kings. We are slowly becoming India - just look at how much money is wasted buying votes by handing out gifts to voters. Each President becomes more and more like a dictator, congress becomes more and more ineffective as the lust for power - and the rewards at the top - governing is secondary. That is the real moral hazard that we face. I put it to you that government is the most dangerous organization of all.
In a world where information is practically instant - Business must satisfy its customers, or it goes into decline. You can't hide defective shoddy products from the Internet, it shines light on everything. Government, on the other hand, has a much lower standard of success. A business can't ruin your life by sending IRS agents to your house. It can't tap your phones. It can't pass a law denying you your livelihood. The ideological notion that business is evil goes back to the dawn of progressive movement - the 1920's - long before the days of the Internet. It comes from the dawn of the Industrial age.
The U.S. has such great wealth because of capitalism, not because of technology. We have great wealth because our government was kept in check by a system of balances that was held in great respect until greed and avarice finally won out. It was capitalism, and just as important ATTITUDE. People believed we were the greatest country on earth, that we could do anything, that every man and every woman had the opportunity to become wealthy. Now, due to the greed of some people, we are all being taught that we should feel guilty about success, that we are a bad country, and that the system is rigged against you. Optimism.... is all but dead, the educational system has killed it. Faith in "the system" is all but dead. The people who want you to think this way are very smart, they want to control you so we can return to a society where a few very wealthy individuals live at the expense of the masses. Just look at how our current leaders behave....
If you want to understand where we are going, visit places that were behind the iron curtain and see what happens when government wins out over evil corporations.
I assume you haven't traveled much. All the countries in the world get the same things done that we do here with varying levels of success. Nobody is wrong and nobody is right. In some countries, the greed and corruption is right there in your face, it isn't sanitized and made pretty for appearances sake. In other counties they go to great lengths to keep up appearances, but the greed and corruption are there, all the same. This country is corrupt to the bone, and so is every other country. That's not cynicism, it's just fact. Money talks, bullshit walks.
It is only foolish ideologues, ignorant of how humans function in groups- often in some state of denial - or too young to know better - that spin tales of how a benevolent organization (government is a prime candidate) is going to legislate away the human condition, and we are all going to live in some kind of Star Trek utopia of universal guaranteed everything and to each his own potential. It's a grand fantasy. But it ain't gonna happen. Just look at what's happened to the current ideologue inhabiting the White House. Talked a good talk, had a beautiful vision - was completely unable to build consensus and in no time at all it became the Wheel of Blame where everything is somebody elses fault (with name calling) - a classic sign of someone who has never managed people in any capacity, who thinks management is barking orders and things just get done. It's naive beyond belief.
Humans are fiercely competitive creatures who act in their own self interest, and the smart ones take advantage of the less smart ones. I'm terribly sorry, but that's life. The secret is not to sit around and wring one's hands, or declare "There ought to be a law" - the solution is to learn to make use of what you have (humans) and get everyone else in the room to say "That's a great idea" without ever once telling them what the idea is - or that it is YOUR idea. You have to make it THEIR idea.
When you're older, and wiser, you will understand this.
That's a wonderful fantasy you have there. Sadly, it isn't true. In America we have the best government bribes can buy, same as every other country....
The main reason so many U.S. programmers change jobs so often is because they generally suck at building relationships, have overly inflated egos, look down their noses at their bosses, and regularly deny how real business works. I know this, because during much of my programming career, I was that guy.
Now that I'm older, and wiser, I have come to realize that relationships matter more than egos. And the people that get raises, and promotions. are the ones who build relationships within the organization, and work towards common goals. The attitude of "The Corporation OWES me" and "All the bosses are idiots" are the people who don't get raises.
There ought to be a law.
The Government needs to DO something
Technology needs to save us
Let's dream up a Fix for the last stupid solution using the same people that thought up the fix
THE SOLUTION
Some idiot jumps the light and gets run over. Other people see this and go, wow maybe I should pay attention. It's on the news and people think Hey that could be me.
But Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we demand some idiot in the government solve all our problems. YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID WITH LEGISLATION!!!
Just because you see the propellers turning does not mean they are generating power. The I-10 wind farm you mention was a massive boondoggle of Solyndra proportions. Do some research...
Slashdot Mirror
I'd mod this up to 10,000 if /. would let me.
FSB is new KGB. KGB was not nice people. FSB recruits bratva (Mafia to us) to do their dirty work.
If the U.S. had any balls... or the ability to make a decision other than what fundraiser Obama needs to go to next, or what ill conceived PR stunt will make the evil Rethugnicans look bad, we could supply the EU with the fuel they need. But no, we are too weak/indecisive to do that. Putin is an ex KGB guy who has publicly stated time and time again he wants to reconstitute the old Soviet Union, but both Bush and Obama want to pretend he's something else. He's not. This is how he plays. He thinks nothing of killing innocents.
Given that the commander of the "Seperatists" is ex-FSB it is highly unlikely that they did not get immediate instructions from the Russians on how to use the Buk system within hours of capturing it. They were very effective shooting down cargo planes at high altitude earlier in the week.
Business is built upon the idea that hoarding is good. Non-disclosure agreements, trade secrets, copyrights all serve to censor the free and open transmission of knowledge.
Good lord man where do you get such absurd notions of the world? Is this what they are teaching at school? Do you honestly believe if you are paid by someone to develop an idea - that the idea is owned by the world? No, it's owned by the person who paid you to develop it. If you go to McDonalds and order a hamburger, does the person making it have the right to take a bite first? That's your logic. Without patent protection (something GOOD the government does) there would be zero incentive to invent anything.
It's the whole "alternative energy" lie in a nutshell. The guy who cracks the alternative energy puzzle, and I mean really cracks it - comes up with a new energy source that can power cars, airplanes, factories, everything -- he will be richer than Bill Gates and Steve Jobs combined. Isn't that incentive enough? Don't you think all kinds of people are toiling away like crazy to solve this problem and reap the rewards? But Noooooo we can't trust human nature, and human ingenuity - they did, after all, get us out of the stone age, and invent everything you see around you, no, we have to have the government "help". Bullshit. Their "help" has set the whole process back decades if not more. Do you really think the oil and gas companies are so fucking stupid they don't know that we'll run out of oil, and when that happens they will be content to just disappear? Do you think the people at the top of these companies don't want to stay at the top with all their hearts and souls and will do everything they can to stay there?
Your cut and paste about "It is common for business people to..." has about as much validity as "It is common for idiots to drool". People who die ate bread. So don't eat bread, or you'll die.
Govt's greatest potential is in creating money to free individuals from having to do what "little Napoleon" bosses tell them to do.
Again I am stunned by your words. How is this money "created"? In no case in human history has the supply (resources) ever been distributed equally to everyone. All attempts to do so have resulted in a society where a few rich people oppress everybody else. I strongly urge you to go visit places that were under Communism - Russia, Eastern Europe... and talk to people who actually lived there during these times. You'll discover that the Capitalist System - for all it's failures - is the best system ever devised to lift everyone up. Napolean, by the way, was the leader of a government...
I'm not a people person. People make me depressed.
That is very sad. People are the most interesting thing on the planet.
Why should I suffer a lifestyle below the poverty line, because I don't sell?
Despite the endless prattling to the contrary, the workplace has changed drastically over the last 20 years. Because of computers, and personal productivity, just about everybody spends less time working, and more time interacting in groups, trying to make other people bend to their will, accept their ide
It's a "right" if it's paid for by OTHER PEOPLE'S MONEY - Just don't ask ME to pony up one cent for it.
This is the way of the world. Of course the naive and ignorant think that the fat pig that is capitalism can be bled endlessly...
When Harry Reid refuses to bring this to the floor of the Senate... and all the lib/progs scream that it's those evil House Rethugnicans who are the party of "No"
When enjoying the great outdoors on the water I have a Bad Elf GPS on a lanyard, a lightening alert clipped to my belt, an iPhone with a backup chart plotter/navigation app, timer (for DR plot), a VHF handheld (with DSC), and a PLB. I feel like a cop on the beat with all that crap attached to me!
Put the GPS, the PLB, the and the lightening alert in a watch and I'm in.
The current offerings - that I have played with in the store - are cute, and show promise, but are a long ways from being usable.
So you found a few cases where the spin doctors cherry picked a case here to prove that ALL businesses censor (You picked a CONTRACTOR and a reviewer that LIED) - this case flies in the face of hundreds of thousands of cases where the opposite is true -- and the usage/data cap debate, which is far, far more complex than your single article portends. Then you make the wild eyed claim that capitalism and SLAVERY are connected - Wow did you ever jump the shark there. And then you claim that Technology won WW2 - a gross oversimplification. Fact is that wars accelerate technological evolution. Next, you tell me that Prodigy and Compuserve were "businesses" idea of the Internet - no, these were two ventures that came and went during the Internets commercial growth period. Next, you claim that government "nourished" the computer industry - without specifying the percentage of the market share of chips they were buying.
These all read like desperate attempts to justify your cynicism and general negativity about the world. I really am sorry you feel this way, google "Self Fulfilling prophecy" and see what you learn.
In any organization "The cream floats to the top". The folks in low level management jobs - who have been there for years - have reached their level of incompetence. In business, poor sales results in some of these folks being let go - in Government and Education this doesn't happen AT ALL because there is no measure of performance applied to anyone, and the public sector/political party Union alliance makes it impossible for anyone to get fired. This isn't some evil plan designed to oppress the masses, it's the way it is. You think your low level managers in business were bad, wait until you get into the public sector.
Managers who spin the "Wheel of Blame" (the fickle finger of blame as you cal it) don't end up being executives. And if they do, they don't last long.
It seems, however, that you are slowly beginning to realize one very important fact of life:
The ability to make small talk, chat up the boss, and scapegoat trumped any technical skills.
You've almost got it. I'm going to give you a very important, very real piece of advice here, that if you follow, will double, triple, even quadruple your income and your success. Ready?
The ability to build relationships, work with people of varying degrees of intelligence, and be well liked IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS DOING GOOD WORK IF NOT MORE SO. You have to actually like and respect other people though....
Now if you want to walk around bitter at the world, certain that the "system" is rigged against you, while holding an attitude that your shit doesn't stink, and you are stud, and all your work is beyond reproach... that your boss is an idiot, everybody is an idiot, etc. then you're going to have a miserable, unproductive life and live in a state of perpetual anger. As such, you'll be easily manipulated by the evil people in the world, and you'll miss out on the most precious gift available on earth - your life.
Oh no, reality and facts .vs. the ivory tower. I predict a massive flame war against such a rational, well thought out, and logical post based on reality. I'll bet people who can't find England on a map will display their superior knowledge of what it's like to live there.
The government scares me less because they don't want to maximize the money they get from me.
This is surely a joke.
there are laws governing what the government can do with my information.
Ever heard of the NSA? Please cite examples where they actually followed the laws, or told the truth about what they were doing...
Yes, but the people running New York are certifiably bat-shit crazy.
You are correct.
Its the politicians that made these arguments. The insurance companies would prefer that you ride WITHOUT a helmet. Why? Because if you get in an accident, and end up a vegetable, or paraplegic, or worse you're going to cost them a bloody fortune. If you're not wearing a helmet there is a higher chance you'll die and then they are only out single lump sum payment.
The Social Media revolution has thousands of examples of how ordinary folks exposed shoddy products, shoddy business practices, polluters, and the like. Smart companies today monitor digital chatter for negative comments and try to solve the customer's problem - this isn't preventing shining a light, it's smart business practice. Happy customers buy shit, pissed off ones don't, and they tell their friends how much product X sucks. Nobody buys shit, business fails. This is not true for government. Government is so stupid it bails out failing companies who make shitty products just to keep the bribes, er, contributions coming in to the party in power.
Millenials, completely immune to interruption based marketing, pay more attention to testimonials and recommendations from people in their extended social network. More and more we have a business environment where ratings, review, and social mentions are how products are judged. The Internet has made it much, much harder for businesses to do bad things.
My experience with business is that it promotes lying. Liars are rewarded. I don't like to lie, so business has no use for me.
This is very sad to hear. It seems you had a bad experience with some manager, or business owner, and have applied this across the board. Well, I have a confession to make. I am the CEO of a small company with 40 employees. And I am certainly not a liar. My experience has been that there are plenty of young, immature managers out there -- as well as some sales folks - who lie without remorse but they are not the majority and they do not rise to executive management except in rare cases. The worldview that business is evil, and government is benign, is a fantasy being sold by people who want to control you, turn you into a peasant, and live rich lives at your expense. This fantasy has been around since the turn of the last century.
The U.S. was kicking ass long before the world technology was invented. We had capitalism and a unique system of government with constraints on centralized power when Europe still had monarchies. We led the entire world for most of the last century, and won two world wars - saving the world from totalitarian rule and genocide the second time around. This wasn't because we had better engineers. This is because we had limits on the power of government, and because we believed in ourselves.
Your view of the Internet is warped, no doubt from your liberal education. Business was invested heavily in private networks when the Government had punched cards and batch/JCL. Business was invested in interactive computing when the Government was using Unit Record Technology. The idea of common computing standards (http is what made the internet happen, not the hardware) was fought against by the makers of proprietary private network solutions - because they had invested huge sums developing them. The original Internet was a PRIVATE NETWORK - the government didn't do squat, the defense contractors did. The original internet was so poorly built it was hacked almost immediately - creating the world's first computer crime. So the fantasy that the government built the internet is just that, a fantasy.
Government is for the people, by the people, of the people. Business makes money more important than people.
You really need to get involved in actual government - as opposed to the idea of what government ought to be. Then, work for a very big corporation... and a small one. Once you've done that, get back to me, I suspect you will have a very different outlook. Both organizations are made up of people, not ideas.
Yes, and you can be assured that the manufacturer of those meters paid big bribes, er contributions, to the proper political party to ensure a lifetime, guaranteed contract to build the things at obscene profits, that will be returned to the proper political party's coffers.
And to think money laundering is illegal in this country.
In the U.S. you might pay dues to a Union, who in turn uses those dues to wine and dine politicians and make "contributions". Once elected, the politician owes the Union legislation that favors the Union, not the workers. You pay money for food, to an agribusiness conglomerate, who does the same thing. This is no different than the bribes paid in other countries, it is simply sanitized.
The government never shrinks. It simply continues to consume wealth for the benefit of the employees. Who have foolishly been allowed to form unions, who strive to extract the maximum wealth from the taxpayers for themselves. It is so rich at the top that our leaders main goals are to stay at the top, living like kings. We are slowly becoming India - just look at how much money is wasted buying votes by handing out gifts to voters. Each President becomes more and more like a dictator, congress becomes more and more ineffective as the lust for power - and the rewards at the top - governing is secondary. That is the real moral hazard that we face. I put it to you that government is the most dangerous organization of all.
In a world where information is practically instant - Business must satisfy its customers, or it goes into decline. You can't hide defective shoddy products from the Internet, it shines light on everything. Government, on the other hand, has a much lower standard of success. A business can't ruin your life by sending IRS agents to your house. It can't tap your phones. It can't pass a law denying you your livelihood. The ideological notion that business is evil goes back to the dawn of progressive movement - the 1920's - long before the days of the Internet. It comes from the dawn of the Industrial age.
The U.S. has such great wealth because of capitalism, not because of technology. We have great wealth because our government was kept in check by a system of balances that was held in great respect until greed and avarice finally won out. It was capitalism, and just as important ATTITUDE. People believed we were the greatest country on earth, that we could do anything, that every man and every woman had the opportunity to become wealthy. Now, due to the greed of some people, we are all being taught that we should feel guilty about success, that we are a bad country, and that the system is rigged against you. Optimism.... is all but dead, the educational system has killed it. Faith in "the system" is all but dead. The people who want you to think this way are very smart, they want to control you so we can return to a society where a few very wealthy individuals live at the expense of the masses. Just look at how our current leaders behave....
If you want to understand where we are going, visit places that were behind the iron curtain and see what happens when government wins out over evil corporations.
I assume you haven't traveled much. All the countries in the world get the same things done that we do here with varying levels of success. Nobody is wrong and nobody is right. In some countries, the greed and corruption is right there in your face, it isn't sanitized and made pretty for appearances sake. In other counties they go to great lengths to keep up appearances, but the greed and corruption are there, all the same. This country is corrupt to the bone, and so is every other country. That's not cynicism, it's just fact. Money talks, bullshit walks.
It is only foolish ideologues, ignorant of how humans function in groups- often in some state of denial - or too young to know better - that spin tales of how a benevolent organization (government is a prime candidate) is going to legislate away the human condition, and we are all going to live in some kind of Star Trek utopia of universal guaranteed everything and to each his own potential. It's a grand fantasy. But it ain't gonna happen. Just look at what's happened to the current ideologue inhabiting the White House. Talked a good talk, had a beautiful vision - was completely unable to build consensus and in no time at all it became the Wheel of Blame where everything is somebody elses fault (with name calling) - a classic sign of someone who has never managed people in any capacity, who thinks management is barking orders and things just get done. It's naive beyond belief.
Humans are fiercely competitive creatures who act in their own self interest, and the smart ones take advantage of the less smart ones. I'm terribly sorry, but that's life. The secret is not to sit around and wring one's hands, or declare "There ought to be a law" - the solution is to learn to make use of what you have (humans) and get everyone else in the room to say "That's a great idea" without ever once telling them what the idea is - or that it is YOUR idea. You have to make it THEIR idea.
When you're older, and wiser, you will understand this.
That's a wonderful fantasy you have there. Sadly, it isn't true. In America we have the best government bribes can buy, same as every other country....
Thank you for saying what I have been saying for years, and taking the FLAME from the folks who don't live in the real world.
The main reason so many U.S. programmers change jobs so often is because they generally suck at building relationships, have overly inflated egos, look down their noses at their bosses, and regularly deny how real business works. I know this, because during much of my programming career, I was that guy.
Now that I'm older, and wiser, I have come to realize that relationships matter more than egos. And the people that get raises, and promotions. are the ones who build relationships within the organization, and work towards common goals. The attitude of "The Corporation OWES me" and "All the bosses are idiots" are the people who don't get raises.
Yes but at least they back up their emails, as they are subject to Sarbanes-Oxley :-)
You are correct, and this will work out just as well as the most transparent administration in history.
Problem: People do stupid things
NOT THE SOLUTION
There ought to be a law.
The Government needs to DO something
Technology needs to save us
Let's dream up a Fix for the last stupid solution using the same people that thought up the fix
THE SOLUTION Some idiot jumps the light and gets run over. Other people see this and go, wow maybe I should pay attention. It's on the news and people think Hey that could be me.
But Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo we demand some idiot in the government solve all our problems. YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID WITH LEGISLATION!!!
Same story in Michigan where Gov. Granholm's giant leap forward in renewables would create 86,000 jobs (actual job count 120 jobs)...
Just because you see the propellers turning does not mean they are generating power. The I-10 wind farm you mention was a massive boondoggle of Solyndra proportions. Do some research...