“mindless” observations

[no_such_reality]

NCJ, no and yes, 1/2 & 1/2.

Much of the end-result of the socialism I find repungnant. I also dislike much of the heavy government regulation.

But for marketing control targeted at children, yes. Kind of like in the US, I’m not a fan of extensive regulation, but do like the cleaner water and air we have now compared to the 70s and 80s.

Similarly, I think they have a better view of the balance for work and life, but maybe overly so. Due to worker protections, accountability is hard to enforce. It’s both good and bad.

One thing I like is the Swedish model for traffic fines and other minor offenses. They’re defined as a percentage of your reported last year income. So, Joe Rich, decides to speed through a school zone, get’s a nasty $85,000 ticket while Bill Janitor would a $50 ticket. Kind of prevents the flaunting of the basic laws we’ve have with the wealthy in the US.

While progressive fines don’t bother me, their extensive tax rates do.

So no and yes. There’s a balance between protecting what needs protection and over-dictating life trying to right everything through government control.

[PerryChase]

Well said, no-such-reality. I believe we need American entrepreneurism with European social conscience.

Remember the smog alerts of the 70’s and 80’s? Thanks to emission controls, we don’t have them anymore.

[powayseller]

Since when does a critique of our culture or government policy imply an invitation to get out? VCJM wrote:
“d) I assume you are here in the US. If you dislike it as much as your writings indicate, please leave.” Free speech is our right, and we are in the forum to exchange ideas. Every one who disagrees with us is supposed to leave the country? Get real! I know apologies have been exchanged, but hs did not need to apologize for that statement. Americans are indoctrinated to spend.

Look,, 70% of our GDP is consumer spending. Why? Shouldn’t most of our GDP be capital spending, research and develpment, inventing cars that don’t need gasoline, making better products, investing in education?

The U.S. savings rate is negative. We are the largest debtor nation in the world! These are facts. Anyone who is offended by pointing this out is too sensitive. We have to be strong enough to handle the reality. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but taken as a whole, the Americans measure their success and status by how many toys they have, and that’s why we have a trade deficit, negative savings, and a looming crisis in our social security and medicare programs.

Other countries measure their self worth by how well they treat their elders, how educated they are, how they look, their spiritual powers. Those are the goals they strive for in their personal lives.

I agree with hs. If you want to argue with me, then do so. Unlike hs, I will not apologize.

[powayseller]

lostkitty – I will be at the meeting tomorrow, and we can exchange phone #s then. If you’re not going, look me up in the phone book.

[VCJIM]

HS and I are good; thank you for your interest 🙂

Related to your post here and other threads, what do you think it will take to change the way *many* Americans are? If the housing market tanks (as we expect), and a recession results, (as we expect), I believe those that are most extended (least responsible) will get the worst of it. Do you think that is enough to bring about change? Or will it need to be something of even more significance?

[powayseller]

Thank you for asking my opinion, it is an honor to be asked by you.

The thing that surprises me is that consumer spending is 70% of GDP. Is it that high in other countries?

During the Depression, people learned to be VERY frugal. The difficult times caused a new way of looking at lifestyle and what is important in life. Will this next recession be big enough to cause a cultural shift?

What do you think VCJIM? Why are your values so different from the majority?

[VCJIM]

I don’t know if it is that high in other countries. We could Google some different countries and see what we come up with. I doubt any country is as high as the US.

I believe the upcoming crash / recession is seriously going to shake things up. I know many people that are so showy with their “wealth” (real or imagined). While I do not wish them harm, I actually believe a little “grounding” will be good for them and our culture. Free money is not all it’s cracked up to be. Criminals get “free money”, how happy are the criminals you know? (I’m not saying you know any).

I think my values are different for a few reasons:

– My parents were upper middle class but never showed it. They drove crappy cars, didn’t spend a lot on much of anything except those things that were really important to them. We never had money troubles or stress; we could do what we wanted because we lived within our means.

– I started working at a very young age and paid for many things myself. I had friends that were quite ostentatious; they got mugged in Hollywood even though they didn’t have a penny in their pockets! I would walk around with hundreds of dollars (as a teenager), but no one bothered me because I didn’t show it.

– I learned early on that possessions do not bring happiness. The greatest happiness in my life has come from accomplishing my goals; money or possessions have had little to do with it.

– Through my travels I have been able to see many cultures that are not possession-oriented. As you wrote, family values, education, conservation, environment, caring for the elderly are priorities. I hope a little of that rubbed off on me.

And you?

I also have another question: If another culture or country had a similar situation as we have had (I’ll call it free money), do you think the people would have acted similarly or differently compared to what we’ve seen here?

[powayseller]

I wish I could answer this. I have not traveled much, and have not read about history, cultures, or politics. I’m real one-dimensional.

[PerryChase]

We need better leadership. VCJim, you turned out the way you did because of your parents. They provided you values that will last a lifetime.

We should expect our political leaders to guide us in building a better place for us and generations to come. We also need better civic education that will teach to think critically and rationaly.

[hs]

PerryChase,
I totally agree with you.

[VCJIM]

Agreed too. They were very permissive but set such good examples that there wasn’t reason to do too much damage : )

[Author]

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