Re: "Is This A Great Country?"

[joanna bujes]

What is truly pathetic...and indicative of where people are at these days 
in this great country of ours is their notion that "rich" means an annual 
income of $120,000. Is it mentioned in the survey whether one would have to 
work for this income?

Joanna

At 03:54 PM 04/02/2003 -0800, you wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Max B. Sawicky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>


> Following the wisdom of my guru, the Sage of Saskatoon,
> I would qualify my remarks by noting that the interest
> in 'getting rich' is culture dependent in a society where
> incentives are biased in favor of individual consumption
> of material goods and against collective consumption of
> immaterial things, against environmental and similar
> amenities, and against leisure.  This I think increases
> the desire to 'get rich.'  Even so, you can't function
> politically by wishing it away or telling people they
> have the wrong preferences.
>
> mbs
====================

At the same time, neither quietism about the perverse incentives nor
encouraging more people to become capitalists will solve the "immobility"
problems of capitalism. The environment is not an amenity.............
Ian