UN: Look Past GDP as Economic Wellness Indicator

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-16775264

The Run-Down
We have to protect the planet in order to have any kind of future. Check. Central banking deregulation lead to practices that brought the global economy to its knees. Got it. Energy sustainability would drastically improve the economic standing of those in developing countries and benefit efficient energy use in developed countries. Great. Continuing subsidies for fossil fuel producers is stupid. Yep. Establishment of a global education fund could benefit the poorest citizens of the world by bringing access to education via internet and provide the skills necessary for current jobs and promoting entrepreneurialism to ensure a healthy, competitive economy. Sounds plausible. Labeling goods with their environmental impact so consumers can make informed purchases and effectively vote with their dollars. Reasonable.

Thoughts
These are great ideas and certainly some changes need to be made on the global scale. The thing we must be careful of when engaging in international institutions is that we don’t lose our national sovereignty or paint the developed world into an economic corner, rendering it incapable of success or charity. Case in point: Germany has been saddled with an enormous chunk of EU debt in the aftermath of the global economic meltdown. How many Germans are stoked about that? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be. The last time Germany was saddled with Europe’s debt, nationalist sentiments rose drastically, the Third Reich came into existence and we all got to celebrate with a world war. Britain stayed out of the EU because of fears of similar circumstances to the current financial fiasco. I’m not saying that the Rio+20 summit is going to spark a world war or bring back the Nazis. However, we must proceed with caution. We have to streamline our use of resources and advance education and critical thinking skills from the inner city to the frontiers of human existence, but in our zeal we must not cripple national governments, stifle economic growth or industries the world has come to rely on. We must look for long-term solutions, but we must also evolve into the paradigm of global unity. Communism looks great on paper but turns into totalitarian regimes precisely because in the upheaval of an armed revolution babies are oft thrown out with bath water, valuable lessons from history are ignored (or burned), and political purity tests become the method of weeding out dissenters who may agree with the ends but not the means or vice versa. We must evolve over a period of time, just as the rest of the planet has evolved to it’s current state through the ages. That said, we must not change too slowly, lest it be our undoing.

In Closing
In the United States there has been the long time struggle for a balance between Liberty and Security. So it must be with national and individual sovereignty vs. international governance. The path to the greater good is rarely a b-line or as obvious as a single ideology. Rather than the usual Ben Franklin’s liberty vs. security quote, I’ll instead leave you with this to take in mind with a wider scope than originally intended:

“I predict future happiness for Americans, if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”
― Thomas Jefferson

Indecision 2012- I Know What You Did Last Quarter

Click the link below for Jon Stewart’s… analysis, shall we say? of Mitt Romney’s release of tax information… finally…

http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:video:thedailyshow.com:406777

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Let’s illustrate some points with a little story, shall we?

Let’s say Jimmy just graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree and along the way he has incurred a small mountain of student debt from this prestigious university that ensured him that everyone wants to hire their graduates. Well the economy isn’t doing so well and he can’t get that teaching job he was really hoping for because the school districts have had to cut back on expenditures even though classrooms are overflowing and the books are falling apart. Anyway, Jimbo here can’t get a teaching job and yet he has to make ends meet and pay for rent, utilities, car insurance, health insurance and now student loans. After much searching our boy Jimmy find’s himself at an All-American job at FranchiseCo. where the almighty job creators have bestowed upon him and and his community the blessings of minimum wage and a brand name that is recognized from sea to shining sea. Jimmy works his butt off, but after a few months he notices other workers slacking and never being reprimanded while he’s the one picking up the slack. His schedule is rarely consistent and after six months he is still being paid $7.25 though any fool can see he’s better than that. Jimbo doesn’t complain though, he does as he’s told. After a year of working there, FranchiseCo. reports that it is now the number one vendor mediocre meals anywhere on Earth. The company has seen it’s profits bloom by 300% in the last year, all due to the hard work of people like our boy Jimmy. After some time goes by, a realization strikes Jim. “Well FranchiseCo. never could have made and sold all of those Franchise Burgers without me and people like me down here on the front-lines! And I read about the 300% profit gains and the company’s oversea expansions, but for all that extra profit I saw no increase in pay!” he said to himself. As he mopped Franchise Sauce from the floor that night at closing, Jimmy thought about the shareholders and franchise owners that profited exponentially from his labor while he continued to be paid the absolute minimum. He went home that night and went straight to bed, too upset to eat his Ramen dinner. As he laid in bed he thought about his life and how he had tried to do everything right- even after he couldn’t get that teaching job he persevered and never even took a sick day while working at FranchiseCo. The next morning he realized it had been a calendar year since he began his job. He grabbed a piece of paper and a pen to sit down and calculate how much money he had made. For 52 weeks he had worked 40 hours at $7.25 per hour. Before taxes his earnings totaled $15,600. He looked at his pile of bills next to him and his gaze hardened. He went to his bedroom to get dressed. He emerged wearing a red shirt, camouflage pants, a black vest and a black beret. Donning a pair of sunglasses he set out walking to FranchiseCo., where he put in his two weeks notice and informed them that his uncle Sam had passed away in the night and he would be out of town for the funeral and the estate arrangements. He proceeded to walk to FranchiseMart where he purchased a new rifle. No one saw or heard from Jimmy for a few months. No one could get a hold of him. Then one day there was breaking news on every major station that a small citizen’s militia of former factory workers and other economically disenfranchised people had stormed the state capitol building. After the smoke had cleared there were some fifty people dead or missing and about as many in critical condition being rushed to the hospitals. Among the dead that day was Jimmy. He had grown up with a loving family, faith in God and the American Dream. He wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t a religious fundamentalist. He had been a Boy Scout and class valedictorian in his small town. None of the pundits and news anchors could imagine why a young man such as this would have done such a terrible thing.

The moral of the story is that poverty breeds radicalism and that capitalism is not inherently evil, but when it isn’t practiced fairly and with proper respect for the workers that make it possible. Labor creates ALL wealth. When you take unfair advantage of the proletariat you WILL awaken a sleeping giant and you may not like the outcome. Case in point: Every time a monarchy falls or loses control of a population, that population EITHER becomes a democracy with a free market system or it becomes a socialist or communist state that is then co-opted by a totalitarian regime. Either way, the monarchs usually lose their heads.

Yes, the example is facetious, but there are many people in Jimmy’s shoes. They’re stuck through little or no fault of their own and $15,600 a year won’t pay for student loans- which will be the next financial bubble to burst, mark my words- I do not call for a redistribution of wealth. I call for equality of opportunity to allow for a meritocracy. I also call on you to ask yourself what is meant by “…promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity…”

Paul Stamets on TED: 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World.

No, I am not about to extol the virtues of psychedelic mushrooms. This is much more serious than that. The Industrial Age brought the world an amazing array of life changing and life saving technology and comforts, but it also left us with many problems this generation must combat if we are to enjoy the Earth’s natural wonders both large and small. Paul Stamets is an author, mycologist and advisor to the Program for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Medical School. He delves into six ways that mycelia can be used to benefit society; from treating diseases and viruses, stopping termites from devouring one’s house to amazingly turning an oil soaked pile of dirt from a stinking polluted mess to a vibrant green mound of potential for new life. The ramifications are astounding and all-encompassing.

Check out the video on YouTube:

Paul Stamets: 6 Ways Musrooms Can Save the Planet

A Brave New Blog

Hey there! I’m that guy at the party that can’t shut up about politics and news. Perhaps that’s to be expected of a Son of the Revolution. Many a long hour into the night have I found myself debating politics over a cold one and the conversation always either ends too soon or has been a very painful endeavour from the get-go.  I have strong opinions, but I always TRY to remain as amicable as possible too often political discourse ends in heinous epithets and petty personal attacks. As an independent voter, my motto has been “no red states, no blue states, just the United States.” I’m not interested in towing the party line and the “Republicrat” divide and conquer routine, I’d much rather have a debate amongst fiercely independent thinkers.  In this blog I will toss-up various videos and articles that strike me and follow-up with my opinions and any ethical or philosophical quandaries posed. Come one, come all, and bring your copy of the Constitution.

I’d encourage all to pause and read over the Preamble and consider the meaning behind these words:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.