The Economics of population

I wonder why the media and other commentators don't bring up the big pluses for immigration. One, they are needed to create extra demand for the capitalist system. Two, the only way we will be able pay pensions for the baby boomers is through the increased tax base that comes with increased immigration.

Obviously, the impact on the environment needs to be considered, but for those who think this is important, a far more effective action would be to reduce the use of high energy appliances.

in reference to: Australia's population debate (view on Google Sidewiki)

Luxury at the gates of Hell

Great article. Very thought provoking. My first reaction was one of disgust. But really, the fact that they are right there, indulging in luxury is no worse than us living our affluent lifestyles in Sydney, or wherever else. For that matter, it isn't just when an earthquake struck that Haitians suddenly started suffering. The majority were living in dire poverty already, yet how many of us cared less.

We need to do far more to change the world so that poverty and injustice do become history.

in reference to: Passengers in the lap of luxury at the gateway to hell (view on Google Sidewiki)

A bad experience with Asurion

http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/ap7wj/oh_hey_reddit_its_you_while_youre_here_whats_the/c0ipjyh

in reference to: Asurion – Your Technology Protection Company (view on Google Sidewiki)

Background story on Peter Spencer

This is a great article giving the background to the Peter Spencer issue. It really annoys me how the redneck media (led by 2GB) jump on an issue without any detailed analysis and call for a simple solution that involves criticising the government. It seems like in reality, Peter Spencer is largely responsible for the position he is in. I wonder if all the lemmings who are supporting Peter Spencer would agree to a doubling of their taxes to fund this and every other populist cause that the media use to drum up emotion to feed their advertising revenues?

in reference to: Michael Duffy (view on Google Sidewiki)

This is the future of society

I guess my title is a little dramatic, but questions surrounding this issue lie at the heart of whether society can move past a scarcity culture and start to truly reach for our potential, both as individuals and as a whole.

The team that won the challenge was able to come up with a way to create a non-zero sum result. A win-win. As long as we are scared that we will miss out if the other person wins, we are holding ourselves back. But once we let go of that fear, then the opportunities are boundless.

Great experiment.

in reference to: Red balloons and red herrings as scientific tracking turns to Twitter (view on Google Sidewiki)

Inter-country Adoption

I agree with Dianne Dempsey that inter-country adoption is a commoditisation of children.

Those who disagree, should ask themselves why they are not willing to give the money they would spend on that child to the community the child comes from. The impact on that child and many others in their community would be far greater than removing them from their community and adopting the child.

There is no doubt that this is about the needs of the adopting parents, not the child, or the community they are coming from.

in reference to: Pity third world orphans, but they're not a commodity (view on Google Sidewiki)

My experience with the Virgin Blunder

I saw the offer of the Gold membership and it was immediately obvious that it was an error. I was happy about the error and it didn't occur to me to contact them to let them know about it. When the reversal came through, I certainly wasn't surprised, but was a little disappointed. I am amazed at the indignation of some commenters. It is not as if they suffered a loss as a result of the error.

in reference to: Virgin Blue's Velocity Gold Status email mistake (view on Google Sidewiki)