China had a ruthlessly exploited work force not seen since the early industrial age.
That is because China never had an industrial age due to a mixture of foreign imperialism, warlord battles, and Communist Party control. Instead tens of millions to people starved to death during the Great Leap Forward, and most people in China were barely eeking out an existence in communal farming until the 1980's. Rather than live on the edge with no hope in the countryside, rural Chinese quickly moved to the cities to work in the factories. The early factories were very capital-poor and had low productivity, thus the only way they could compete for world trade was to have low labor costs. Now Chinese factory capital investment is rising, productivity is rising, along with wages.
Since peaking in 2005, US carbon emissions have dropped a gigaton [eia.gov] per year. This was mainly due to switching almost half of coal-powered to electricity to cheaper and cleaner natural gas.
You are only counting CO2. We really don't know how much CH4 has been released due to natural gas drilling in the US. Moreover CH4 is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. We have no effective CH4 release monitoring system.
There has been a recent uptick in global CH4 levels which is odd because levels had been leveling out starting in the 1980's...
Nobody uses multcast because it won't handle on demand viewing,
There are a whole series of algorithms to use multicast IP to deliver VoD, for example pyramid broadcasting.
No one uses multicast on the Internet because in general there is no carriage of multicast over the Internet (mainly due to security and stability concerns). But multicast IP is used for VoD within closed networks, such as inside a hotel.
So regulation is required to facilitate a healthy market.
But in Greece, too much regulation has destroyed the economy. The World Bank Doing Business Index had Greece's "distance to frontier" (a measure of 0-100 where 100 is scored by the countries easiest to do business in) was 62.0 (compare with the US at 85, or Azerbaijan at 62.8). This measure is not just about tax rates, but more about the bureaucracy required to run a business. Even high-tax countries like Norway and Sweden scored in the 80's.
The Heritage Index of Economic Freedom scores Greece at 55.4, behind Senegal at 55.5. Again, Norway, Sweden, and the US score in the 70's.
Here is some text from the Economic Freedom index regarding Greece:
The process for launching a company is fairly streamlined, but licensing requirements remain burdensome and time-consuming. With rigid restrictions on work hours and high non-salary costs to employ a worker, the labor market remains stagnant...The judicial framework is weak, and the rule of law has deteriorated. Protection of property rights is not strongly enforced. The law provides severe penalties for bribery, but enforcement remains lax. A high level of perceived corruption in the public sector and rampant tax evasion in the private sector contribute significantly to Greece's current economic and financial predicament.
A great anecdote about doing business in Athens can be found here:
A friend and I met up at a new bookstore and cafe in the centre of town, which has only been open for a month. The establishment is in the center of an area filled with bars, and the owner decided the neighborhood could use a place for people to convene and talk without having to drink alcohol and listen to loud music. After we sat down, we asked the waitress for a coffee. She thanked us for our order and immediately turned and walked out the front door. My friend explained that the owner of the bookstore/cafe couldn't get a license to provide coffee. She had tried to just buy a coffee machine and give the coffee away for free, thinking that lingering patrons would boost book sales. However, giving away coffee was illegal as well. Instead, the owner had to strike a deal with a bar across the street, whereby they make the coffee and the waitress spends all day shuttling between the bar and the bookstore/cafe. My friend also explained to me that books could not be purchased at the bookstore, as it was after 18h and it is illegal to sell books in Greece beyond that hour. I was in a bookstore/cafe that could neither sell books nor make coffee.
Taxation creates jobs - it's involved in paying for the armed forces, the healthcare system, the educators, libraries, road networks, housing, new industry, and a whole lot of other stuff.
Also keep in mind that workers that are removed from the competitive marketplace by taking government jobs are likely to be overpaid, a further deadweight loss due to subsidization. And those workers may have been more productive in non-governmental jobs.
I'm certain that about 10% of the spending of Western governments may be of value. The rest is a waste.
No we can't. Charity is not new. It has never been successful or effective.
We have outsourced most charity to the government.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, millions of Americans received social welfare benefits from voluntary fraternal societies. These organizations were generally made up of autonomous lodges, had a democratic form of internal government, and provided mutual aid for members and their families. A spokesman for the Modern Woodmen of America wrote in 1934 "few dollars given here, a small sum there to help a stricken member back on his feet or keep his protection in force during a crisis in his financial affairs; a sick Neighbor's wheat harvested, his grain hauled to market, his winter's fuel cut or a home built to replace one destroyed by a midnight fire - thus has fraternity been at work among a million members in 14,000 camps."
Some societies, such as the SBA and MWA, founded tuberculosis sanitariums, specialist clinics, and hospitals. Lodges dominated the field of health insurance, offering protection including both cash payments for income from working days lost as well as doctor care.
One in every three adult males was a member of a fraternal society in 1920 (my Czech ancestors were members of a Czech mutual aid society, for example).
I like to pay taxes - I feel that contributing to my nation is a great way of demonstrating true patriotism.
I feel that contributing to the economy through my work and consumption is a better way of demonstrating true patriotism, as it helps create jobs and wealth for both myself and others.
The money is used to benefit those who are less advantaged than me.
Then you must be rich, because the bulk of entitlement program spending goes toward the middle class, and 10% even goes to the top 20% of household incomes. And of course that is only entitlement spending, most military spending and agriculture support spending ends up going into profits of large corporations and the rich as well.
"Full repeal of FISA, the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and massive downsizing of federal spy agencies is the only answer," said [Geoffrey J. Neale, chair of the Libertarian Party]. "Not maybe. Not later. Now. This will stop the incremental yet rapid decline of our privacy and civil liberties, put a check on government power, and help to ensure that every American is afforded due process and justice if charged with a crime."
The Libertarian Party rejects President Bush's claims that the "Protect America Act" needs to be made permanent, citing that the bill fails to live up to its name and only limits American civil liberties. The controversial Act that was passed by Congress last August altered the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and legalized the Bush administration's warrantless wiretap program, which many civil liberties organizations had strongly protested. "Every American should be fundamentally opposed to the 'Protect America Act,'" says Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian Party. "Despite its catchy name, the Act does nothing of the sort."
Gimme a break, man. Look at the Large Hadron Collider -- that could have been us, but we slashed the funding. A Nobel Prize?
Well David Jeffrey Wineland (USA, NIST) won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011 for laser cooling and manipulation of quantum states.
Brian Kobilka (USA, Stanford) and Robert Lefkowitz (USA, Duke) won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2012 for work on G protein-coupled receptors.
Some other recent USA winners of scientific Nobel prizes:
Saul Perlmutter, Physics, 2011 Brian P. Schmidt, Physics, 2011 Adam G. Riess, Physics, 2011 Ralph M. Steinman, Physiology or Medicine, 2011 Bruce Beutler, Physiology or Medicine, 2011 Richard F. Heck, Chemistry, 2010 Ei-ichi Negishi, Chemistry, 2010 Thomas A. Steitz, Chemistry, 2009
Another person spouting nonsense about "free trade". It's not by definition, but according to simplistic theory. Furthermore, even that theory requires conditions that often aren't met (e.g. balanced trade). "Mutual benefit" means it benefits both countries in terms of their aggregate statistics
Free trade means two people decide to engage in a mutually beneficial economic transaction, so it benefits both parties. That's a fact.
Trade statistics don't matter. The US could run a trade deficit forever and become more wealthy because those trades ARE making the people in the country more wealthy, or else they would not be engaging in the trades.
The news is that FOX announced this will actually air in the 2013-2014 season at their upfronts on Monday. Before that, it was unclear as to when it would air.
Unlike pretty much any other industry, US liquid natural gas exporters have to get explicit permission from the US Department of Energy to export LNG.
Recently it was reported that the DOE will likely only approve would likely approve only three out of the 20 applications under review for exporting natural gas.
The price of natural gas in the US is way, way below the price of natural gas in Europe or Japan, and there is a huge amount of money to be made in exporting US LNG. Europe is currently held politically hostage by Russian natural gas supplies and prices.
However given the length of the DOE process and the time to build LNG terminals, it is unlikely the US will become a major player in the international natural gas market until 2020 at the earliest.
the reason many of the young are unemployed in Greece is the same reason the young are unemployed in the US
Greek youth unemployment is 58%, so while we may have a problem with American youth unemployment, it is nowhere as bad as Greece.
The problem is Greece is over-regulation of both industry and labor, as well as a tax regime that encourages a black market.
For example, regarding labor law...
In Greece in case of mass redundancies (i.e. redundancies which exceed 4 employees per month for companies with 20-200 employees or 2-3% of total personnel for companies with over 200 employees) the employer must enter into consultations with the representatives of the employees. If no agreement is reached with the employees during the consultations, the employer must obtain the approval of the authorities before effecting any redundancies. Law 1387/1983 also applies to close-downs of businesses. For example if your start-up goes south.
The General National Collective Labour Agreement (GNCLA) sets minimum wages for all employees in Greece. Furthermore, minimum wages - which must in any case be more favourable than those set by the GNCLA - are determined through nation-wide or local sectoral collective labour agreements.
The provision of work in excess of 40 hours per week and up to 45 hours ("overwork") is compensated with an amount equal to the employee's hourly wage increased by 25%. Any work above the 45-hour limit ("overtime") requires the prior approval of the authorities which is granted only in special circumstances e.g. unexpected workload, temporary needs etc. The compensation for overtime work is equal to the employee's hourly wage increased by 50%.
The law does not require the existence of a "serious cause" for the termination of indefinite- term contracts. However, the employee may challenge the validity of the termination in case of an abuse of the employer's rights. Early termination of fixed-term employment contracts, on the other hand, requires the existence of a "serious cause".
The formal requirements for the termination of an indefinite-term employment contract are the following: (a) written notification of the employee, (b) payment of severance compensation, and (c) registration of the employee with the competent social security fund. The minimum amount of severance compensation is set by law based on the employee's regular emoluments and length of service. No prior notice of termination is required by law. If, however, the employer gives the notice provided by law the employee is entitled to 1/2 of the lawful severance indemnity.
Employees with children are entitled to non-paid family leave equal to 3 1/2 months in total. Said leave can be taken during the period from the end of the maternity leave until the child reaches the age of 3 1/2. Mothers insured with the Social Security Fund (IKA-ETAM) are entitled to an additional 6 months of leave, during which they get paid by the Unemployment Office (OAED). Finally, working mothers are entitled to reduce their working hours by one hour per day for a period of 30 months after the child's birth.
The maximum duration of "short-term" leave due to sickness is determined by law based on the employee's length of service (e.g. 1 month for employees with up to 4 years of service, 3 months for employees with 4-10 years of service etc.).
Under Greek law, employees are entitled to receive one month's salary as Christmas allowance, half month's salary as Easter allowance and half month's salary as holiday bonus (i.e. total of 14 salaries per year).
Any detrimental change to the employee's terms of employment (e.g. decrease of salary, transfer to a lower position etc.) requires the consent of the employee (tacit or written).
Employees are entitled to a minimum paid leave per annum which varies between 20 and 26 days, based on their length of service.
Slashdot Mirror
China had a ruthlessly exploited work force not seen since the early industrial age.
That is because China never had an industrial age due to a mixture of foreign imperialism, warlord battles, and Communist Party control. Instead tens of millions to people starved to death during the Great Leap Forward, and most people in China were barely eeking out an existence in communal farming until the 1980's. Rather than live on the edge with no hope in the countryside, rural Chinese quickly moved to the cities to work in the factories. The early factories were very capital-poor and had low productivity, thus the only way they could compete for world trade was to have low labor costs. Now Chinese factory capital investment is rising, productivity is rising, along with wages.
Since peaking in 2005, US carbon emissions have dropped a gigaton [eia.gov] per year. This was mainly due to switching almost half of coal-powered to electricity to cheaper and cleaner natural gas.
You are only counting CO2. We really don't know how much CH4 has been released due to natural gas drilling in the US. Moreover CH4 is a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. We have no effective CH4 release monitoring system.
There has been a recent uptick in global CH4 levels which is odd because levels had been leveling out starting in the 1980's...
Nobody uses multcast because it won't handle on demand viewing,
There are a whole series of algorithms to use multicast IP to deliver VoD, for example pyramid broadcasting.
No one uses multicast on the Internet because in general there is no carriage of multicast over the Internet (mainly due to security and stability concerns). But multicast IP is used for VoD within closed networks, such as inside a hotel.
So regulation is required to facilitate a healthy market.
But in Greece, too much regulation has destroyed the economy. The World Bank Doing Business Index had Greece's "distance to frontier" (a measure of 0-100 where 100 is scored by the countries easiest to do business in) was 62.0 (compare with the US at 85, or Azerbaijan at 62.8). This measure is not just about tax rates, but more about the bureaucracy required to run a business. Even high-tax countries like Norway and Sweden scored in the 80's.
The Heritage Index of Economic Freedom scores Greece at 55.4, behind Senegal at 55.5. Again, Norway, Sweden, and the US score in the 70's.
Here is some text from the Economic Freedom index regarding Greece:
A great anecdote about doing business in Athens can be found here:
And how much aid did those societies loving providely to LGBT individuals?
OK, if we can cut entitlement spending down to 10% of its current value and just send it to LGBTs, sign me up!
Taxation creates jobs - it's involved in paying for the armed forces, the healthcare system, the educators, libraries, road networks, housing, new industry, and a whole lot of other stuff.
Taxation inherently creates a , so the results of taxation has a high hurdle to overcome to become a net benefit to society.
Also keep in mind that workers that are removed from the competitive marketplace by taking government jobs are likely to be overpaid, a further deadweight loss due to subsidization. And those workers may have been more productive in non-governmental jobs.
I'm certain that about 10% of the spending of Western governments may be of value. The rest is a waste.
No we can't. Charity is not new. It has never been successful or effective.
We have outsourced most charity to the government.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, millions of Americans received social welfare benefits from voluntary fraternal societies. These organizations were generally made up of autonomous lodges, had a democratic form of internal government, and provided mutual aid for members and their families. A spokesman for the Modern Woodmen of America wrote in 1934 "few dollars given here, a small sum there to help a stricken member back on his feet or keep his protection in force during a crisis in his financial affairs; a sick Neighbor's wheat harvested, his grain hauled to market, his winter's fuel cut or a home built to replace one destroyed by a midnight fire - thus has fraternity been at work among a million members in 14,000 camps."
Some societies, such as the SBA and MWA, founded tuberculosis sanitariums, specialist clinics, and hospitals. Lodges dominated the field of health insurance, offering protection including both cash payments for income from working days lost as well as doctor care.
One in every three adult males was a member of a fraternal society in 1920 (my Czech ancestors were members of a Czech mutual aid society, for example).
I like to pay taxes - I feel that contributing to my nation is a great way of demonstrating true patriotism.
I feel that contributing to the economy through my work and consumption is a better way of demonstrating true patriotism, as it helps create jobs and wealth for both myself and others.
The money is used to benefit those who are less advantaged than me.
Then you must be rich, because the bulk of entitlement program spending goes toward the middle class, and 10% even goes to the top 20% of household incomes. And of course that is only entitlement spending, most military spending and agriculture support spending ends up going into profits of large corporations and the rich as well.
The Libertarian Party says..
"Full repeal of FISA, the Patriot Act and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and massive downsizing of federal spy agencies is the only answer," said [Geoffrey J. Neale, chair of the Libertarian Party]. "Not maybe. Not later. Now. This will stop the incremental yet rapid decline of our privacy and civil liberties, put a check on government power, and help to ensure that every American is afforded due process and justice if charged with a crime."
You could vote Libertarian Party...
The Libertarian Party rejects President Bush's claims that the "Protect America Act" needs to be made permanent, citing that the bill fails to live up to its name and only limits American civil liberties. The controversial Act that was passed by Congress last August altered the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and legalized the Bush administration's warrantless wiretap program, which many civil liberties organizations had strongly protested. "Every American should be fundamentally opposed to the 'Protect America Act,'" says Shane Cory, executive director of the Libertarian Party. "Despite its catchy name, the Act does nothing of the sort."
(source)
I always found it rather strange that bacterial infections could spread so easily in a "sanitary" environment like a hospital.
Also in a place where all viruses are killed, there are no bacteriophages to attack the viruses, unlike our mucous membranes.
Working conditions are still crappy by Western standards, of course â" but they're not so bad by Chinese standards
Keeping in mind that standard Chinese working conditions before 1990 was wading in a rice paddy all day in the summer heat and winter cold...
Are you suggesting that the recession in the Eurozone was caused by socialised medical protection?
That is not clear to me - but it is clear that restrictive labor laws are playing a major role.
Gimme a break, man. Look at the Large Hadron Collider -- that could have been us, but we slashed the funding. A Nobel Prize?
Well David Jeffrey Wineland (USA, NIST) won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011 for laser cooling and manipulation of quantum states.
Brian Kobilka (USA, Stanford) and Robert Lefkowitz (USA, Duke) won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2012 for work on G protein-coupled receptors.
Some other recent USA winners of scientific Nobel prizes:
Saul Perlmutter, Physics, 2011
Brian P. Schmidt, Physics, 2011
Adam G. Riess, Physics, 2011
Ralph M. Steinman, Physiology or Medicine, 2011
Bruce Beutler, Physiology or Medicine, 2011
Richard F. Heck, Chemistry, 2010
Ei-ichi Negishi, Chemistry, 2010
Thomas A. Steitz, Chemistry, 2009
I think a lot of the better educated in the US are starting to look with interest at Europe's social protections.
Eurozone suffers its longest downturn ever as France sinks back into recession...The eurozone is in its longest recession since it was created, after GDP fell by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012...
If Walmart took its entire $22 billion of annual pre-tax income... ...then it wouldn't be able to pay its taxes!
Walmart paid $6 billion in US taxes last year. How much did you pay?
Another person spouting nonsense about "free trade". It's not by definition, but according to simplistic theory. Furthermore, even that theory requires conditions that often aren't met (e.g. balanced trade). "Mutual benefit" means it benefits both countries in terms of their aggregate statistics
Free trade means two people decide to engage in a mutually beneficial economic transaction, so it benefits both parties. That's a fact.
Trade statistics don't matter. The US could run a trade deficit forever and become more wealthy because those trades ARE making the people in the country more wealthy, or else they would not be engaging in the trades.
There is no new tech now in this country.
Instagram? GoPro? iPhone? iPad? Square? Google self-driving cars? Tesla? SpaceX? Drones from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems & Northrop Grumman?
UMUC BS CS. UMUC is the online/extension arm of the University of Maryland.
BTW, National Geographic Channel is a joint venture of National Geographic Television & Film and Fox Cable Networks.
The news is that FOX announced this will actually air in the 2013-2014 season at their upfronts on Monday. Before that, it was unclear as to when it would air.
I don't think the Founders foresaw this type or level of corruption. They instituted a system of checks and balances
For instance, the Constitution does not allow Congress to regulate trade that is not inter-state, but we ignore that now.
Unlike pretty much any other industry, US liquid natural gas exporters have to get explicit permission from the US Department of Energy to export LNG.
Recently it was reported that the DOE will likely only approve would likely approve only three out of the 20 applications under review for exporting natural gas.
The price of natural gas in the US is way, way below the price of natural gas in Europe or Japan, and there is a huge amount of money to be made in exporting US LNG. Europe is currently held politically hostage by Russian natural gas supplies and prices.
However given the length of the DOE process and the time to build LNG terminals, it is unlikely the US will become a major player in the international natural gas market until 2020 at the earliest.
There is no way a bike could carry one week worth of groceries for a family
The Dutch have cargo bikes called bakfiets.
the reason many of the young are unemployed in Greece is the same reason the young are unemployed in the US
Greek youth unemployment is 58%, so while we may have a problem with American youth unemployment, it is nowhere as bad as Greece.
The problem is Greece is over-regulation of both industry and labor, as well as a tax regime that encourages a black market.
For example, regarding labor law...
In Greece in case of mass redundancies (i.e. redundancies which exceed 4 employees per month for companies with 20-200 employees or 2-3% of total personnel for companies with over 200 employees) the employer must enter into consultations with the representatives of the employees. If no agreement is reached with the employees during the consultations, the employer must obtain the approval of the authorities before effecting any redundancies. Law 1387/1983 also applies to close-downs of businesses. For example if your start-up goes south.
The General National Collective Labour Agreement (GNCLA) sets minimum wages for all employees in Greece. Furthermore, minimum wages - which must in any case be more favourable than those set by the GNCLA - are determined through nation-wide or local sectoral collective labour agreements.
The provision of work in excess of 40 hours per week and up to 45 hours ("overwork") is compensated with an amount equal to the employee's hourly wage increased by 25%. Any work above the 45-hour limit ("overtime") requires the prior approval of the authorities which is granted only in special circumstances e.g. unexpected workload, temporary needs etc. The compensation for overtime work is equal to the employee's hourly wage increased by 50%.
The law does not require the existence of a "serious cause" for the termination of indefinite- term contracts. However, the employee may challenge the validity of the termination in case of an abuse of the employer's rights. Early termination of fixed-term employment contracts, on the other hand, requires the existence of a "serious cause".
The formal requirements for the termination of an indefinite-term employment contract are the following: (a) written notification of the employee, (b) payment of severance compensation, and (c) registration of the employee with the competent social security fund. The minimum amount of severance compensation is set by law based on the employee's regular emoluments and length of service. No prior notice of termination is required by law. If, however, the employer gives the notice provided by law the employee is entitled to 1/2 of the lawful severance indemnity.
Employees with children are entitled to non-paid family leave equal to 3 1/2 months in total. Said leave can be taken during the period from the end of the maternity leave until the child reaches the age of 3 1/2. Mothers insured with the Social Security Fund (IKA-ETAM) are entitled to an additional 6 months of leave, during which they get paid by the Unemployment Office (OAED). Finally, working mothers are entitled to reduce their working hours by one hour per day for a period of 30 months after the child's birth.
The maximum duration of "short-term" leave due to sickness is determined by law based on the employee's length of service (e.g. 1 month for employees with up to 4 years of service, 3 months for employees with 4-10 years of service etc.).
Under Greek law, employees are entitled to receive one month's salary as Christmas allowance, half month's salary as Easter allowance and half month's salary as holiday bonus (i.e. total of 14 salaries per year).
Any detrimental change to the employee's terms of employment (e.g. decrease of salary, transfer to a lower position etc.) requires the consent of the employee (tacit or written).
Employees are entitled to a minimum paid leave per annum which varies between 20 and
26 days, based on their length of service.