Idea Revolt Roundup
October 31st, 2011 by Control Comments to this postif you give a crap about this countries future at all, here are two great links that are basically must reads:
In this write up, Ferguson breaks down a list of reasons why the US became some powerful in the first place:
1. Competition. Europe was politically fragmented into multiple monarchies and republics, which were in turn internally divided into competing corporate entities, among them the ancestors of modern business corporations.
2. The Scientific Revolution. All the major 17th-century breakthroughs in mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, and biology happened in Western Europe.
3. The Rule of Law and Representative Government. An optimal system of social and political order emerged in the English-speaking world, based on private-property rights and the representation of property owners in elected legislatures.
4. Modern Medicine. Nearly all the major 19th- and 20th-century breakthroughs in health care were made by Western Europeans and North Americans.
5. The Consumer Society. The Industrial Revolution took place where there was both a supply of productivity–enhancing technologies and a demand for more, better, and cheaper goods, beginning with cotton garments.
6. The Work Ethic. Westerners were the first people in the world to combine more extensive and intensive labor with higher savings rates, permitting sustained capital accumulation.
Today, Competition is killing the US. Everyone does everything cheaper.
Science is losing investment and interest – though it’s not surprising that the great breakthrough of the last 15 years – based on US technology – that being THE INTERNET – is one of few fields where skilled workers can still make a decent wage.
As for rule of law and property rights, they were both overturned – with eminent domain and the patriot act.
Modern Medicine in the USA is beyond terrible. Many good doctors, but they routinely get out of college 200k in debt. Just seeing a doctor is over $100, never mind meds, etc. Insurance is a joke. There is no public option to keep competition in check.
Consumer economy is a broken machine at the moment. Everyone wants and thinks they deserve everything, but can afford nothing.
And the work ethic… a lot of people claim the average US worker is beyond lazy. I’m not sure I believe that. Where I work, everyone is a fucking animal. Anyone not keeping up is a round of layoffs away from disaster.
This is probably a hard pill for many to swallow, but the above is all old news at this point.
For some ideas on how to deal with it, let’s turn to Salon – where they list some demands on behalf of the average American. There list is simple – click on the above for details:
1. Debt relief
2. A substantial jobs program
3. A healthcare public option
4. Reregulate Wall Street
5. End the Global War on Terror and rein in the defense budget
6. Repeal the Patriot Act
7. Tackle climate change
8. Stop locking everyone up for everything and end the drug war
9. Full equality for the queer community
10. Fix the tax system
There’s not one item on the list above that isn’t common sense, and needs to be done – immediately. I’d go a step further, actually:
11: Eliminate the senate.
Congress and the President are more than enough representation. Let’s cut spending by eliminating this absolutely wasteful tier of government. The 2 tier system just slows down legislation and helps cripple the country on a whole. Enough.
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