Presidential Election 2011

[wonderm]

Another excellent recent article by Thomas Friedman which explains why people around the world are increasingly unhappy with their governments.


\"We are increasingly taking easy credit, routine work and government jobs and entitlements away from the middle class — at a time when it takes more skill to get and hold a decent job, at a time when citizens have more access to media to organize, protest and challenge authority and at a time when this same merger of globalization and I.T. is creating huge wages for people with global skills (or for those who learn to game the system and get access to money, monopolies or government contracts by being close to those in power) — thus widening income gaps and fueling resentments even more.\"

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/Friedman-a-theory-of-everyting-sort-of.html?

[concern2]

wonderm:

Another excellent recent article by Thomas Friedman which explains why people around the world are increasingly unhappy with their governments...


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/Friedman-a-theory-of-everyting-sort-of.html?

Intriguing and insightful.
\"The merger of globalization and I.T. is driving huge productivity gains, especially in recessionary times, where employers are finding it easier, cheaper and more necessary than ever to replace labor with machines, computers, robots and talented foreign workers.\" - reminds me of Apple's consideration to replace labour with machines. :sad:

and this:

\"This is the single most important trend in the world today. And it is a critical reason why, to get into the middle class now, you have to study harder, work smarter and adapt quicker than ever before. All this technology and globalization are eliminating more and more “routine” work — the sort of work that once sustained a lot of middle-class lifestyles.\"

So much for feeling happy about doing an honest day's work! Humans values and humanity is diminished by all these over-emphasis on riches and status. People are nothing but money-producing machine - and when they can't work, replace them with robots - so why give birth anymore har?

[3Boys]

concern2:

So much for feeling happy about doing an honest day's work! Humans values and humanity is diminished by all these over-emphasis on riches and status. People are nothing but money-producing machine - and when they can't work, replace them with robots - so why give birth anymore har?

And perhaps the situation 100 years ago when most work was manual and menial, most workers uninsured is preferable to our situation today?

I can't imagine anything more dehumanising than doing a repetitive job that a robot can do better. The less of those the better, but the new jobs obviously need a different skill level.

[concern2]

3Boys:

concern2:

So much for feeling happy about doing an honest day's work! Humans values and humanity is diminished by all these over-emphasis on riches and status. People are nothing but money-producing machine - and when they can't work, replace them with robots - so why give birth anymore har?

And perhaps the situation 100 years ago when most work was manual and menial, most workers uninsured is preferable to our situation today?

I can't imagine anything more dehumanising than doing a repetitive job that a robot can do better. The less of those the better, but the new jobs obviously need a different skill level.

If you ask someone with the knowledge of what he had 100 years ago to do what we do today, I think he'd choose to do the manual, menial work. The fact is that society (with its people) takes time to grow - like I mentioned, you can't grow a forest overnight. It is a process, and it is what one receives and gives that gives shape to the society (and forest).

Got this book in hand, titled,\"The Wisdom of Sustainability\", haven't read it yet. Has anyone read it already?

[concern2]

concern2:

3Boys:

[quote=\"concern2\"]
So much for feeling happy about doing an honest day's work! Humans values and humanity is diminished by all these over-emphasis on riches and status. People are nothing but money-producing machine - and when they can't work, replace them with robots - so why give birth anymore har?

And perhaps the situation 100 years ago when most work was manual and menial, most workers uninsured is preferable to our situation today?

I can't imagine anything more dehumanising than doing a repetitive job that a robot can do better. The less of those the better, but the new jobs obviously need a different skill level.

If you ask someone with the knowledge of what he had 100 years ago to do what we do today, I think he'd choose to do the manual, menial work. The fact is that society (with its people) takes time to grow - like I mentioned, you can't grow a forest overnight. It is a process, and it is what one receives and gives that gives shape to the society (and forest)...[/quote]To add...Perhaps 100 years ago, or just decades ago, people may feel,\"As long as I have hands and legs (As the chinese saying goes, 只要有手有脚) have good health, I won't starve to death.\" But how relevant is this going to be? Oooops, I think getting :offtopic: here.

[Way2GO]

3Boys:

concern2:

Thanks for sharing, Way2Go!

\"They know that the financial elite is in bed with the political elite. The interests of the banks will be taken care of; the interests of the people will not. Yet while all this is happening, politics is on autopilot.\" (Kishore Mahbubani, a retired Singaporean diplomat) - Although referring to America, nonetheless, sounding familiar..

Errr.....I think we all know Kishore......his views are somewhat....ahem...to put it delicately, leftist, IMO.

KM a leftist? How far left is he? Rising fr very humble beginnings to foreign service postings in Cambodia in d war years, to US n UN n now Dean of LKY School of Public Policy, he has never step up to the plate to bat for the less fortunate in SG in my recollection.
Concern2 is right dat there r parallels in US n SG about d financial/business elite being in bed with d political elite. Dat's inevitable to remain relevant.

3Boys:

concern2:

and this: \"Can you remember the last time you felt a national leader looked us in the eye and told us there is no easy solution to our major problems, that we’ve gotten into this mess by being self-indulgent or ideologically fixated over two decades and that now we need to spend the next five years rolling up our sleeves, possibly accepting a lower living standard and making up for our excesses?\"

Funny how anyone would quote Thomas Friedman as a way of bashing our g'ment. Have any of you read Thomas Friedman's books and columns? He is a big fan of Singapore's way of governing. He visited Gan Eng Seng school and cited lessons being taught there as being on the right track for equipping children for the future (as opposed to what goes on in the USA). It came out in the NY Times --> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/30/opinion/30friedman.html

I quote from that article; \"America never would or should copy Singapore’s less-than-free politics. But Singapore has something to teach us about “attitude” — about taking governing seriously and thinking strategically. We used to do that and must again because our little brick house with central heating is not going to be resistant to the storms much longer.\"

One positive about dis gahman is dat it has not gone d populist ways but implemented right but tough policies when required.
If u read carefully some of TF’s columns with SG ref, u may also notice dat he feeds off KM, n dat he has bought lock, stock n barrel wat’s sold to him. In return, KM gets free publicity in d US press.
I quote NYT press release on TF's dismissal:
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-new-york-times-announces-thomas-friedmans-dismissal-2011-8

\"As of this date we have notified Thomas Friedman that the New York Times no longer has a place for his column. While we recognize that Mr. Friedman had a substantial following, his column had simply become too much of an embarrassment for the newspaper and its staff. Column after column would make broad assertions that were almost completely impervious to the facts.

3Boys:

concern2:

The funny thing is, we still buy it, right? Asking us to tighten our belts and they continue to draw millions and billions? We like to hear good things, because we believe, and we want to believe, and want to continue believing.....

What's so hard to buy? Very simple question, which other developed country would you rather be a citizen of today? I pick Singapore, and so would many many others.

U read about d leak on Min Yacoob’s wife n children being US citizens? There r more of those who can holding dual citizenships. An exit strategy shd SG go wrong for them. Sure there r some positives, but if SG is so good, why need to buy insurance, esp so for supposedly leaders of d country?

[3Boys]

Way2Go, did you even read that link you provided from business insider properly?? For heaven’s sake, its not a quote from NYT, its a spoof! Please lah, really…

[concern2]

Interesting, the focus is now on Thomas Friedman...


Is this a spoof of the New York Times? It doesn't have the copyright statements at the bottom of the page... It says 'copyleft'..

http://www.nytimes-se.com/2009/07/04/the-end-of-the-experts/

[Way2GO]

3Boys:

Way2Go, did you even read that link you provided from business insider properly?? For heaven's sake, its not a quote from NYT, its a spoof! Please lah, really.....

:oops: my mistake in posting NYT press release from business insider.
Spoof or not, I share Dean Baker's sentiments highlighted in previous post dat \"Column after column would make broad assertions that were almost completely impervious to the facts.\"