2 ms·

Wait, who is eating the marshmallow ... and what is the marshmallow in this analogy?

by smcl 5y ago

V-2 5y ago
> what is the marshmallow in this analogy? The surplus of resources, I guess. The disposable income of a nation.
- smcl 5y ago
  If Haiti had, say, vast oil wealth but wasted the proceeds and you compared it specifically to Norway (who have, all things considered, responsibly handled their oil wealth) then sure. But I cannot see what resources or wealth representing the "marshmallow" that they are supposed to have foolishly, greedily gobbled up. It doesn't make sense, it's just someone painting the Haitians as a short-sighted and reckless people (which I believe is untrue) without giving any reasons why they believe this.
  - Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
    > It doesn't make sense, it's just someone painting the Haitians as a short-sighted and reckless people Who did that?
  - tw04 5y ago
    >But I cannot see what resources or wealth representing the "marshmallow" that they are supposed to have foolishly, greedily gobbled up. The entire reason they were a colony was due to having vast amounts of arable land where coffee and sugar cane was grown. That's ignoring the natural beauty of the country that would be ripe for tourism if they had corruption and crime under control. It doesn't make sense to act as if Haiti is a barren wasteland with no possible way to generate wealth. The "marshmallow" is quite literally the wealth the country as a whole can generate. They are one of the worst countries in the entire world when it comes to corruption index: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index
ethbr0 5y ago
Thanks, HN. Now I'll have Sir Daniel Day-Lewis saying "I eat your marshmallow" in my head all day.
tw04 5y ago
I presume marshmallow = taxes/wealth. Eating it = corrupt politicians pocketing it/corrupt usage of it.
Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
The public institutions are eating the marshmallow and the marshmallow is the public funding available to them, whether it's from taxes, foreign aid or bribes extracted from ordinary people. Eating it is taking the public funding for their own personal use, or offering tenders to friends who have no intention of actually doing the job. Here's the first result that comes up when I do a web search for "how corruption works", it's pretty informative for those who are unfamiliar with the concept: https://www.transparency.org/en/what-is-corruption https://www.transparency.org/en/what-is-corruption

Wait, who is eating the marshmallow ... and what is the marshmallow in this analogy?

by smcl 5y ago

Wait, who is eating the marshmallow ... and what is the marshmallow in this analogy?

V-2 5y ago

> what is the marshmallow in this analogy? The surplus of resources, I guess. The disposable income of a nation.

smcl 5y ago
If Haiti had, say, vast oil wealth but wasted the proceeds and you compared it specifically to Norway (who have, all things considered, responsibly handled their oil wealth) then sure. But I cannot see what resources or wealth representing the "marshmallow" that they are supposed to have foolishly, greedily gobbled up. It doesn't make sense, it's just someone painting the Haitians as a short-sighted and reckless people (which I believe is untrue) without giving any reasons why they believe this.
- Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago
  > It doesn't make sense, it's just someone painting the Haitians as a short-sighted and reckless people Who did that?
- tw04 5y ago
  >But I cannot see what resources or wealth representing the "marshmallow" that they are supposed to have foolishly, greedily gobbled up. The entire reason they were a colony was due to having vast amounts of arable land where coffee and sugar cane was grown. That's ignoring the natural beauty of the country that would be ripe for tourism if they had corruption and crime under control. It doesn't make sense to act as if Haiti is a barren wasteland with no possible way to generate wealth. The "marshmallow" is quite literally the wealth the country as a whole can generate. They are one of the worst countries in the entire world when it comes to corruption index: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index

ethbr0 5y ago

Thanks, HN. Now I'll have Sir Daniel Day-Lewis saying "I eat your marshmallow" in my head all day.

tw04 5y ago

I presume marshmallow = taxes/wealth. Eating it = corrupt politicians pocketing it/corrupt usage of it.

Tabular-Iceberg 5y ago

The public institutions are eating the marshmallow and the marshmallow is the public funding available to them, whether it's from taxes, foreign aid or bribes extracted from ordinary people. Eating it is taking the public funding for their own personal use, or offering tenders to friends who have no intention of actually doing the job. Here's the first result that comes up when I do a web search for "how corruption works", it's pretty informative for those who are unfamiliar with the concept: https://www.transparency.org/en/what-is-corruption https://www.transparency.org/en/what-is-corruption