I think there is confusion about categories here. Clearly humans are apes because "apes" is a category of a particular wing of primates which happens to include humans as well as chimps, orangutans, and gorillas. Humans are a subset of apes. My point is that birds are not a subset of dinosaurs, though they are clearly descended from some group of dinosaurs. Saying humans are apes is like saying "John Smith is a member of the Smith family." Saying birds are dinosaurs is more like saying "John Smith is his great-grandfather." It just doesn't make sense.
Saying "birds are dinosaurs" (or even "Birds Are Dinosaurs") is rather like saying "French is Latin" or "English is Proto-Indo-European." The lineage is unmistakable, but the one is not synonymous with the other. I am not sure why this conflation seems to be acceptable for birds and dinosaurs, when you never hear, for example, "homo sapiens is homo erectus" or "South America is Gondwanaland" or "Intel is Fairchild Semiconductor."
Here's an idea. I'd institute a military draft that works according to the following rules:
Each family with someone of military age must enter a conscription lottery.
The lottery is skewed according to (A) income tax bracket and (B) total assets. The higher the income and assets, the more likely that family's candidate will be selected.
Run the lottery every year. Minimum service duration is two years, at least half of which must be in a combat-fighting position (i.e. not just an engineer or an administrative assistant for the brass).
If we did this, what would happen to the willingness of the U.S. leadership to go to war? Moreover, would the government continue to put soldiers in crappy hospitals and fail to adequately support veterans with PTSD?
Of course this idea is absurdly unrealistic and anti-egalitarian. The broader point here is that those in power should not be insulated from the consequences of their decisions, and that those who arguably derive the greatest material benefits from society should also endure their fair share of sacrifice. If I were president I would try to enact policies that encourage the powerful to accept more accountability not just for their own actions, but for the actions of a government over which they wield disproportionate influence.
Are these averages? I don't think they are very useful numbers because they don't give a sense of how steep the tax bracket steps are. I've lived in Japan for four years and never paid more than 10% in taxes, including local and central. Granted, I am not in a high bracket. I make about US$40,000. In the U.S., people in lower tax brackets pay a much bigger chunk of their income whereas the wealthy pay a much lower percentage compared to Japan. Here, the poorest pay zip and the richest pay over 50%.
Another factor besides taxes is cost of living. Contrary to its reputation, it's entirely possible to live quite cheaply in Japan. One of its big advantages is the public transport system. Even though I had paid off my car loan in the U.S., had a little Toyota that never broke down and hardly used any gas, it still cost about twice as much to pay insurance and maintenance and fuel for that car than it costs me to take trains and buses in Japan. I made about twice my current income when I lived in Silicon Valley, and I'm probably saving at least as much in Japan now.
There are plenty of other advantages to living in Japan. Cleanliness, great service, respectful people, almost nonexistent crime, and gorgeous, unabashedly feminine women unburdened by the legacy of Puritanism, who absolutely adore gaijin....
But seriously, I think the most important factor in deciding where to live is culture. What really matters is whether you feel at home in the culture, whether you feel that you belong. If you don't, then it doesn't matter how superior the tax rates or the job opportunities are, or how convenient and efficient the train system is; ultimately you're going to be unhappy, and you'll want to go home.
I don't know what lessons can be applied to the U.S., but FWIW, game cafes are big business in Japan. In addition to computers with games and broadband connections, they typically feature large libraries of manga, CD's and DVD's, plus various types of fast food and complimentary drinks. There is often a subset of computer carels that are basically fully enclosed cubicles with lockable doors, where privacy is assured, and really big, luxurious reclining seats that people would be comfortable spending the night in. These places are often open 24/7.
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I think there is confusion about categories here. Clearly humans are apes because "apes" is a category of a particular wing of primates which happens to include humans as well as chimps, orangutans, and gorillas. Humans are a subset of apes. My point is that birds are not a subset of dinosaurs, though they are clearly descended from some group of dinosaurs. Saying humans are apes is like saying "John Smith is a member of the Smith family." Saying birds are dinosaurs is more like saying "John Smith is his great-grandfather." It just doesn't make sense.
Saying "birds are dinosaurs" (or even "Birds Are Dinosaurs") is rather like saying "French is Latin" or "English is Proto-Indo-European." The lineage is unmistakable, but the one is not synonymous with the other. I am not sure why this conflation seems to be acceptable for birds and dinosaurs, when you never hear, for example, "homo sapiens is homo erectus" or "South America is Gondwanaland" or "Intel is Fairchild Semiconductor."
- Each family with someone of military age must enter a conscription lottery.
- The lottery is skewed according to (A) income tax bracket and (B) total assets. The higher the income and assets, the more likely that family's candidate will be selected.
- Run the lottery every year. Minimum service duration is two years, at least half of which must be in a combat-fighting position (i.e. not just an engineer or an administrative assistant for the brass).
If we did this, what would happen to the willingness of the U.S. leadership to go to war? Moreover, would the government continue to put soldiers in crappy hospitals and fail to adequately support veterans with PTSD?Of course this idea is absurdly unrealistic and anti-egalitarian. The broader point here is that those in power should not be insulated from the consequences of their decisions, and that those who arguably derive the greatest material benefits from society should also endure their fair share of sacrifice. If I were president I would try to enact policies that encourage the powerful to accept more accountability not just for their own actions, but for the actions of a government over which they wield disproportionate influence.
Are these averages? I don't think they are very useful numbers because they don't give a sense of how steep the tax bracket steps are. I've lived in Japan for four years and never paid more than 10% in taxes, including local and central. Granted, I am not in a high bracket. I make about US$40,000. In the U.S., people in lower tax brackets pay a much bigger chunk of their income whereas the wealthy pay a much lower percentage compared to Japan. Here, the poorest pay zip and the richest pay over 50%.
Another factor besides taxes is cost of living. Contrary to its reputation, it's entirely possible to live quite cheaply in Japan. One of its big advantages is the public transport system. Even though I had paid off my car loan in the U.S., had a little Toyota that never broke down and hardly used any gas, it still cost about twice as much to pay insurance and maintenance and fuel for that car than it costs me to take trains and buses in Japan. I made about twice my current income when I lived in Silicon Valley, and I'm probably saving at least as much in Japan now.
There are plenty of other advantages to living in Japan. Cleanliness, great service, respectful people, almost nonexistent crime, and gorgeous, unabashedly feminine women unburdened by the legacy of Puritanism, who absolutely adore gaijin....
But seriously, I think the most important factor in deciding where to live is culture. What really matters is whether you feel at home in the culture, whether you feel that you belong. If you don't, then it doesn't matter how superior the tax rates or the job opportunities are, or how convenient and efficient the train system is; ultimately you're going to be unhappy, and you'll want to go home.
I don't know what lessons can be applied to the U.S., but FWIW, game cafes are big business in Japan. In addition to computers with games and broadband connections, they typically feature large libraries of manga, CD's and DVD's, plus various types of fast food and complimentary drinks. There is often a subset of computer carels that are basically fully enclosed cubicles with lockable doors, where privacy is assured, and really big, luxurious reclining seats that people would be comfortable spending the night in. These places are often open 24/7.