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The Downfall of the Western World...

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NowWhat
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13 Aug 2011, 10:40 am

WorldsEdge wrote:
  • What is "quality of life?"
  • Is it capable of objective measure, or is it subjective depending upon one's perspective?
  • Assuming objectivity is possible, what factors matter, and what don't?
  • Assuming we can point to this or that as an objective standard, what can we consider accurate and what do we take with a grain of salt?
  • A decline or rise in quality of life presupposes some sort of baseline that we're measuring against (again, assuming objectivity, and all the preceding blah,blah, blah). What to use for this? And, how comparable is the Year X baseline to Year Y (2000, 2011, 2020, whatever?)

.

Here's a reasonable standard for measuring http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s ... y_of_needs
I think Quality of Life is totally subjective depending on circumstances and expectations. Circumstances are changing in the western world that will make old expectations unreasonable. Many people used to work for the same company for 30 years, then retire. Now many people may never retire. Housing used to be a good investment, now it's bankrupting many. I've never missed a meal, but if there is a change in government I could see it happening.



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13 Aug 2011, 10:43 am

Oodain wrote:
there is as many mercenaries in afghanistan as there is actual troops, to say militray is only that of government is a bit naive.


Hired by whom? The government, of course.

ruveyn



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13 Aug 2011, 10:47 am

techn0teen wrote:
This is meant to be a discussion about why the quality of life is going down in the Western world (Europe and the United States). Does anyone have any reasons/theories/observations on why?

.


quality is subjective, quantity is objective. I find "quality of life" arguments bogus and generally used by liberals to excoriate society for not following their merry path over the Cliff of Destruction.

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13 Aug 2011, 10:52 am

ruveyn wrote:
Oodain wrote:
there is as many mercenaries in afghanistan as there is actual troops, to say militray is only that of government is a bit naive.


Hired by whom? The government, of course.

ruveyn


Follow the dollar. Who's making the profit? Private military contracts were estimated to be $100 billion dollar industry back in '07 (and as Oodain pointed out, this includes mercenaries, not just manufacturers). Greed and mismanagement - absolutely, but the government neither profits from nor manages these private firms.



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13 Aug 2011, 10:55 am

number5 wrote:
ruveyn wrote:
Oodain wrote:
there is as many mercenaries in afghanistan as there is actual troops, to say militray is only that of government is a bit naive.


Hired by whom? The government, of course.

ruveyn


Follow the dollar. Who's making the profit? Private military contracts were estimated to be $100 billion dollar industry back in '07 (and as Oodain pointed out, this includes mercenaries, not just manufacturers). Greed and mismanagement - absolutely, but the government neither profits from nor manages these private firms.


You are describing the ill effects of Crony Capitalism. When business and government go to bed with each other it is the small tax payer who is f*cked.



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13 Aug 2011, 11:08 am

ruveyn wrote:
number5 wrote:
ruveyn wrote:
Oodain wrote:
there is as many mercenaries in afghanistan as there is actual troops, to say militray is only that of government is a bit naive.


Hired by whom? The government, of course.

ruveyn


Follow the dollar. Who's making the profit? Private military contracts were estimated to be $100 billion dollar industry back in '07 (and as Oodain pointed out, this includes mercenaries, not just manufacturers). Greed and mismanagement - absolutely, but the government neither profits from nor manages these private firms.


You are describing the ill effects of Crony Capitalism. When business and government go to bed with each other it is the small tax payer who is f*cked.

ruveyn


Indeed, but who puts these cronies in the government? Who funds their campaigns? Who pays for the PAC's? Who owns the media?

The government hasn't been running the show for quite some time now. Our government has been purchased. All of our branches have been affected, including the judicial (see judicial elections). The new owners make the rules.



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13 Aug 2011, 1:49 pm

number5 wrote:

The government hasn't been running the show for quite some time now. Our government has been purchased. All of our branches have been affected, including the judicial (see judicial elections). The new owners make the rules.


Util we either vote them out or burn them out.

It would be beneficial if every ten years or so, the people would rise up and enter the government offices dragging out those who occupy the offices and hanging them from the nearest lamp post or overpass. Or if that seems too violent, then applying tar and feathers. Think of what happened to Mussollini. Now apply the same technique closer to home.

Finally the lamp posts of the nation would bear the fruit of righteousness.

ruveyn



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13 Aug 2011, 2:47 pm

ruveyn wrote:
number5 wrote:

The government hasn't been running the show for quite some time now. Our government has been purchased. All of our branches have been affected, including the judicial (see judicial elections). The new owners make the rules.


Util we either vote them out or burn them out.

It would be beneficial if every ten years or so, the people would rise up and enter the government offices dragging out those who occupy the offices and hanging them from the nearest lamp post or overpass. Or if that seems too violent, then applying tar and feathers. Think of what happened to Mussollini. Now apply the same technique closer to home.

Finally the lamp posts of the nation would bear the fruit of righteousness.

ruveyn


Fruit of the righteous? Getting a bit messianic there, aren't we? :lol:

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer



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15 Aug 2011, 8:34 am

MarketAndChurch wrote:
Oregon is not a good example of weathering the economic storm, we had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country entering the recession and for most of the last 2 years, and now we're moving towards the middle but we're no shining gem at number 36 in the country for highest employment rate. Washington isn't either at 33.


Ironically, that's what makes it a good example.

Areas that are already, or regularly, in a state of economic repression tend to weather bad times better because their communities are already used to it.

Areas with prosperity don't handle downturns in the economy as well because the impact is more extreme and upsetting.