Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-16-2010, 03:17 PM   #41
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Palma de Mallorca
Posts: 1,419
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hesiod
I see no hope for the future of our people if they are dependent on the frivolous youth of today, for certainly, all youth are reckless beyond words. When I was a boy, we were taught to be discrete and respectful of elders, but the present youth are exceedingly wise and impatient of restraint.
That's Hesiod as in the Greek poet, circa 700 BCE. About 100 generations have come and gone since...
BigNick is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 07-16-2010, 03:24 PM   #42
Moderator Emeritus
 
Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 12,894
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hesiod
Wow, he's still posting on ER.org 100 generations later!
FIREd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2010, 03:45 PM   #43
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
Quote:
And that is my point... a long life of ups and downs... and some downs where there was no food to eat... this down will go away in my lifetime (at least I hope I continue to live!!!)... and life will be a bowl of cherries again... and later in my life.... we will have another downturn with hand wringing and doom and gloom... so that is why I do not worry to much about the state we are in... it will be fixed when enough of the people want it changed.... I for one want it changed NOW... but even if it is not, I will be happy in my life... If I lose everything... I will find a way to keep alive and... hopefully be happy....


Texas, I appreciate you serious post and agree with what you say, and with most of what has been said in this thread. My main point is technical. I don’t equate speculating on or analysis of political economy to handwringing. The pen is a mighty instrument, and there is no reason that I or anyone else should refrain from speaking up about what to me at least appear to be glaringly wrong turns, just because I don’t know how or don't have the power to remedy them. The same skills than can clearly enunciate or point out something are not necessarily the right ones to remedy it, and for that matter vice versa also holds.

For most of us a far larger component of personal happiness will be our personal health and how we are treated by people who are close to us. Still, there is room for less personal intellectual concern and involvement.

In American culture, a perennially popular shut-up tactic is to call one who mentions a flaw in the body politic a hand wringer, or suggest that one’s glass should be half full, or that one shouldn’t hide under his bed. These are simply red herrings, and can easily dismissed by any reader of even middling education or experience.

Perhaps the following is not true of most posters, but I post on practical things, occasional personal things, and also on impersonal aspects of political economy. To me the distinction is fairly obvious.

If anyone is worried that I am getting morose, be assured that I am not. Last night was the third time this week that I went out dancing, and I have a date tonight, my relationships are good and casi todo está bien.



I guess I have never completely lost my taste for college bull sessions or classrom discussions.

Ha
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2010, 04:35 PM   #44
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
wildcat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Lou-evil
Posts: 2,025
Ha -

I have always respected your point of view and I hope you don't change the stuff you want to share or feel is relevant to us all

And

I will only worry if you sell PM and start posting about how you had a delicious bowl of Ramen noodles the previous night
__________________
"These walls are kind of funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them"
wildcat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-16-2010, 06:38 PM   #45
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
NW-Bound's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
Seattle hi temp = 72F, a bit of cloudiness, with zero chance of rain. I am envious.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
NW-Bound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2010, 07:50 AM   #46
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
 
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Lawn chair in Texas
Posts: 14,183
Quote:
Originally Posted by FIREdreamer View Post
Wow, he's still posting on ER.org 100 generations later!
What's his SWR? And waht does he do all day?

Quote:
Originally Posted by haha View Post
I guess I have never completely lost my taste for college bull sessions or classrom discussions.

Ha
I enjoy discussions like these, but I find that there's so much extreme polarization these days (though it may not actually be any worse than previous times) that a "discussion", i.e. one that might actually come to a compromise agreement, is difficult...

The current and recent past presidents are prime examples. Satan both...

High public and private debt, religious and political extremism, pollution and "climate change", inflation (deflation?), bird flu, swine flu, overpopulation...

And I can't find a moderately conservative rep or president who could be elected, because they wouldn't "energize the base"...
__________________
Have Funds, Will Retire

...not doing anything of true substance...
HFWR is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2010, 12:51 PM   #47
Moderator Emeritus
M Paquette's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Portland
Posts: 4,946
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tigger View Post
I stumbled upon another disturbing piece like that.

There are "pogroms against bankers" and taxes are too high, therefore "the political equality of the citizen must be ended"?! Who is paying these guys?

Hobson - Summer 2010 - Global Custodian
Oog. A 'rentier political class'? "The only lasting solution to the plague of unlimited democracy is to attack democracy at it's moral foundation: the political equality of the citizen."

I'm not entirely sure that this would be a place I'd be happy living in. A glorified feudal state might not be the best place for early retirement, unless I were part of the landed aristocracy, of course.

That's the fun thing about free speech, though. We can express whatever ideas the little voices in our heads come up with, and others are free to ignore them, find entertainment, or engage in the fine art of dialectic.

Me? I like to watch...
M Paquette is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-17-2010, 02:18 PM   #48
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
harley's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: No fixed abode
Posts: 8,764
Quote:
Originally Posted by HFWR View Post
The current and recent past presidents are prime examples. Satan both...

High public and private debt, religious and political extremism, pollution and "climate change", inflation (deflation?), bird flu, swine flu, overpopulation...

__________________
"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement." - Anonymous (not Will Rogers or Sam Clemens)
DW and I - FIREd at 50 (7/06), living off assets
harley is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-18-2010, 06:41 AM   #49
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
RonBoyd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Denver, Colorado
Posts: 6,256
Interesting idea:

Why Earthquakes Rock Democracies Less

Quote:
In a democracy, leaders must maintain the confidence of large portions of the population in order to stay in power. To do so, they need to protect the people from natural disasters by enforcing building codes and ensuring that bureaucracies are run by competent administrators. When politicians fail to deliver -- by, for example, letting too many die in disasters -- they lose their jobs. On average, 39 percent of democracies experience anti-government protests within any two-year period. The rate almost doubles after a major earthquake (defined as one that results in more than 200 casualties). And whereas 40 percent of democratic nations replace their leader in any two-year period, between 1976 and 2007, 91 percent of them did so following a major earthquake.
Quote:
Indeed, a lack of political will to confront disasters plagues nondemocratic regimes, which, unlike democratic governments, do not rely on popular support. As in democracies, the rate of anti-government protests almost doubles after major earthquakes, but the rate at which the governments are deposed does not increase by nearly as much -- from 22 percent over any two-year period to 24 percent following a major earthquake. Democratically elected leaders are highly sensitive to casualties from natural disasters, but nondemocratic leaders are not. And, indeed, the latter do a poor job of protecting their citizens from Mother Nature.
__________________
"It's tough to make predictions, especially when it involves the future." ~Attributed to many
"In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is." ~(perhaps by) Yogi Berra
"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge."~ Lau tzu
RonBoyd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-20-2010, 02:41 PM   #50
Full time employment: Posting here.
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Far NW 'burbs of Chicago
Posts: 898
Quote:
Originally Posted by haha View Post
...
"Democracy is two wolves and a lamb deciding what to have for lunch."-att. to Ben Franklin

Ha
"Liberty is a lamb who is armed, contesting the results."
(unknown)
Gearhead Jim is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
faithful nation gets Jesus wrong sgeeeee Other topics 14 08-18-2005 06:29 PM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:03 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.