7-Jul-10 News - Rogoff: China's property mkt near 'collapse'

[John]

7-Jul-10 News -- Rogoff: China's property market near 'collapse'

** 7-Jul-10 News -- Rogoff: China's property market near 'collapse'
** http://www.generationaldynamics.com/cgi ... 07#e100707

Contents:
"Kenneth Rogoff: China property market is beginning to collapse"
"Why is the Gulf cleanup taking so long?"
"Additional links"
South Korea and U.S. plan joint military exercises
Dalai Lama celebrates 75'th birthday
Kashmir violence escalates, as India considers deploying the army
Queen Eleizabeth addressed the U.N.
Computer software has deciphered ancient language
Are your appliances spying on you?

[Guest]

The Gulf cleanup is taking so long simply because it's the wrong generation for the task. There were minimal preparations for any disaster, because such would "be an impossible burden" on the oil companies. There was no planning because "we know it won't happen because the oil companies are responsible". There is no leadership, because every problem is seen as a political opportunity, and Democrats see this as damaging the Republicans in the South, while Republicans see it as damaging Democrats nationally as being unable to cope.

Nobody sees any real advantage to cleaning it up or stopping the leak. The idea of millions of people without jobs or homes is just not registering.

Go back a couple of generations, the technology would have been much cruder, but they'd have used it all. And they'd have nuked this thing 10,000 feet below the ocean bed WEEKS ago. All federal rules on pollution or shipping would have been suspended for the duration of the emergency.

You get super massive environmental disasters, dust bowls or oil or Katrina hurricanes or whatever, when nobody cares about the damage, only about the politics. Which is no way to run a country, because when the government doesn't give a damn about the people, the people stop giving a damn about the government.

[John]

> The Gulf cleanup is taking so long simply because it's the wrong
> generation for the task. There were minimal preparations for any
> disaster, because such would "be an impossible burden" on the oil
> companies. There was no planning because "we know it won't happen
> because the oil companies are responsible". There is no
> leadership, because every problem is seen as a political
> opportunity, and Democrats see this as damaging the Republicans in
> the South, while Republicans see it as damaging Democrats
> nationally as being unable to cope.

> Nobody sees any real advantage to cleaning it up or stopping the
> leak. The idea of millions of people without jobs or homes is
> just not registering.

> Go back a couple of generations, the technology would have been
> much cruder, but they'd have used it all. And they'd have nuked
> this thing 10,000 feet below the ocean bed WEEKS ago. All federal
> rules on pollution or shipping would have been suspended for the
> duration of the emergency.

> You get super massive environmental disasters, dust bowls or oil
> or Katrina hurricanes or whatever, when nobody cares about the
> damage, only about the politics. Which is no way to run a
> country, because when the government doesn't give a damn about the
> people, the people stop giving a damn about the
> government.

You sound even more cynical than I am, but in fact I agree with your
analysis. Nothing is going to change until the disasters are so great
that political leaders are forced to put results above politics.
That's the "regeneracy" in generational theory.

John