The nub of the world’s social/economic problems – ignorant ‘experts’
They tell me to tick “stuff-up” when the option is either a conspiracy or a stuff-up. So, world financial and political stuff-ups (including wars in the Balkans, the Arab World, and former Soviets) have been matters of ignorance. There’s a logic to that.
Yet, so many people hold qualification-upon-qualification these days! How can it be ignorance? But if it’s not conspiracy it’s got to be ignorance!
It seems qualifications don’t matter a fart when it gets down to life’s basics, unless we study those basics, such as earning and retaining a living. And we don’t study such basics: we’re too sophisticated for that. We like to complicate things as much as we can because “there are no simple solutions.” (sic)
Will a university degree put bread in your mouth, or a roof over your head, today? Oh, you’ll end up earning $x00,000 more than a not-similarly-qualified person with your degree over your lifetime, will you? But can you manage to feed, clothe and shelter yourself right now, without putting yourself into deep hock? That’s the question. Can you?
Oh, you can? Really? Well good for you! But do you see the growing international distress that’s being generated by those increasingly unable to do so?
Economists with all their education and degrees obviously haven’t solved our worsening economic and social problems. Our involvement in wars don’t seem to have fixed anything, either for them or us.
Do you see the slightest hint–anywhere at all–that economists are getting on top of things? Or any other ‘qualified’ people for that matter? If so, what are they saying? Aren’t we getting a cacophony of all-too-obvious shallow ideas from our politicians and financial pundits? “That’s just the way it is.” Ignorance!
Look, I’m not dissing education here – only its antithesis, ignorance. How incredible that we don’t have a handle on the mechanism that delivers hundreds of billions of dollars to a tiny minority, leaving the vast majority of us terribly insecure and/or deeply in hock. That’s ignorance at its worst–maybe ignorance and fear–no matter how many degrees we may have earned.
How many people see the role taxation has played in transferring wealth to the wealthy? Why can’t we see how incredibly ignorant it is to tax people for working?* Why can’t we have a fairer revenue system?
Could it be ignorance on the subject of the alternative to taxation? May it also be the fear of changing from the travesty we inherited and now take for granted?
Yup – it could be – and most certainly is!
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* “The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.”
“Men like Henry George are rare unfortunately. One cannot imagine a more beautiful combination of intellectual keenness, artistic form, and fervent love of justice. ”
– Albert Einstein (1879-1955)