http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/2009/12/31/its-over/
It’s Over
December 31st, 2009
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2009 is over. The entire decade is over.
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OK, you fell for the anti-mathematical propaganda. (I had teacher in high school geometry that ranted until we understood cardinality and ordinality. Year 1 ends 12/31/0001. By extrapolation, the “first decade” runs from 1/1/1 until 12/31/0010. Run it forward to today; this is the last year of the decade. Redefining decade? Maybe a new word.
On a more serious note, the urge to a decade review before the decade ends is indicative of time compression and language corruption. It’s indicative of our short term thinking and that’s one thing that is killing us as a civilization and a society. Corporations and their investors focus on the quarter’s results. Executives are compensated (excessively) on short term results that themselves create a contrary incentive.
GM is a classic example. Well compensated execs signed labor contracts that ENSURED the demise of the company. That string of executives are long gone, like the train robbers of old, and the people are reaping the negative rewards. We didn’t even have the common sense to INSIST that the corpse be buried in bankruptcy. Instead we now have another gooferment department that will be a drain on the Public’s purse for decades to come.
We need to change our focus. And, the tax code policy.
The model of the “family farm” is a better one. Sustainable over eons. An inter-generational asset. Instead, the estate taxes ensure that it has to be sold to pay the death taxes. Crazy. Family farms, family businesses, and such are all at risk. SO the thinking becomes short term.
The Dead Old White Guys had the gooferment running on import duties. That would have ensured that industries couldn’t be moved overseas. Now we have to look for wealth building activities that we can do that are NOT off-shorable. Farming, and food production, seems to be a great idea. We can feed the world.
So here we are at the end of my rant. The decade “mistake” points out our short term focus. The short term focus has led us to make some very bad mistakes. (Age discrimination being one of them. That calendar thing again!) Those mistakes when recognized can lead us to a long term solution.
Yeah, I know get a job.
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Posted by reinkefj 
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