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Grabbed from Sociological Images – Again, more evidence that egalitarian policies are good not only for people, but for business.
“George W. Bush did not really say, “The problem with the French is that they have no word for entrepreneur.” But that statement does fit with the American tendency to view our country as the land of entrepreneurship (literally “enterprise”). America is, after all, the land of opportunity, where anyone can become rich. And the way to get rich is to be an independent, risk-taking entrepreneur and start your own business. That’s what we do here in the US, and we do it better than most. At least that’s what we think.
But look at this chart showing the rate of start-ups per working-age population:
The US ranks 23rd. That doesn’t quite square with all those photo-ops where the president (Obama, Bush, Clinton – they all do it) goes to some small successful company out in the heartland. What is it about these other countries that makes for more risk-takikng?
James Wimberly has an answer: the safety net. He makes the point with an analogy – his own photos of kids on a rope-walk – a single rope hung between two platforms in what looks like the Brazilian rain forest. (It’s really just a replanted hillside, formerly the site of a favela). The kids have safety devices – hard hats, a safety harness, guide-ropes to hold on to. Without these, only a few of the most f oolhardy would try a Philippe Petit walk. But the safety devices allow lots of kids to take a risk they would otherwise avoid.
The same logic applies to small business.
How many Americans are locked into jobs they hate by the fear of losing health benefits? No Dane ever has to worry about losing her right to medical care by quitting her job to go it alone
Safety devices cost money, but they pay off. On the rope-walk, you can see the reward in the expression on the kids’ faces when they reach the other platform. In the national data, you see it in the those start-ups.
The countries with significantly higher startup rates than the USA are those with stronger, more comprehensive, and more centralised social safety nets, along with correspondingly higher taxation.
See Wimberly’s entire post – with the photos, footnotes, and comments – for a fuller explanation.
Think of yourself as strong willed? An outlier? I bet you’re not :) The psychology of group interactions is fascinating, and Theramin Trees explores historical and more recent research on the topic.
Do you still think there are absolute morals? QS may persuade you otherwise as he tackles the arguments for god based on the existence of morality. As a side benefit he also does a wonderful job of explaining the is/ought problem. Grab a coffee as this vid weights in at 17 minutes, but I assure you it is 17 minutes well spent if you value intellectual edification.
Lest We Forget.
Poignant words. Powerful words. Oft recited words by people of all political stripes, but what do they mean? Do we honour them on Remembrance Day, every other day?
The words are often added to the end of the Ode of Remembrance, although they were never a part of it. As the actual Ode of Remembrance is actually quite long, we often only hear the third and fourth stanzas:
- They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
- Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow.
- They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
- They fell with their faces to the foe.
- They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
- Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
- At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
- We will remember them.
I remember hearing this every year during school, from grades 1 to 12, and repeating Lest We Forget back to the speaker at the end of the recital of that poem. I remember seeing the veterans of WWI and WWII dressed in their uniform and being proud of them. I was told they were great men, and I still believe they are today. The WWI veterans fought in the Great War, the war to end all wars it was called. We were very lucky to still have some among us in my small town. The WWII veterans fought what could be called a continuation of that war. But finally they won the war, again, and this could be the end of war.
I also remember the days that were not the eleventh day of the eleventh month of my childhood. I remember the first Gulf War, and what heroes we were being by rescuing Kuwait. I remember glorifying the soldier and the war. I remember trading collectible cards. I remember watching that war on television every night with my father and talking about it the next day with my classmates during recess. It was what everyone was doing.
Hardly what those who fought the war to end all wars would have wanted us to do, I would think. As just as that war may or may not have been, the glorification of that war instead of what should have been a sombre seems contrary to the spirit of remembrance.
Lest We Forget?
Of course, then there are all the wars that have been fought by the participants of WWI and WWII since then. Korea in the 50’s. Vietnam in the 60’s and 70’s. Iraq and Kosovo in the 90’s. Of course the omnipresent, hyper-militarization of the Cold War throughout that time. Then of course the Current war in Afghanistan and the second Iraq war. If you count Canada’s garrisons ready to fight during the cold war, there has not been a single decade that’s passed since the end of WWII that Canada has not been involved in the making of war.
Lest We Forgot?
Lest We Never Learned Our Lessons at All?
Throughout the work, Verdi uses vigorous rhythms, sublime melodies, and dramatic contrasts—much as he did in his operas—to express the powerful emotions engendered by the text. The terrifying (and instantly recognizable) Dies irae that introduces the traditional sequence of the Latin funeral rite is repeated throughout for a sense of unity, which allows Verdi to explore the feelings of loss and sorrow as well as the human desire for forgiveness and mercy found in the intervening movements of the Requiem.
I did not think of photographing the last one I made, so this will have do for now. :)
A little change up from the usual Thursday post. Shipwreck casserole is one of my favourite foods to eat and prepare. It is a balanced one dish meal.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions
- 1 cup of thinly sliced carrots
- 3 medium potatoes
- 1 lb hamburger, uncooked (or 1/2 and 1/2 with ground pork)
- 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 (10 ounce) can condensed tomato soup (plus a can filled with water or vegetable juice works well here)
- salt
- pepper
- Optional – Garlic, Paprika, Cheese
Directions:
- Grease a medium large casserole pan with butter.
- Prepare to season each layer with salt and pepper (garlic/paprika) as you go.
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Thinly slice potatoes into the bottom of a baking dish. Add a layer of thinly sliced onions.
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Over onions spread hamburger. Next add uncooked rice. Add a layer of chopped celery, top with chopped carrots.
- (Optional – Add a layer of havarti/cheddar/favourite cheese on top of hamburger)
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Combine soup with an equal amount of water(vegetable juice) and pour over all.
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Cover and bake (make sure there is enough moisture and add more if necessary) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours at 350°F.
Nothing particularly scientific about the recipe, you need enough of each ingredient to make each layer. Season each as you go and end with carrots…lots of carrots they are just sooooo good. Makes a wonderful meal and great leftovers to take to work the next day for easy microwave action.
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