Getting Out of Our Lanes: Understanding Discrimination in the Digital Economy | naked capitalism

I suspect most of the readers of this site have very little to complain about in terms of discrimination, except perhaps they are the beneficiaries of the same. It's one thing to be "disturbed", and quite another to do anything about it. And even then, what would you do? I submit that the answers lay in the truth of God's Word.



Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 4:16)



It's much simpler than getting a Juris Doctorate of Law. Neither do I subscribe to the defeatism of the progressive Left. Where has 50 years of the Great Society gotten us except where LBJ intended, a generation of Democrat voters? Where are the policies of today leading us, except down the same path, whether Democrat or Republican?



Poverty and discrimination? I would be more concerned with my eternal salvation. You haven't seen anything, yet, except that we are worse off as a society than we were 10 years ago, owing to decades of imperialist wars and western socialism.



Social advocates? I suppose we have them to thank for Ubamacare, and yes, the budget does matter, for those who are reading why the CBO doesn't matter. It doesn't, but for quite a different reason. For those beneficiaries of the status quo, and somehow believe that the Fed monetization of the debt can continue except by in increase in poverty and discrimination, you can't have it both ways.



The only thing that matters about digital surveillance or censorship is that we not allow it to happen. Not now, not ever.



Getting Out of Our Lanes: Understanding Discrimination in the Digital Economy | naked capitalism:



'via Blog this'

The degradation of Society and morals and kindness and the rise of Selfishness.

I got involved with a home fellowship based Christian ministry 24 years ago, after having been raised in the church, serving in the military and graduating from a 4 year university. I had lots of odd jobs, started my own business, got into IT in 1997 and currently work in the public sector.



With all of the volatility in the world, there's isn't much hope anything is going to change for the better anytime soon. It's possible, but not very likely. The current world system could be tweaked to work for everyone, but it's being used to exploit the many for the gain of the few. The only sanity I have found, is the truth of God's word. The alternative is to accept people are greedy. I accept that people are greedy, that it is a part of human nature. That is a correct view. Is the solution then, to do as they do, or worse, since it seems the only way to beat them, is at their own game? Of course not! So, what is the answer? I had this same question, and I looked for the answer a lot of places, in world history books, etc. The history books are good at telling us what happened, but never the why. Of course, historians can postulate.



I didn't find any answers until I got involved with this Christian ministry 25 years ago, who taught me to read and understand the bible for myself. I don't proclaim to know everything, but I know who does.



I would encourage you to go around to different churches, until you find one you like. Just be yourself. A word of caution, however, if the leaders of the synagogue in Jesus' day were of their father, the devil, there's no reason to think the church is any different today. Christian doctrine was compromised with pagan beliefs to form a state religion in 3rd century Rome. This is where we get Sunday worship, Spring fertility rites at Easter, and Christ's mass at the winter solstice. However, we also have the truth of the one true God in his word, which has survived and is entrusted to us. Find a bible fellowship and don't give up on God. He hasn't given up on you.



So as not to offend anyone with my personal religious views, I'll pm you my personal e-mail and we can continue this discussion offline.



The degradation of Society and morals and kindness and the rise of Selfishness.:



'via Blog this'

NC Budget and Economic Developement

I read with interest an article posted at Mises.org regarding economic development in the various states, and using North Carolina as an example. The article is located online at http://mises.org/library/bait-switch-economic-development-states

The article explains states wouldn't need to bribe businesses if their taxes and regulations weren't too high. To quote from the article, "In truth, the states should close their economic development offices, cut the size and expense of their governments, and reduce or eliminate the taxes levied on businesses. They should also cut the regulatory red tape required to start a business and then operate that business within their state."

Before the Republican takeover of both houses of the General Assembly in 2012, the state was spending $22B per year. The state is spending roughly the same amount today, not including what WRAL reports as "huge swaths of federal money the state is overseeing". How much is huge swaths? Who knows?

The 2012 General Assembly correctly cut spending, albeit nominally, and cut taxes. In concert, these actions have stopped the bleeding. However, it isn't enough, and why bribes must offered to businesses as explained in the article.

The state budget, as you know, is 90 percent salaries which includes an entire layer of state bureaucrats who are highly paid and perform very little service to the state. Many of these bureaucrats are nearing retirement, and it is in their best interest to continue earning their high salaries and not having to work too hard. It's in the best interest of the taxpaying citizens of this state that they retire. This is the tug of war in which Governor McCrory has been embroiled since 2012. We can't wait 5 years for this issue to sort itself out. One possibility could be to offer severance packages for those employees with over 30 years of service and full retirement to those who are nearing 30 years. The Legislature and the Governor's office should be looking long and hard at ways to reduce the management overhead in all state agencies. We didn't get here by accident, and we can't reverse the last 20 years of growth in state spending by ignoring it. The budget won't reduce itself and will continue to steal resources away from where they're needed, providing economic opportunity for all.

My concern is our economy appears to be headed for a downturn, as evidenced by the announced closing of thousands of retail stores across the country, low employment rates, and the high number of families on public assistance.   North Carolina cannot afford to be dependent on federal spending. Genuinely cutting spending and cutting taxes, will restore prosperity to this state, insomuch as any state is able to provide an environment for their citizens to prosper in these uncertain times.