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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tenchusatsu who wrote (184434)	3/10/2004 7:31:09 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1572790

Ten, re: Rather, I'm advocating a reform of the culture, one that truly embodies the words of JFK (Kennedy, not Kerry), "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Maybe if we have more active participation from American citizens in all aspects of society, from Federal government to grassroots organizations, we'd have less of an entitlement mentality and fewer demands for more, more, more on the backs of the "rich." I certainly agree with the first part. Kennedy provided moral leadership, he inspired people. That's been mostly lacking since. I think we see the country and economy differently. You see a totally free marketplace where everyone's contribution is rewarded according to it's value and the competition for that particular contribution. If you can't or won't contribute, then you get no reward from the system. If the econmic winds shift and your contribution has increased competition, it becomes less precious and your reward gets smaller. It's the Ayn Rand conservative view, and has a lot of merit. My view is this huge economic machine that spins off positive cash flow. There has always been and always will be social and economic engineering; it's almost the definition of government. In my world (and I think my world is closer to reality), I think we should try to level the rewards through the way we impliment social engineering. Most everyone contributes, from the guy who sweeps the factory floor at night to the CEO. All should take pride in their contribution, and be rewarded with a livable wage. Certainly the CEO should make more than the janitor, but he doesn't need to make 1000 times more. At the same time, those at the very bottom should participate in the cash flow as well. Whatever the reason that they can't contribute, old age, bad social upbringing, psychological or physical problems etc ("there but by the grace of God go I"), I think that a society should ultimately be judged by how all it's people get along, not just the middle class and the rich. There is merit to both sides, and the answer is somewhere in the middle, between us. But I see the pendulum (social engineering) swinging way towards the Ayn Rand model (I think you see it the other way). I don't think we'll ever agree on this. John PS Everybody should read Atlas Shrugged.