| Topic Name: |
Krakow, Poland |
| Message Name: |
Not a matter of "deserve"... |
| Date Posted: |
03/08/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
It's hard for me to see how Americans "deserve" work any more than anyone else simply on the basis of birthright.
I'm working in India right now -- as I write this -- and, although it's admittedly not as simplistic as I make it here for the sake of brevity, Indians are willing to work very hard to get better things for themselves and their families. If you want to compete with them, you have to be willing to work just as hard. And that's where the entitlement mentality/general complacency wears out its welcome.
Supported by a stable government and a good education, they are able to compete. Sure, eventually their lower-cost advantage will erode, but by that point, they plan to have made investments in infrastructure (both physical and institutional) that will allow the next generation to move further up the value chain.
With that said, I strongly agree that it's up to government to keep businesses honest and up to us to hold them accountable.
P.S. The "kept war out of your backyard" line had me rolling on the floor. Sad to see the politics of fear taking root. |
| Message: |
.... it's a matter of how you make your business decisions. If you make them with absolutely no regard to your country or the society to which you partially owe your success, then you do your country a disservice just by looking at the bottom line.
All the decisions of all the corporations which erode the middle class bring America closer to one of those many countries with virtually no middle class, a few very rich people, and many dirt poor people living in shanty towns. The world is full of unsuccessful countries that ignore the middle class in favor of the interests of the rich, and it's the state to which countries naturally gravitate. Government needs to stop it.
And P.S. when I said "war out of your back yard" I meant that we have never seen a real shooting war here in America in our lifetimes, and it's a real every day benefit that a solid government brings. Many people can't start any business in their homeland because it's a war zone full of bandits. Funny about your interpretation though.
But all the sacrifices of all the US soldiers that have died paid help pay for our safety. And they weren't laying down their lives hoping that other people would sell out their country for a buck the second they could.
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