Feb 10 2013: I have a high end tech job and if I'm ever out of work it only takes me one month at the most to find the same work. Of course, that only happened once in 30 years so I don't really have a large sample to draw data from.
Don't blame the corporations for doing what is in their own best interest. You can't expect them to do otherwise. They don't have to do business in this country at all if they don't want to. Making them pay more than they want to pay will not change that for the better. Don't tell me any of that stuff about us being the biggest economy in the world and they can't make money anywhere else. The truth is that 80% of the world's economy is outside the US and we are making our share smaller every day by making it harder and harder to do business here. The natural tendency of anyone when forced to do something that they think is not in their best interests is to go somewhere where they are not.
You are implying that the corporation is greedy for not giving you what you want. Isn't it just as greedy to ask for something from them that they aren't willing to give? If you aren't willing to work for what they are willing to pay then they will find someone who is. And don't tell me that they are rich and you are poor. Greed is greed no matter your bank balance.
Feb 10 2013: The problem is that people think that government must make all of society's decisions. This places tremendous amounts of power in the government. That government then becomes vulnerable to charismatic takeover as happened in the often cited case of Germany. Germany was a democracy and still wound up a dictatorship when it placed too much faith in its government.
Powerful governments also generate corruption and graft. There is no point in bribing a government official who can do nothing for you.
I think that it would be far better to let people to make their own decisions to the greatest extent possible. The only function of a good government is to protect the rights of the people. If government was restricted to this role then your ideas would actually be implemented automatically.
Feb 10 2013: How about instead we go back to the era when every Tom, Dick and Jane didn't think that society should interfere in private contracts between individuals? If indeed current worker productivity justified a 24 hour work week at $30 an hour then that is what we'd have. Speaking for myself, I'd rather have the ability to negotiate my employment contract without your help.
Feb 6 2013: Employers should have the right to hire or fire employees based on any criteria they want. It won't always seem fair to the employee, but basically being forced to associate with (hire) employees that are not what the employer would prefer is unfair too. Also, if you are working for a company where you aren't wanted, whether the reason makes sense or not, you aren't likely to get promotions or raises as fast if at all. It is better to go where you will be appreciated.
Feb 6 2013: One of the reasons I'm concerned about this question comes from classical mechanics and to a more limited extent modern quantum mechanics. When Isaac Newton first discovered his three laws of motion it started some speculation among the scientific community that has lasted until today. That discussion centered around the fact that if the force position and velocity of every particle in the universe are known then their future trajectories could be determined forever. Since we are made of these particles doing this would predict every action that we would ever take. Also, since the data is set in stone so are our future actions. If this is all true then there is no free will. There are some extra issues due to nonlinear dynamics and the non-analytic nature of the solution to multibody problems. They are all solvable with infinite knowledge.
Quantum Mechanics comes closer to restoring free will since it is impossible to determine the results of experiments in advance given that a particle can be in a superposition of multiple quantum states at one time and you can only determine the probability that it will be in one state or another. In my mind, this doesn't really help much since we've just replaced the 100% predetermination of the classic theory with random chance. Admittedly it removes our ability to completely determine the exact course of events, but it bases things on randomness. I doubt that anyone would want to believe that their choices in life are random and if they are random that doesn't sound much like free will.
When you add God into the mix you provide the complete knowledge that is necessary for the classical view and for God quantum mechanics isn't random at all. Every result is already known. Since the entire path of the universe on a microscopic level is thus predetermined the macroscopic path that contains our actions is too.
Feb 2 2013: Certainly and perhaps the way I replied was a little short but here is the overriding principle. Society is built to protect the rights of the citizen. In order for the rights of one citizen to life, liberty and property to be respected the rights of all citizens to those things must be. Hence, no murder. You think I advocate no rules, apparently. That is not true. I only advocate those rules that lead to the preservation of our rights And by "our" rights I mean the rights of ALL of us.
Just because I want to live in a society where everyone is free to pick their own associations and their own causes rather than something demanded by our overlords doesn't mean that people with similar beliefs can't work together to achieve their goals. I doubt seriously that you, me and your mom would be the only ones to come together voluntarily to feed the hungry. It would be every man for what he believes in. Nothing could be further from every man for himself.
Feb 2 2013: I also want to comment on your implicit endorsement of slavery. It seems slavery is OK with you as long as it serves what you think is a good purpose. You have no special moral authority just as the slave owners in the Old South didn't. They, like you, endorsed slavery for a purpose that they thought was just and moral. They were wrong and so are you.
Feb 2 2013: Not really, For the purposes of this conversation I was willing to let the assumption that God exists be made. Given that, I have to base my arguments and conclusions on that assumption, at least up to the point that I find something that calls that assumption into question.
Asserting that God doesn't exist always makes large numbers of people very angry for some reason even though they wouldn't go to Hell for me if I was wrong. Strong emotion is often a sign of insecurity.
Feb 2 2013: I just had another thought about the many worlds theory. If all possible eventualities actually happen just in separate copies of our Universe then for each of us there are Universe where we go to Heaven and just as many where we go to Hell. The whole thing is pure speculation of course but interesting to think about.
Feb 2 2013: I myself have often said that even if I thought there was a Heaven I'm not sure I'd want to go. I'm having way too much fun right here. So, I can understand your thoughts about needing to have Heaven in you before you are ready to go there.
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A reply on Conversation: 24 hour/3-day work week with $30.00 minimum wage starting in 2013. Solve multiple social and individual problems with this.
Don't blame the corporations for doing what is in their own best interest. You can't expect them to do otherwise. They don't have to do business in this country at all if they don't want to. Making them pay more than they want to pay will not change that for the better. Don't tell me any of that stuff about us being the biggest economy in the world and they can't make money anywhere else. The truth is that 80% of the world's economy is outside the US and we are making our share smaller every day by making it harder and harder to do business here. The natural tendency of anyone when forced to do something that they think is not in their best interests is to go somewhere where they are not.
You are implying that the corporation is greedy for not giving you what you want. Isn't it just as greedy to ask for something from them that they aren't willing to give? If you aren't willing to work for what they are willing to pay then they will find someone who is. And don't tell me that they are rich and you are poor. Greed is greed no matter your bank balance.
A comment on Conversation: Alternative for Democracy
Powerful governments also generate corruption and graft. There is no point in bribing a government official who can do nothing for you.
I think that it would be far better to let people to make their own decisions to the greatest extent possible. The only function of a good government is to protect the rights of the people. If government was restricted to this role then your ideas would actually be implemented automatically.
A comment on Conversation: 24 hour/3-day work week with $30.00 minimum wage starting in 2013. Solve multiple social and individual problems with this.
A comment on Conversation: Should employers not hire you or fire you when they discover your bad credit history?
A comment on Conversation: If God is omniscient is free will an illusion?
Quantum Mechanics comes closer to restoring free will since it is impossible to determine the results of experiments in advance given that a particle can be in a superposition of multiple quantum states at one time and you can only determine the probability that it will be in one state or another. In my mind, this doesn't really help much since we've just replaced the 100% predetermination of the classic theory with random chance. Admittedly it removes our ability to completely determine the exact course of events, but it bases things on randomness. I doubt that anyone would want to believe that their choices in life are random and if they are random that doesn't sound much like free will.
When you add God into the mix you provide the complete knowledge that is necessary for the classical view and for God quantum mechanics isn't random at all. Every result is already known. Since the entire path of the universe on a microscopic level is thus predetermined the macroscopic path that contains our actions is too.
A reply on Conversation: Given that there is such a thing as an inalienable right should such rights be taxed?
Just because I want to live in a society where everyone is free to pick their own associations and their own causes rather than something demanded by our overlords doesn't mean that people with similar beliefs can't work together to achieve their goals. I doubt seriously that you, me and your mom would be the only ones to come together voluntarily to feed the hungry. It would be every man for what he believes in. Nothing could be further from every man for himself.
A reply on Conversation: Given that there is such a thing as an inalienable right should such rights be taxed?
A reply on Conversation: If God is omniscient is free will an illusion?
Asserting that God doesn't exist always makes large numbers of people very angry for some reason even though they wouldn't go to Hell for me if I was wrong. Strong emotion is often a sign of insecurity.
A reply on Conversation: If God is omniscient is free will an illusion?
A reply on Conversation: If God is omniscient is free will an illusion?