Posted on 05/27/2013 9:59:18 PM PDT by rickmichaels
Edited on 05/27/2013 10:11:37 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
OTTAWA
(Excerpt) Read more at 680news.com ...
Right...
As I float here on my sailboat in Boca, with one too many half naked hotties, I’m thinking ... I gotta give that, freeze my ars off, Great White North cabin fever thing a try, Har. Har”.......
Funny. This EOCD status crap is always an annual thing to Canuckistan since I was in high school in Vancouver, BC.
52% taxation, can’t buy beer and booze except in a govt store, the car insurance is monopolized also by the govt and commiecare where they won’t even look at you at the hospital if you didn’t pay your monthly premiums aka gubmint’ healthcare.
Great skiing & snowboard slopes though..
They don’t know much about God, which is a subject you are supposed to be an expert on.
I like this and other attempts to quantify the unquantifiable, namely “the quality of life.” I do have some misgivings.
My biggest single problem with all of these efforts is with Education - measured by inputs. Essentially, this measures how much society spends on education, not how good is education. I would much prefer looking at the results of internationally-standardized tests of reading comprehension and quantitative reasoning.
My second biggest problem with all of these efforts is no attempt to measure social mobility. Social mobility is perhaps captured indirectly in education, as children from poorer families might be able to develop their potential through education. Certainly, this is important in primary grades. But, being able to learn a trade skill and to form a small business, and access to credit and small business regulation, these are also important. The elites of the world do not sufficiently appreciate people who work with their hands and who are business entrepreneurs.
On this particular effort, I have a big problem with no effort to measure civil liberty. Any country can lower crime by becoming a police state. Example, Burma. But, a great country induces respect for law from the overwhelming majority of its people and then invests enough in police, courts, prisons and so forth, to handle the residual problem of crime. Also, freedom of religion, of expression, the right of people to their own private lives and to freely associate with each other, the rights of religious, ethnic and other minorities, of people with different life-styles, the rights of each individual person (a minority of 1, if you will). How tolerant is society of people who are different, whether of the left-wing type or the right-wing type, as long as they are peaceful. Drug and alcohol prohibition, gun prohibition, prohibitions and mandates on diet and dress, these things matter. Also, having free and fair elections, so that government is accountable to the people. How could you have an index of the quality of life and not even attempt to measure these basic civil liberties?
is this the strawman du jour?
To all- please ping me to Canadian topics.
Canada Ping!
I occasionally come within an eyelash of moving back.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.