6 ms·
We are killing the golden goose
by 1auralynn 1y ago
We are killing the golden goose
- mistrial9 1y agodunno if it is this plain.. the regulatory capture in the last 30 years is not null. Especially in very niche, very profitable sub-corners of big-S Science.
- bilbo0s 1y agoA reminder that in a democracy, it's probably best to make sure the gold is widely shared. Lest the poorly educated masses of people without access to the gold vote to kill the goose.
- fifilura 1y agoImpossible since that would mean extreme left wing radical socialism. And communism.
- bilbo0s 1y agoSigh. Unfortunately, your implications are spot on. We, the people, are our own worst enemies.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 1y agoYou have to attribute some blame to the elite who run an ongoing propaganda campaign for voters to work against their own interests.
- apercu 1y agoReally? Is that your honest take? It's either late stage unfettered capitalism, regulatory capture and oligarchy OR communism? Edit: I forgot theocracy.
- neogodless 1y agoUnless there could be a less black and white option in the middle? Like a bit more taxes on the wealthiest, a bit more social safety nets for the neediest?
- fifilura 1y agoYeah obviously. I am not from USA, but maybe you'll need to figure this out on state level? Country level seems rather blocked at the moment.
- arrosenberg 1y agoCan't do it, individual states can't print money and freedom of movement means the free rider problem will pop up quickly.
- fifilura 1y ago> can't print money But can they raise taxes? > freedom of movement EU also has freedom of movement, but vastly different social security systems. Language is of course an extra barrier, but how much people will move is overrated. And maybe you could restrict supposed benefits to people who have lived there in a few years. Obviously IANAL, but i am thinking - seems like you generally hate your government no matter who it is, so maybe states should be a bit more independent.
- arrosenberg 1y ago> But can they raise taxes? Sure, but the math doesn't work out. Vermont and California have both tried in various forms. > EU also has freedom of movement, blah blah blah They also coordinated the laws between the member countries. That's exactly what the federal government would need to do in this case, very good! The EU system doesn't work particularly well either, because it's loosely confederated. The US government has far more ability to coordinate the States.
- insane_dreamer 1y agoSarcasm detector has to be pretty high to catch this one ;) But you've touched on the problem: any attempt to reform is immediately cast as "communism" (also without really understanding communism and equating it with soviet authoritarianism, but that's another topic).
- fifilura 1y agoYeah, cultural difference. Coming from Europe I think the sarcasm was pretty obvious. More like "duh".
- fallingknife 1y agoInequality isn't the cause of our problems in the US. It's basically the same as it was in the 90s https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SIPOVGINIUSA https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/SIPOVGINIUSA Inequality in general is a complaint that is most often heard from people making 6 figures complaining about billionaires, but you don't actually hear it from the "poorly educated masses of people without access to the gold" as you put it.
- insane_dreamer 1y agoI disagree. Inequality is very much at the root of our problems. But killing the golden goose will not help solve the inequality, but only make it worse by making it even more expensive and difficult to get into universities with top research programs.
- saulpw 1y agoYou can quote statistics to show that "inequality is the same", but that's obviously not the case. To wit, Bill Gates became the richest person in the '90s with wealth of $13 billion. There are now 10 people with more than $100 billion each. Meanwhile inflation since 1990 has been only 2.5x. The richest individuals have an order of magnitude more wealth, and you can't say this is inconsequential when the richest person in the world (net worth $300b+) is actively leading the effort to dismantle US government institutions.
- fallingknife 1y agoYes, your anecdote about one person out of 300 million has convinced me that the statistics compiled by the Federal Reserve about the entire population are clearly incorrect.
- saulpw 1y agoPerception is politics.
- ckw 1y ago‘An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.’ Plutarch
- WeylandYutani 1y agoThey could have voted socialist at any point in time. Americans could have had healthcare, 36 hour work week and a pension system. That is the tragedy of the American empire- instead of improving the lives of its citizens all the money went to tax cuts.
- DontchaKnowit 1y agoCould we have though? Last I checked neither majir party has seriously persued this. So how are the american people to vote for it?
- tsol 1y agoSo is democracy not real? I find it funny that when things do right it's because of our superior system of people choosing their leaders, and when things go wrong it's because people don't have any choice.
- defrost 1y agoDemocracy is a spectrum and the US system is but one poor flawed example. Despite the founders being anti-party politics and wanting a spectrum of representatives each representing a block of the broader population and hammering out consensual deals that most can live with, the US has devolved into a two party system in which neither party especially represents 50% of the population despite both butting up against the median of actual voters. This is the doom spiral of iterative FPTP and Hotelling's 'law'. Other democracies have many parties, larger parties mixed with smaller parties, greater voter engagement, various forms of proportional voting systems (there are several), etc. US democracy is just one example of many global democracies.
- itsmek 1y agoYes. If you are genuinely unaware and not just asking a rhetorical question, yes socialized medicine is a major goal of the progressive left. We came close in 2010 but the votes in congress weren't quite there. The only reason major parties don't pursue it is because progressivism doesn't have the votes. You can definitely vote for it though especially if you participate in primaries.
- linguae 1y agoWhile currently it’s open season on the golden goose in America, the golden goose has been under attack for decades. Academia has a strong publish-or-perish culture that I believe is stifling, and industry has become increasingly short-term driven. Ironically, one of the frustrations I’ve had with the research funding situation long before DOGE’s disruptions is the demands from funders, particularly in the business world, for golden eggs from researchers without any regard of how the research process works. A relevant quote from Alan Kay: “I once gave a talk to Disney executives about "new ways to kill the geese that lay the golden eggs". For example, set up deadlines and quotas for the eggs. Make the geese into managers. Make the geese go to meetings to justify their diet and day to day processes. Demand golden coins from the geese rather than eggs. Demand platinum rather than gold. Require that the geese make plans and explain just how they will make the eggs that will be laid. Etc.” (from https://worrydream.com/2017-12-30-alan/ https://worrydream.com/2017-12-30-alan/) I dream of a day where we see more places like the old Bell Labs and Xerox PARC, and where universities strongly value freedom of inquiry with fewer publication and fund-raising pressures. However, given the reality that there are many more prospective researchers than there are research positions that potential funders are willing to support, it’s natural that there is some mechanism used to determine which researchers get access to jobs and funding.