I absolutely need this.
My glasses have been fogging up all weekend.
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It actually is, for plenty of people.
The free market is responsible for many of the thing we have and for the progression weâve made thus far. Its not perfect, but until society is, I canât think of another sustainable system. Its not always fair. Their are situations where we see wealth as in âold moneyâ or gained on the backs of others. Then their are situations where we see opportunists as in âsystematic freeloadersâ or those living off the back of others. Neither of these populations are wide spread. What we can do is help the people that want help, find ways to provide opportunity. Itâs all a matter of opinion. But I work for a small business. If taxes go up, I lose future benefits, such as raises, bonuses, etc. Im not wealthy, and by boss is only well to do after years and years of getting him self to that point (not a millionaire). Im not alone. If we were taxed much higher we wouldnât have had the money to make it through the shut down (would have needed government help, money taken from taxpayers, middle class to upper class). We would not have had money to give our independent contractors a stipend to live off of despite the fact they werenât working, werenât making money for the company (cost us over $80,000). I would have had to take a pay cut or get laid off (relying on unemployment, another government program paid for by tax payers). Their are injustices in the world. Personally I feel giving people a minimum standard will only raise the minimum needed standard for the future and it will never end. (There are people in the world that would literally kill for government food, free money and healthcare, not to mention be able to own a nice car, have cable t.v., cellphones, and spending money and still be consider poor). But this is the freedoms we enjoy, freedoms of opinion. If the government is given too many liberties, Im afraid we may lose this freedom. History can repeat itself.
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What US history are you referring to?
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You are ever helpful 
Iâve solved fogging with using masks with bending nose things, for the most part. I canât keep my glasses on my face the mask pushes them off. 
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On wealth. IMHO. Too few control the majority of wealth and should pay fair taxes and even limit their salaries. Even many wealthy are of the same opinion (Disneyâs granddaughter for one, Warren Buffet for another) . Waiting for the benevolence of the wealthy to fix education (Gates) , health care (Dolly Parton donated 1mil to vaccine research or families needing go fund me) poverty seems a poor solution. Government collecting taxes to attend to the needs of a society seem a better option along with requiring a living wage for all workers. And I think itâs a fair statement that all are willing to work but it is inappropriate for anyone to have to work more than one job just to be able to live and then still live w/o health care.
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World history
Of course thereâs inequality and always will be (or should be)- and I donât disagree with the positive results of a capitalistic system. But too much inequality, especially the extent it seems to have reached in our society, is also problematic.
Thereâs been a spate of studies and evidence in recent years that gross inequality also stymies growth and innovation. Too many people today feel as though they canât get ahead no matter how hard they work. Such inequality has also been shown to lead to many other problems that we as a society end up paying for in other ways (such as drug use in some cases).
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Whats great about this country is we all can have a difference of opinion, not just on what should be done, but also how we see things. And its all relative and relevant. We are all part of this society after all. We should all have the right to have our opinions heard, considered and weighed upon. There are people that do not enjoy this freedom.
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I think it is much more publicized than it is, or our definition of poverty is drastically different than others. That is very plausible too.
I would love to read these studies. Im in talks with my son that wants to start motivational speaking at local community banks. He wants to help younger kids. I th8nk this would be of use to him.
Edit: hes all about numbers and quotes.
Last word frome on this, Ive worked 2 jobs, husband 3. We were young, thats what we were qualified for. We didnt have health care. We went to the community clinic at the time when needed. We improved our situation because we wanted a better life. We both had kids before we could give them everything we wanted to. We could make ends meet. That was on us. We worked hard to improve our situation. As far as medical care, we were grateful for medicaid for children. This should be globally. Its not their fault their parents are ill equipped.
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Thereâs been several studies in econ journals in recent years that consider the differences between states and countries- Iâll have to look to see if I can find some that are accessible/not behind pay walls.
Since you mentioned the motivational speaking angle though, one book I found really interesting that seems like it may be useful is called The Broken Ladder by Keith Payne. Itâs full of data, but I think still an easy read. Itâs more about the psychological and health impacts that perceptions of inequality have on individuals. I donât agree with everything in the book, but found it generally insightful and worth thinking/talking about.
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Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I read through the WEF url. As I read it, theyâre talking about tweaking capitalism (but staying with capitalism) so that it better serves the general public and reduces inequality. Our country certainly wasnât perfect before the pandemic; if we can use these unsettled times to improve the way we do things, I think thatâs a great way to make some lemonade.
The WEF does not have any actual power to make this happen, of course. They can only throw ideas out there. If we want a legal structure that, say, better encourages companies to prioritize their workforce and customers rather than short term profits, then weâll have to make it happen ourselves. The WEF will not (and cannot) do it for us.
Itâs still on their twitter account! But thatâs not about the Great Reset. Itâs just a series of predictions, unrelated. (And on a side note, I think the folks who made these predictions should stick with their day jobs and not move into meteorology, because I think that those predictions are reeeeeeaally unlikely to happen.)
Based on what Iâve looked at, I havenât seen anything concerning.
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I agree regarding the video. I deleted my post but it strangely reminded me about this video often used in education fields to push the âplease reflect on what we are doing, how the world is changing, and what the possibilities areâŚâ
My favorite âbig ideaâ: we are currently educating students for jobs that donât exist.
Covid has accelerated how change in practice/strategies. I referred to 2008 in an earlier post. That was about the time many educators began to hear how fast we were falling behind (I think most of the data in the video is from that year, when it initially showed up), and we continued to do things exactly the same. In the last couple of years we have added data (although many would prefer to rely on their âgut feelingsâ) and science (reading does not come naturally and brain research is amazing) but we continue to teacher and use the same materials in many of our classrooms.
Now, it is SO HARD, and everyone in education is a first year teacher all over again- but it does not look like last January, never mind 1990.
We need to reflect and learn- and change.
Change is scary but because we are scared it does not mean we should refuse to reflect, learn, and change.
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My friends in higher ed talk about this as an opportunity for finally moving forward and making much needed changes and then I listen to K-12 educators and hear âWho moved my cheese!?â Change is hard but a catalyst arrived and forced some movement.
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Thank you. I will get it on google books for him. He loves reading! Heâs excited to start speaking. His former high school does different things for other community schools. He (and 2 others) signed up to talk to do weekly talks to different at risk groups.
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Since I know we have been discussing freedoms vs restrictions as well as wealth transfer in this thread, I thought I would just mention some recent headlines:
The mandate in Greece that people must text the government to get permission to leave their home.
Per wealth transfer, the restrictions and lockdowns have transferred wealth from small biz to big biz. This is part of the great reset - wealth redistribution.
https://twitter.com/DanPriceSeattle/status/1329560598108131333
Government willingly going along with WEF ideas, like common/health/covid-19 pass.
https://www.weforum.org/projects/commonpass
These passes are already talked about in Ireland. UK announced plans/ideas for a âFreedom passâ if you get 2 negative covid test within a week. If you were free, you would not need a âfreedom passâ. Also, to me, this is likened to âpapers pleaseâ
https://www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/services/freedom-pass
A source told the Telegraph: âThey will allow someone to wander down the streets, and if someone else asks why they are not wearing a mask, they can show the card, letter or an App.â
The idea that I am trying to get across is that if on Day 1, we were told all that would happen to us, the potential backlash would/could (should) have been much greater. Because we keep this slow slide of freedom loss, no one sees it as much. It is the frog in the boiling water scenario: 2 weeks to stop the curve, 2 more weeks to stop hospital overruns, then next 2 weeks are crucial, we have to get R number down, then concerned about spikes, then just a few more months, then just until we get a vaccine, then eventually until we get next vaccine or show your papers.
When 9/11 happened, many people thought the airport security measures were temporary until al Qaeda was taken down or OBL removed as leader, but those things stayed. Why would the government give up their new ârightsâ since the people will not take them back. The more we give as a society to the government, the more it will take.
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I am curious @sanstitre_has_left_the_building have you made your decision? which month and why? Itâs is good info to help others who have to make same decision.
My apologies if I missed you answer above. I tried to find it, but maybe I missed it.
The freedom pass youâve linked is a bus pass for pensioners to get free travel.
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lol. sorry. The news article is correct though right? hereâs another just in case.