Sunday, January 31, 2016

Baptism for the Dead and John 3:5

   There lies in this scripture, evidence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
   "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." -- John 3:5
   The scripture indicates no one can get there without baptism -- no one. Yet, many have been born in the course of this world who lived far from the climes of Christianity. They did not know Christ, and did not have opportunity to be baptized.
   I know of only one church that makes it possible for them to be baptized. I know of only one church that baptizes for the dead, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The LDS people do genealogy, collecting the names of their ancestors who died going back as long as they can find them. Then, they go to the temples and are baptized for them.
   I do not know altogether what many -- they who are not members of the "Mormon" church -- think when they hear this argument. I do wonder. To me, it is a simple matter: If the scriptures say everyone must be baptized, and only one church makes that possible, while it does not mean that church is definitely the "true" church, it certainly is an indication of it, an evidence.




Saturday, January 30, 2016

As Long as the Wording is as it is, We Should Live by it

   We can lament that the founding fathers put it in the Constitution, we can wince that the language is so broad and vague, but it remains that Article 8 grants the government power to provide for the general welfare.
   "General welfare" is about as broad and vague a term as there could be. Still, it is the wording that is given, and if we are to live by the Constitution, we must accept that wording, and all that it means.
   "General welfare" leaves the federal government open for providing national parks, for they can be for the general welfare. It leaves open the government to be involved in health care, for that, surely, involves the general welfare.
   Alas, "general welfare" leaves the federal government open to do just about anything it wants.
   If we are to accept the 10th Amendment, which says all powers not given to the federal government are reserved to the states, we must also accept Article 8, complete with all its broad powers. If we do not like the wording of our Constitution, if we feel it should be more limiting, then we must amend it. But, as long as the wording is as it is, we should live by it.

Friday, January 29, 2016

The Many Types of Intelligence

   To say a person is intelligent, begs a question: What is it that he is intelligent at? I don't know that anyone is intelligent all across the board. Instead, are intelligent at a few things, and lacking in others.
   The ability to reason is one of the most defining forms of intelligence. But, it is hardly the only form. Here, for your pleasure, I list some others.
   The ability to remember. And, there are subcategories. Some can remember events from their life better than others. Another type, is to be able to memorize, to take a topic and remember the details.
   The ability to estimate needs. Let's say, you have a weekly event, and are estimating each week how many will be there. The person with this type of intelligence is able to identify signs and factors that help him make a good guess as to how many people will come.
   The ability to find a path, to see what it takes to get from point A to point B. The ability to earn money is a subcategory of this, as the person identifies what it will take to get him there.
   The ability to analyze, to see all the factors, or all the parts of a whole.
   The ability to perceive, to see recognize things that are going on around a person.
   The ability to communicate, and to persuade.
   The ability to create and invent.
   The ability to concentrate, to not be distracted.
   The ability to multitask.
   Well, there are probably many others, but there I have given you a few.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Gov. Herbert Calls on Legislature to Allow Tesla to Come to Utah

   If my ears were correct, in his state of the state address, Gov. Gary Herbert called on the current legislature to make it legal for Tesla to come to Utah.
   I don't know but what that couldn't have been the headline in today's paper, but the call didn't even get a mention in the story I read.
   Utah law doesn't allow car manufacturers to own more than 45 percent of a dealership.
   Herbert asked the legislature to remove laws from the books, completely erase them. He asked for the size of the Utah Code to be reduced. If I heard correct -- and I'm rather certain I did -- he specifically mentioned the law that prevents Tesla from being sold in Utah to be one of the laws wiped off the books.

Thanks to the FBI for Releasing the Finicum Shooting Video

   Thank the FBI for releasing the video of the traffic stop that lead to LaVoy Finicum being killed. It is a relief to see the agency being open. I do believe in being open with the public, whenever possible, on such matters.
   "The accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial," says the Sixth Amendment. Generally, it is good for the cause of truth, and good for the cause of justice, when criminal matters are before the public.

Build a Full Education Around the Student's Choice

   Though freeing students to pursue topics of their choice is a way to better our education system, I do believe in a traditional education, as well.
   Don't throw away spelling, math, and American history. Don't do away tell them all is laissez faire. While the student should be able to concentrate on topics of interest, build a full education around that. There remains value in traditional scholarship, and in learning to be disciplined in what is studied.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Medical Bills and the American Car

   Learned that the expense of benefits was a major reason for the auto companies asking for a bailout six, seven or eight years ago.
   As in health benefits. As in, the cost of our medical system brought the American auto industry to its knees. I've considered in the past how health care costs contribute significantly to the national debt, and how they make a large share of the personal debt of Americans.
   And, so now I learn this, and it adds to my concern that the medical industry is strangling America.
    Just a few notes on what happened back then.  It was estimated that the difference in benefits for workers costed the American auto makers $350 - $500 more per car than what their overseas competitors faced. The Big Three asked Congress for $50 billion to pay health care costs to avoid bankruptcy and layoffs. Congress granted them a $25 billion loan. That was not, at all, the full of the auto bailout, but, I believe, it was the beginning of it.
   So, it is not accurate to say the inflated prices of medicine, in part, led to the greatest challenge our auto industry has ever faced?

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Is Trump Justified for being Upset with Megyn Kelly?

   I feel sorry for Megyn Kelly as Donald Trump pulls out of the debate. Maybe she's handling the pressure okay, but I wonder. She has the leading Republican presidential candidate blaming her that he won't be in the debate she is to help conduct.
   That's a reasonable load of guilt. Is Trump wrong to treat her this way?
   Trump has flashed his anger at many during his campaign. Some say, it is great to see him saying what needs to be said and pulling no punches. But, I ask, is he hurting another person when it isn't justified? Should he be laying this guilt trip on Kelly?
   Yes, Trump suggests it is Kelly who is in the wrong. It is she who is doing the abusing. It is she who was unfair to him. That would make Trump the victim.
   It is late, and I don't have time to thoroughly look into it, but I go back to one story on that debate last fall when they clashed. I read how Trump was upset after Kelly prefaced a question by noting he had called women he didn't like "fat pigs, dogs, slobs and disgusting animals."
   Just off top, I don't think it wrong that Kelly should ask him to justify such an attack on others. I pause, though, and am sure he is not saying Kelly shouldn't have asked him about that comment. Rather, he must have said he was upset for something else. Alas, it is way late, and I must be off to bed.

Put a Gun in a Holster, and Someday You'll Pull it Out

   Strap on a gun, and someday you'll use it. If you wear it long enough, and believe in it strong enough, someday it will come out of its holster, flashing a bullet at a human target.
   The Bundys and their buddies strapped on their guns and arrived at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge 25 days ago. They believed guns are sometimes necessary, sometimes useful, sometimes the thing to use when up against federal authorities. On the other side, law enforcement officers strap on their guns, and often the day comes they end up using them. I don't know who shot first, or if the militants even fired a shot at all. At this point, I don't even know if the shooting was justified.
   But, I know when you get a large enough group, each packing a gun, each believing guns are a check against government, and each believing government is in the wrong, if they stay on the wildlife refuge long enough, sooner or later, one of them is going to pull out his gun.

Monday, January 25, 2016

Inspire a Student, and You Won't Need to Teach Him

   The person who learns to think is the person who invents, while the person who learns to conform is less inclined. The thinker challenges norms and seeks things that are new. The conformer stays in a box and pontificates on things that already are.
    In America -- and in much of the world -- education creates a conformist. Learn this item, and this and this. Study this topic and that one. Here are the standards, now learn them. We are structured all across the board, from establishing a curriculum, to setting how many years school is composed of, to measuring success in grades from A to F, to standardized testing.
   Everything is structured. Everything asks you to conform.
   I am not saying this is all bad. But, there must be a point at which you turn the student loose to explore horizons of his own choice, and to pursue them at his own pace, and to reach his own aspirations.
   A dream is not a dream when it comes in a straightjacket. If we want dreamers, we must free them. Inspire the student to learn. Instill in him a desire to succeed. Give him a vision. These are things that spark learning more than a list of details to be memorized. Inspire a student, and you won't need to teach him. He'll teach himself.
   Birds don't fly when they are in cages. You must free them.

ObamaCare adds to the National Deficit

   Is Obama Care adding to the deficit, or shrinking it?
   At whitehouse.gov, I read: "By curbing the cost of uncompensated care, and ending unwarranted subsidies, health reform reduces the deficit by over $1 trillion over the next two decades." I didn't find a date on the post, but it goes on to say, "Reform must fix our health care system without adding to the deficit."
   Then, at a site calling itself, obamacarefacts.com, I read that while some features of ObamaCare decrease the budget, subsidies, protections and health care spendings will lead to increases. Says this site: "As of March 2015 the estimated net cost of ObamaCare's innsurance related provisions is $1.207 trillion (the gross cost of ObamaCare is $1,707 offset by $500 billion in revenue for 2015-2025)."

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Why not have Openness in all of Our Governance?

   I suggest there is no such need for meeting behind closed doors. I open my Deseret News and read a discussion of how the Republican legislative caucuses meet behind closed doors.
   I read an online comment, saying, "The closed caucuses are fine. . . . The closed caucuses are simply a private opportunity for the legislators to discuss and clarify party principles and priorities, so they will be better prepared for the session."
  I respectfully disagree. When making laws, the discussion is part of the process, whether that discussion is by the caucus or the full legislative body. It seems to me, if you represent someone, you should not object to their listening in what you are doing. The public's business should be done in public. Those things that are discussed in caucus are a huge part of the process. While it has been suggested the legislators want to be frank in their discussions, why cannot frankness be done in the open? Why can you not be frank with the public, as well as with your party colleagues? If "frankness" is saying something that shouldn't be said, it shouldn't be said in private, either.
  I also understand the fear the legislators might have of asking questions to learn, and not wanting to be viewed as not knowing something because they ask those questions. But, they need to feel less shame for the learning process, and more shame for not inviting the public to share in it.
  Anytime the majority of a governing body is present -- whether it is members of a caucus or select members of the full body -- that meeting should be open to the public. Indeed, I occasionally wonder if even one-on-one meetings with lobbyists should be open, for in a completely open form of government, they would be.
   Also, it should be said, the lack of openness is not just a problem on the state level. I think of the many meetings Congress conducts behind closed doors. And, as I consider Hillary Clinton Emailgate, I think of the strangeness that those emails should be open, yet so much of the rest of the process is closed, everything from the behind-the-doors meetings with lobbyists to the actual closing of Congressional meetings.
  No, I do not understand the need for going behind closed doors. I do not understand those who would justify it. Why not have openness in all of our governance?

Robert Cundick's Music

  In the spirit of hailing the talent your community possesses, I wish there had been a tribute concert of Robert Cundick's music. Cundick, one of the great musicians in LDS history, died two weeks ago.
  Now, there was a tribute concert for him in May of last year. And, that was timely, considering it ended up being in the last year of his life. And, to have a concert hastily put together after his death would have required quite an effort.
   Still, you sell something when it is most sellable. The best opportunity to forward his music comes in the wake of his death as there is talk of him and reflection on what he contributed. For his sake, and for his legacy, I find myself wishing there had been a presentation of the best of his works.
  I shuffled through some of his compositions on YouTube Friday. It was wonderful. I don't know that I found any songs that were stunning, but I found wonderful music, the same. He has two songs in the LDS hymnal, and I found one on YouTube, and listened to it, and recognized it. I judged it against the other songs I listened to of his and thought many of those other works were better.
  I found this of interest: He collaborated with LDS Apostle David A. Bednar in an oratorio called, God's Everlasting Love, he writing the music and Elder Bednar writing the words. The work was performed by BYU-Idaho choirs in a concert in 2009.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

The Answer is in Correcting the Situation for all Drugs, not just Marijuana

  If a person can get marijuana on a medical prescription, Gov. Gary Herbert fears there will be situations where Dr. Feelgood says, "Que pasa, here's your doobie for the day." In other words, medical marijuana might open the door for people to obtain the drug under the pretense of medical needs, when in reality it is for recreational purposes.
  I suggest this is not very good reasoning for rejecting medical marijuana. Yes, the scenario could take place. But, is it already taking place, with the prescription drugs we already have? Does the doctor sometimes say, "What's shaking, brother? Here's your fix for the day." Does he sometimes prescribe traditional drugs when the patient is wanting them for recreational purposes?
   I'm not limiting the use of the word "recreational" to just getting a high. People can take drugs for the feelings they give them even if that feeling isn't a high. They can take them for an escape, for one thing. "Recreational" can apply to any use other than the one for which it is prescribed.
   Considering how many people abuse prescription drugs, I say it is evident people have been abusing drugs long before the medical marijuana question came about. So, the answer is not that we should maintain the ban on medical marijuana, but that we should correct the situation for all drugs.
   The same set of doctors who will be issuing prescriptions for marijuana are already issuing prescriptions for the drugs currently being abused. What makes Gov. Herbert think they will be any more inclined to say, "Here's your doobie for the day," for marijuana than they are to say, "Here's your fix for the day," for the other drugs possessing recreational value?


In Park City, is Offense taken when it Need not be?

   Here's a civil disobedience question for you: Transit companies Uber and Blade arranged to fly people from the Salt Lake International Airport to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. Trouble is, a number of residents in the Summit County called on county officials to stop the air trafficking, saying it was too noisy and that it posed a safety hazard. If you are Uber and Blade, do you go ahead with the flights, despite a sheriff's department cease-and-desist order?
   The landing sites are on private property. You believe those landowners are within their property rights to allow helicopter visitors to land. I did not notice while reading the news article that there is any county ordinance being sited saying the flights are in violation, just that a number of residents have called in complaining about the noise and safety.
   I wonder but what you must comply, even though it seems you are within your rights. But, first, reason with the county officials in hopes they will abandon the cease-and-desist. As for whether the flights are noisy and dangerous, and you ought to discontinue them just as a courtesy to the complaining residents, I tend to think not. You also are concerned about the feelings of those you are providing the flights to. If the service is a benefit to them, it is also courtesy to provide it.
   I do wonder from time to time, of people's propensity to find fault and how we, as a people, jump to find offense. I would that the Summit County residents not be so easily provoked. If there are safety issues, first, spell them out and specify them a little clearer, and if they are things needing to be dealt with, deal with them. But, I cannot help but wonder if this is more a matter of people taking offense simply because they have opportunity to take offense.
   I am not saying that the helicopters do not surely make a noise. But, yes, I would that the residents be less inclined to find it offensive. It may be that I am not the one listening to it, and that it is extremely loud, but I tend to think not.

Friday, January 22, 2016

A Good Education System Frees the Student to Learn What He Will

     I believe in an education system that teaches you how to think, more than one that dictates what you must think. What do I mean? What are they required to think? Well, we require them to learn the concepts of science, the history of America, the principles of mathematics. Don't get me wrong, those are all good thing to learn, and we should not want to take them out of our education model.
   But, learning how to think is even more important.
   Was it Isaac Newton who said, "If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants"? Newton would have been nothing if he had just learned from these giants, but failed to do anything with the knowledge they gave him. Greatness is not in having knowledge, but in taking it to the next level. You must take the thoughts of giants, and advance them even further.
   I would suggest, having the student play chess can further intellectual capacities as much as memorizing scientific theorems. As a person plays that game, he learns to consider options and possibilities: If I move my knight here, then my opponent will move his bishop there -- or will he move his pawn to challenge my knight?
   He learns how to think.
  That Isaac Newton learned how to think, even as a chess player does, is evident in another of his quotes: "To every action there is always an equal reaction."
   Stand on the shoulders of giants? Another way to fulfill Newton's advice, is to place the student in with other thinkers, letting him not just stand on the shoulders of great people he learns of in textbooks, but also on the shoulders of those in the class who also have greatness. One of the grand things about college, is that intelligent people are brought together, where they can share, and collaborate and bounce ideas off each other. This is an element we are not utilizing to the extent we should. Greatness feeds on greatness. So, let the students collaborate together on projects, and the brightest students will often gravitate to each other. Look at history, at how great minds have known each other, and competed on or shared in endeavors.
    Restructure our education system to where it is not so structured. Instead spending all of the time just learning core standards, have the heart of the system be in freeing the students to undertake projects of their own choosing, perhaps with no grading involved. Creativity comes not from following steps, but in choosing your own. Let the student learn not what you would dictate, but what he chooses to learn.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Our College Education System is too Much of a Ritual

   Receiving a college degree long ago became a great American tradition. I wonder, though, if it is not overrated. Is it, in some cases, more of an expensive ritual, than a real benefit? Does the system constrict the free thinking? Should we be more concerned with teaching people how to think than teaching them what to think? Do we pour people out of our colleges who can quote theorems, and figures, and all kinds of knowledge, but who aren't as keen on figuring how to apply it all.
   The U.S. remains a leader in innovation and invention, so our system must not be all so bad. Still, I suggest it is not what it could be.

What are the Real Figures in the Auto Bailout?

   We get lost in all the conflicting numbers, but an investigation of Obama's claim that the auto bailout was a profit deserves attention.
   Word searching, I see that perhaps such an investigation, by the media, is taking place.
   Look at the conflicting numbers. I saw $11.2 billion and $16.6 billion suggested as the price tag when I word searched yesterday. Today? I'm seeing much larger figures. I let one off my screen and am not finding it, but did I read $400-plus billion? I read that GM received $50 billion, alone, to help it through bankruptcy proceedings.
   I read how GM reported $1.4 billion in third-quarter net income to investors last year. Does that reflect an ability to pay back $50 billion?
   How much did the bailout really cost taxpayers? How much did the auto industry actually pay back? We want to know.
 

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Penguin Random House makes the Right Move

   As news breaks that Penguin Random House will no longer require college degrees of those it hires, we, as a nation, reflect on how there is a movement away from college requirements.
   To mention just a few companies that also have shifted standards on education, Deloitte's recruiters no longer learn where candidates went to college, and Ernst and Young no longer requires B grades or graduates to have upper second class degrees, and PricewaterhouseCoopers no longer requires A's of its applicants.
   I think the move away from standards on college is wise. For one thing, if the standards are not giving you better candidates, of course they should be scrapped. And, for another, I consider on how much college costs these days, and how youth in our society must pass through a rite of passage requiring them to be saddled with debts that take many years to pay off. I don't think that wise.
   Perhaps the move away from college standards also reflects that our colleges are not working as well as we would like. People are getting degrees, but is that, too, just a rite of passage?


Did Obama save Detroit?

   President Obama was in Detroit today, suggesting that his bailout saved the auto industry. Bless him, the same, but I wonder. In such a situation, if you spend the billions on the bailout, and if the companies then survive, you can claim it was the bailout that did it, whether the industry would have survived or not.
   I think it forgetful, though, to not consider how many years the auto industry did well before we suffered the Great Recession. Even though you suffer losing years, you push ahead knowing profits will return. I well wonder that the auto makers would have survived, anyway. In fact, I think they would have been foolish to close just because of a few bad years. Theirs is a golden cow, and to walk away from it just because of a few poor years would have been foolish.
   So, $11.2 billion or $16.6 billion spent to save Detroit? I do wonder whether economists are right, that you inject money into the economy at such times. But, I question whether directing it at the auto industry did anything but fill their pockets. Was the money infused into the economy? Perhaps. If the auto industry would have had to put off paying their bills, due to their debt, then perhaps this money did get injected into the economy at the moment of need, in time to help lift the economy. But, I wonder. It also seems the auto industry could have borrowed to pay its bills on time, and the effect on the economy would have been the same.
   As for them filing for bankruptcy, sometimes that can be but a business strategy. If money is on the table, the temptation is to sweep it up. If a company can make money by filing for bankruptcy, it usually does just that.
   Just ask Donald Trump.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Should we Love the BLM and the IRS?

   As I wrote yesterday's blog, it occurred to me we would cringe at pledging allegiance to our government. We pledge allegiance to the flag, and we pledge allegiance to "the republic." We would be glad to pledge allegiance to the Constitution, and to the Declaration of Independence, and to the Founding Fathers.
   But, what about the BLM? And, heaven forbid, what about the IRS?
   Actually, I ponder whether we should feel it necessary to pledge allegiance to every facet of government. Perhaps it is fine to dislike the BLM, or the IRS. Perhaps. But, I do feel we should feel an allegiance to our government, in general. When we say the pledge, and we pledge allegiance to "the republic," are we not pledging allegiance to our government? What else is "the republic"? Perhaps, you will suggest it is merely the form of government.
  I remain of the opinion, the same, that allegiance to America isn't allegiance to America unless there is some element of allegiance to the here and now. A patriot cannot be a patriot and dislike everything about the government.
  I would that we loved our government, that we felt we could praise -- gulp -- the BLM and the IRS. I would that we could feel the same about Congress, and our president. If we do not feel we can love these things and people, that is unfortunate. Whether they need changed or we just need to change our attitudes, it is not good that we do not feel we can love them.

Monday, January 18, 2016

The 41st Militia Arrived on the 20th Day

   Day 20. The sun had just broken over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon when a group of perhaps 40 musket-bearing soldiers appeared up the road. Dressed to look like revolutionary war minutemen, they marched smartly forward, singing "Yankee Doodle Dandy" in perfect harmony.
   They stopped maybe a quarter a mile away and, sent a Rin Tin Tin-looking dog ahead to inform the occupying militia that their muskets were actually empty, and that they actually just wondered if the current occupiers would be willing to let them share land. All those bottles of Miracle Whip and packages of Pall Mall Menthol 100's, and boxer briefs the occupiers had requested? The new group had 'em, provisions for all.
   Rin Tin Tin dropped the message scroll from his mouth as he arrived at the camp. Ammon Bundy ran over picked it up, and read it.
   "Be it hereby declared, that we of the 41st Militia desire to join in the occupation, but with an independent voice. Inasmuch as you say the land belongs to the people, we desire that it be granted that we, too, have right to be on the property. We come neither as foes, nor as philosophical brothers. We consider ourselves friends, though ours be a different message. Our voice comes in support of our government. We seek but to let it be known we appreciate the federal government's taking care of the land. If there be faults in the governance, we seek for their remedy. But, we do not seek to take the land away from a government we swear allegiance to. And, surely we do swear allegiance, for we believe patriotism that is not true to the government in its current form, is not patriotism at all. Patriotism ceases to be patriotism when it does not cover the here and now. We will oppose policies we do not think are just, but we will not rise up in rebellion. We will seek redress when we have been wronged, but we will not seek to enforce our opinions with weapons. Our resistance will not come under threat of using our guns."
  Then, the scroll contained the part about how they came without loaded weapons.


Sunday, January 17, 2016

Was there a Period of Peace just after Christ's Death?

   Was there a period of no wars just after Christ's birth? Someone at church suggested there were 200 years of peace. I wonder if he meant in America. Those of us who believe in the Book of Mormon are aware there were 200 years of peace here.
   But, in the world, and especially in the Holy Land?
   I see Wikipedia has a listing of wars before 1000 B.C., and listings wars that have occurred since 1000 A.D. But I do not find a listing for the period from Christ's birth to 1000 A.D. I read, though, of how a group called the Zealots, rebelled against Roman rule about 50 B.C., raiding Jerusalem and Roman rule there at the time. The destruction of the temple in 70 A.D. came as part of a siege on Jerusalem. That would constitute war, I would think.
   Then, I found a listing of Roman wars on Wikipedia, and it says the Roman conquest of Britain began in 43 A.D. and lasted until 96 A.D. Other Roman wars in the First Century? The Roman-Parthian War from 58-63, Boudica's uprising from 60-61, the First Jewish--Roman War from 66 to 73, the Roman Civil War from 68-69, and Domitian's Dacian War from 87 to 88.
   It seems clear, then, that there was not a period of peace in the 200 years following Christ's death.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Salt Lake could Chase after Some of the World's Great Businesses

   I think of General Electric relocating to Boston, and of Boeing relocating operations out of Seattle. And, I wonder why Salt Lake could not attract more major companies.
   I dream of Salt Lake having a corporate park targeting such re locations. Why not have a business park aiming not just at businesses, in general, but at the very biggest of businesses, the world leaders? Companies move, they expand, they select sites. But, they won't be coming to your town, if you don't pitch your town. They will go to a city that courts and coaxes them.
   So, court and coax them.
   Invite them. Have a location already available. No need to search for a site big enough. Salt Lake might have enough land to set aside for just this purpose. It might have enough land that can sit waiting for decades, open for when these large companies start shopping for spots.
   Who knows, the world's first park seeking to attract not just one, but a collection of the world's largest corporations.
   To do it, offer a setting never before offered. Large corporations fly people in and out, they host clients, they entertain them. So, place your park near an international airport. And, place it in . . . an entertainment district. Have everything the corporation will need right in its back yard so it can host and entertain its visitors.
   Make it a world-class entertainment district, a center worthy of attracting tourism. And don't just plop the corporations in the middle so they can entertain their own, make them part of the attraction. Seek to have them draw tourists. That is a natural enough aspiration, for if you have a General Electric, or a Boeing, those are businesses famous enough, and intriguing enough to attract visitors. Companies already host tourists, of course, but not quite so often are they actually marketed as tourism sites. As they move in, tell them to gear their site for tourism. Have them offer tourist centers.
   Salt Lake might have enough land for such a world corporate park. It stretches west from the airport all the way to Nevada. I don't know how much of it remains available. I know you probably would want to leave a portion of it to the birds, literally, for Salt Lake is home to one of North America's great wetlands.
   I dream of Salt Lake becoming center for a corporate/entertainment district such as this. This can be done. It can be accomplished. Salt Lake is already home to many of the things corporations seek when they look for a place to do business. It boasts a young, growing, educated populace, and a strong work ethic. Taxes can be made to be as accommodating as they are anywhere.
   If Salt Lake wants, it could do this thing.


Friday, January 15, 2016

How to Divide a Poor Man from His Money

   And, he proved the point.
   I was discussing gambling with him. I told him how Utah is but one of two states that does not allow any form of gambling, and of how it is one of only six states that does not have a lottery. Did I tell him how of families making $13,000 or less spend $645 a year on lottery tickets? I told him how gambling is considered, by some, to be the most insidious of taxes upon the poor.
   The difference between a state lottery and other sin taxes, is that alcohol drinking and tobacco use already exist when you set a tax on them. The tax raises the cost, in hopes it will discourage use. But, state lotteries? They are the creation of a harmful activity. They don't just tax an existing use, they create a use. So, whereas the other sin taxes might discourage harmful activities, state lotteries encourage them.
   Lotteries as the creation of a harmful activity? Indeed, they build it, make it, establish it -- and glorify it.
   I told him how those who favor gambling argue lotteries are a windfall for education. What with Utah ranking 51st in education funding per student among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, why would we not use this tax resource to alleviate our problems?
   Did I tell him some consider gambling a disease? Surely, we know it is an addiction, but if it be a disease as well, why would government ever be involved in the creation of a harmful activity? Why would government ever encourage something that is harmful to its people?
   Only too late, as the discussion was ending, did I remember he had told me how he supposed he had won a lottery, but not been able to collect. He jarred me to that memory by saying, "I only did it out of desperation," and I thought of how he had told me he once starved for food, for having lack of money. Had gambling came along in the guise of something that could deliver him from his poverty?
   As I said, he proved the point. The poor turn to gambling. It is they, perhaps more than any, who are damaged by this insidious vice called lotteries. Bless the government wise enough not to harm its people with this vice. There are only six, and Utah is fortunate to be one of them.

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Are We on the Verge of a Sportsmanship Revolution in Sports?

   Is there a kinder, gentler sports world in the works? Are we on the verge of a sportsmanship revolution? News is, Wisconsin has banned chants such as "Air ball," "Scoreboard," "You can't do that," and "Overrated."
   This comes on the heels of Utah Coach Larry Krystowiak's announcing he is canceling the rivalry game with BYU out of safety concerns for his players, lest they be punched in the heat of a game.
    Well, a civility crusade in sports is probably not on the verge of breaking out. But, one wonders. And, one wonders but what it might even be a good idea. Frankly, I'm not so sure I see such chants as "Air ball" and  "You can't do that" being so offensive. But, while granting that, I do wonder but what it isn't a good idea to give the fans some standards. I'm not sure I would make them mandatory. Nor am I certain I would even enforce them. But, telling fans what constitutes undesirable behavior seems a good idea.
   It falls back to my axiom that nothing taught is nothing learned. If you want someone to do something, you should expect you will need to teach them to do it. So, if you want good behavior, ask for it.
   And, the players? Tell them the same. No, punching is not acceptable.
   As I write, it just occurs to me that I might have seen another example that we might be on the verge of a outbreak of sportsmanship in America. I was watching the Utah Jazz -- Sacramento Kings game tonight, with the volume turned down, and Utah's Trevor Booker was injured. What was neat, was that one of the Kings players came over to console, or offer an apology, or some such thing.
   And, it seems I heard of something in the NFL or college football, that players were being taught there is nothing wrong with helping an opponent up.
   So, perhaps there is, indeed, a civility movement in sports sweeping the country. I do not know but what it is already being discussed on sports talk radio and sports channels on TV, for I have not been listening and watching such programs.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Spending for the American Indian

  I stopped long enough to find out what was offered, and who paid for it, when I saw an urban Indian center in Salt Lake. And, though I see I've lost the sheet of paper outlining what was offered, it did offer medical care. A client I spoke with there was referred to a community medical center elsewhere in the valley, so I don't know that the doctoring is done right on site, but perhaps the payments are arranged.
  I winced when I learned where the funding comes: government.
  But, that is what I expected. And, as I consider on it, I am not so sure I oppose it. I'm told the American Indians receive free education and medical aid as a result of an agreement from the 1920s. I half oppose this, and half consider we owe them as much for taking their lands away.
  Why did I wince? We have a $18-plus-trillion debt. Everywhere I look, I see spending.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

How Would America Fare if Political Divisiveness Were Compared?

  How would America fare if compared against all the nations of the earth in how divided we are by politics, how polarized we are, how hateful of we are of those who have different opinions?
  I guess I consider whether we are not the most polarized nation now on earth, and I ponder if there has ever, in history's long trail, been a nation ever so divided in its politics as we are at this time. And, as I think about all this, I come to think, those lands divided by Shiites and Sunnis easily are more divisive than us. And, perhaps, if we examined history carefully enough, we would see many nations that have been more politically divided than what we are.
   Still, I think we remain a ranking nation, in our political polarity.

A Real State of the Union Speech

   A real state of the union speech, what would it say, one that took to declare where we are as a nation?
   It would summarize our recent scientific contributions, our wealth or lack thereof, our religious leanings and our moral stands. It would assess our beliefs, such as whether we still believe God created the earth and the heavens. It would tell of our struggle with guns, and police violence, and terrorism. It would address our changing beliefs on gays and marijuana, and jail time for drug offenders. It would note we are deeply divided by politics. It would speak of our entertainment and how we spend our free time, of how much we work, and whether we just punch the time clock, or are dedicated to our work.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Pacific Patriots were there to 'De-Esculate' the Encounter

   They came. Now have left. Word is, some of the protesters have departed the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, home of the Ammon Bundy uprising of 2016. Some past supporters are calling on Bundy to give up and go home.
   But, one of the funnest incidents of the encounter came towards the end of last week, when the Pacific Patriots Network showed up at Malheur, saying they were there to "de-esculate" the situation. But, to me, not much needs to be de-esculated. A group of people are sitting around on federal land, and the feds aren't jumping to sending them away.
  One member of the Pacific Patriots said they weren't a militia. That was fun, because if they are not a militia, maybe there just isn't such thing as a militia. They showed up heavily armed, and are a volunteer ensemble, and are bent on making things better.
    The Citizens for Constitutional Freedom -- that's what Bundy's group calls itself -- asked the newcomers to leave. And, they did. The interesting thing, is that the Citizens for Constitutional Freedom early on had asked for other like-minded militia folks to join them. Now someone shows up, and they ask them to leave.
   I'm wishing we knew more about these militias. What is the history of the Pacific Patriots? Is there an organized militia from which a number of Citizens for Constitutional Freedom comes from? What are the beliefs of these groups? In America, where many people tie militias to the Second Amendment, what are the militias we have, and what do they espouse and believe in?
   And, what might they do in the future? If the standoff near Burns, Oregon grew out of a militia culture and the Sagebrush Rebellion, should we wonder if other encounters with militias lie ahead? The standoff at Malheur is but a bubble that has risen to the top. Other militias are percolating under the surface. I think of one militia I'm aware of (they proclaim themselves not as a militia, but as a emergency preparedness organization) and of how they seek to have training in every state. To me, you don't train for something without there being a possibility you will eventually do something.
 

Sunday, January 10, 2016

The Only God

   Here's a quick couplet for Sunday. Sunday fare it is, though short.

The only God I have, is the God above.
  The only God I know, is the God of love.


Saturday, January 9, 2016

20 Gun Measures President Obama Wants



Why not go down this checklist, and decide which of the following measures you agree with. They come from President Obama's Jan. 5 speech on gun violence. These are the things he wants to see happen.
1. Anybody in the business of selling firearms must get a license and conduct background checks, or be subject to criminal prosecutions. It doesn’t matter whether you’re doing it over the Internet or at a gun show. 
2. We’re also expanding background checks to cover violent criminals who try to buy some of the most dangerous firearms by hiding behind trusts and corporations and various cutouts.
3. We're also taking steps to make the background check system more efficient. . . .   We’re going to hire more folks to process applications faster, and we’re going to bring an outdated background check system into the 21st century.  
4. We're going to add 200 more ATF agents and investigators.  
5. We're going to require firearms dealers to report more lost or stolen guns on a timely basis. 
6. We're working with advocates to protect victims of domestic abuse from gun violence, where too often, people are not getting the protection that they need.
7. We're going to do more to help those suffering from mental illness get the help that they need. . . .  Nearly two in three gun deaths are from suicides.  So a lot of our work is to prevent people from hurting themselves. 
8. Obamacare . . . that law made sure that treatment for mental health was covered the same as treatment for any other illness.  
9. Mental health . . . We’re going to invest $500 million to expand access to treatment across the country. 
10. We’re going to ensure that federal mental health records are submitted to the background check system.
11. We're going to . . . remove barriers that prevent states from reporting relevant information.    
12. We’re going to boost gun safety technology. . . . We’re going to work with the private sector to update firearms technology.  
13. If we can set it up so you can’t unlock your phone unless you’ve got the right fingerprint, why can’t we do the same thing for our guns?
14. If there’s an app that can help us find a missing tablet . . .  if we can do it for your iPad, there’s no reason we can’t do it with a stolen gun.  
15. If a child can’t open a bottle of aspirin, we should make sure that they can’t pull a trigger on a gun.  
16. Some gun retailers are already stepping up by refusing to finalize a purchase without a complete background check, or by refraining from selling semi-automatic weapons or high-capacity magazines.  
17. So all of us need to demand a Congress brave enough to stand up to the gun lobby’s lies. . . . All of us need to demand governors and legislatures and businesses do their part to make our communities safer.  
18. We need the wide majority of responsible gun owners who grieve with us every time this happens and feel like your views are not being properly represented to join with us to demand something better. 
19. We need voters who want safer gun laws, and who are disappointed in leaders who stand in their way, to remember come election time.  
20. The gun lobby is loud and it is organized in defense of making it effortless for guns to be available for anybody, any time.  Well, you know what, the rest of us, we all have to be just as passionate.  We have to be just as organized in defense of our kids. 

Friday, January 8, 2016

'Executive Actions' Might be Exactly What Obama Should be Doing

   A little debate erupted on whether executive actions are the same as executive orders after President Obama announced his executive actions on guns this week.
   While some executive orders rub me the wrong way, executive actions are the correct thing for a president to be executing, depending on how you define, "executive action." It is for Congress to make the laws, and if executive orders are laws being made, I don't like that.
   But, executive actions? If these are just measures you are taking to enforce the laws, then you are merely fulfilling your obligation to execute the law. That's what the executive branch is suppose to do.
   Hiring more people to do background checks is not an executive order, but an executive action. Modernizing background-check methods is not the creation of new law. Rather, it is how you make the existing law function.
  With some of the things President Obama proposed, it depends on what is already on the books, which I am not knowledgeable about. When he said, anyone who sells guns -- whether at gun shows, on the Internet, or wherever -- must get a license and conduct background checks, I assume that is something already on the books, it is just that he is going to see that it is enforced.
   When he suggested guns with safety locks, that only unlock when a person's fingerprints match, he seemed to be advocating that manufacturers make them that way, but not that it be a law that they be made that way.

Change the Second Amendment in Order to Honor it

   President Obama will tell you the right to keep and bear arms is not being infringed.
   "The evidence tells us that in states that require background checks, law-abiding Americans don't find it any harder to purchase guns whatsoever. Their guns have not been confiscated. Their rights have not been infringed," he said in his speech Jan. 5.
   I would wonder, though, for I do not remember the Second Amendment saying, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." The way the Founding Fathers wrote it, doesn't say, "the right of law-abiding citizens," it says "the right of the people." 
   If we respect our Constitution, we will amend it. If we are going to have any gun control, we must. To ignore the wording of the Second Amendment is wrong. I don't see what great harm it will do to change the wording to say, "law-abiding citizens" or "those who have not been convicted of violent crimes." If we want background checks, let's make it legal by changing not just some law, but the law that matters most.
   Or should matter most.
   I


Thursday, January 7, 2016

If They will be Less Inclined to Throw Punches, then this is Good

   If Utah Coach Larry Krystkowiak canceled next year's game with BYU for the right reason, it might have been the right move. If you can send a message to the players that fighting is not acceptable, if you can persuade them not to resort to punching each other out, well, that is a good thing.
   Successfully teaching youth to behave is to be commended.
   Only thing is, Krystkowiak should be faulting both sides. I didn't read the story close enough to know whether he is, perhaps, but it seems, from what I read, he was only faulting BYU. The history of the rivalry contains thrown punches on both sides. Both sides need to rein it in. Both sides need to learn constraint. The lesson is there to be learned not only for BYU, but for Utah.
   If the cancellation makes them less inclined to resort to fisticuffs, then the move is a good one. I hope, though, that once the message has sunk in on the players, the series is resumed.

Rivalries are too Dangerous, and Should all be Canceled?

   I'm thinking most rivalry games could be canceled, if this is the reasoning. The University of Utah has announced it won't play BYU in basketball next year, due to the danger. One of BYU's players took a swing at a Utah player in this year's game.
   There is a danger someone will get angry and take a swing in any basketball game. One could argue, then, we should cancel them all. Rivalry games are especially intense. The BYU-Utah rivalry doesn't stand alone in the realm of rivalries in which players have taken swings at each other. So, why not cancel them all? Once the intensity of playing a foe reaches rivalry status, that signifies the game has reached the level where it should be canceled, right?

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

People Would Start Staying Home and Out of Public Places

  As I went to bed last night, I did think on what a parent would do if his or her child were in imminent danger. Remember, I suggested that how we protect a child, might be the way we should protect ourselves in these days of mass shootings. I suggested that if our wee little ones were endangered, we would swoop in with loving arms and snatch them out of harm's way. And, I suggested one equivalent, then, would be to take our children out of schools, and to take ourselves out of the theaters, and malls and such.
   And, I acknowledged that that isn't practical.
   As I thought about it while going to sleep, though, it occurred to me that this is exactly what will happen if this gets serious enough. I doubt it will get that bad, but if the mass shootings became common enough, people would start taking their kids out of school. They would start staying home, themselves, instead of going to malls and theaters.
 

 

Would be Fun to be a Practicing Journalist, to Write about Ammon Bundy

 
   Would be fun to be a practicing journalist at this time. For that matter, it would be fun if I had time to go to Bend, Oregon, to do pieces for this blog.
   There are fun stories that could be written. If so many people do believe in this retreaded Sagebrush Rebellion thing, why are not more joining in? Ammon Bundy invited them over, but I haven't heard that he had any takers from his plea for others to come join the occupation. I could interview some Utahns who believe believe in militias for the purpose of reining in government, and ask them why -- if they believe in this type of thing -- why aren't they rushing to join in? To busy? Have to stay here because they can't leave their jobs? Or, are the Bundys too fringe?
   Are there any Bend, Oregon, locals involved? How do the folks in Bend feel about the federal lands being turned over to them? Quoting them would make for a good story. 
   It would be fun to go visit the occupation, just to learn more as to who is involved, and if most of them belong to an existing militia, and to find out what the name of the militia is, and learn a little of its history. It would be fun to get their opinions as why they joined the cause and what led them to do so. And, I'd ask them their views on militias. That could be a relevant article. 
   What federal lands are they demanding be turned over to the locals -- just the land there in Oregon, or federal land everywhere? Where's Cliven? Is he in ill health, or why hasn't he joined them? Now, there's a story waiting to be written.
  What about back in Nevada? Whatever became of Cliven Bundy's situtation there? Is he still resisting to pay grazing fees? Are his cattle still grazing without the fees being paid? Why not have a similar occupation there? I'd ask Ammon why he is not having his occupation there? If it is he that believes in this, and not the people in Bend (admittedly, that is yet to be established), why not keep it to Nevada and not bother Oregon?
   Which brings back one more story. What do the locals in Nevada think of the Bundys? Have their views changed? Would they want a land hold up such as this taking place in their community?

Tile and Gout

   There was an advertisement about tile and grout this week, and I thought they said, tile and "gout," so, just having learned I have gout in my toe, I called them up to take advantage of their offer. It turned out to be inexpensive, for me, as they charge by the foot, and I only needed one foot. 

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

How We Would Protect Children, Might be the Way to Protect Ourselves

   Protect the child, and you protect the adult. I can't help feeling there is some solution in considering how we would protect our little children if they were under attack. Yes, I know, many of the attacks have, indeed, been on school children, and it hasn't inspired us to do anything particular to ward off the mass murders.
   I still can't help but think there is some solution in considering the problem from this vantage point. When the children are at risk, the instinct is to do whatever it takes to protect them.
   So, what could we do? I stop only briefly to consider this, for it is already long past bedtime.
   For one thing, you don't leave the child in harm's way. You run to the child, swoop him up, and carry him to safety. So, how does that translate into protecting our schools from attack, and, likewise, to protecting adults? Do we swoop in and take our children out of school, and take everyone out of movie theaters and public places?
   Doesn't seem we can do that. That doesn't seem to be the answer.
   Guess I'll go to bed and think on this some more.

Monday, January 4, 2016

Patriotism Sometimes Boils Down to Honoring a BLM Official

   The year is but days old before my New Year's resolution is tried. I resolved to stand up for America -- current version, the America of here and now --  when people tear it down. And, by that, I mean I resolved to defend our government
   Now, no sooner than the new year arrives than -- as if on cue -- along comes the siege of a wildlife refuge in Oregon by a militia. So, what are my thoughts?
   One thought is the same as what was offered by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in its statement. We are fortunate to live in a land where we can solve such differences through peaceful means.
   Bless our land. In many nations, through the course of world history, it has been standard procedure to try to rectify things through armed conflict. With democracy, that need not be.
   Nor do I feel the Bundy effort justified. Two people were convicted for lighting fire to federal land. It was a mistake on their part. They should not have done that on federal land. Perhaps they were correct in seeing what was best for the land, that it needed the burn. But, it was not theirs to make that decision. If you honor your leaders, you yield to their decisions. You can work with them, reason with them, and try to persuade them. And, even when they make a decision that goes against your wishes, you can continue imploring them to  change their mind.
   But, you honor their decision. To me, there is an edge of patriotism in this. Honoring government includes abiding by its decisions. Some will argue that BLM and other federal government officials are not worthy of being honored. I see it differently. I tend to believe the officials tend to be honorable people. And, I do not suppose that they must do everything my way.
   Patriotism isn't just honoring the founding fathers and the Constitution. It is honoring our leaders and government edicts today. Patriotism sometimes boils down to honoring a BLM official.

The Oregon Take-Over of Federal Land is to be Condemned


   It is wonderful to see the response of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to the militia take-over of a wildlife refuge in Oregon. To me, it is wonderful to have such voices condemning an action such as this.
   Says the statement:
   "While the disagreement occurring in Oregon about the use of federal lands is not a Church matter, Church leaders strongly condemn the armed seizure of the facility and are deeply troubled by the reports that those who have seized the facility suggest that they are doing so based on scriptural principles. This armed occupation can in no way be justified on a scriptural basis. We are privileged to live in a nation where conflicts with government or private groups can — and should — be settled using peaceful means, according to the laws of the land."
   I appreciate this also: A Deseret News article quotes Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in a talk to students at BYU in 1992, as saying:
   "Love of country is surely a strength, but carried to excess it can become the cause of spiritual downfall. There are some citizens whose patriotism is so intense and so all-consuming that it seems to override every other responsibility, including family and church. I caution those patriots who are participating in or provisioning private armies and making private preparations for armed conflict. Their excessive zeal for one aspect of patriotism is causing them to risk spiritual downfall as they withdraw from the society of the church and from the governance of those civil authorities to whom our twelfth article of faith makes all of us subject."

Sunday, January 3, 2016

I Mostly Agree with Justice Scalia

   I beg to differ only slightly on what Chief Justice Antonin Scalia said. He said God has been good to America exactly because we honor him. He said there is nothing wrong with invoking God in giving speeches. He said he was in Rome for a conference at the time of 9-11, and others at the conference complemented Pres. George W. Bush for invoking God's name and asking for his blessings. They told Scalia, they wished their countries were more the same.
   I agree. There is no wrong in invoking God's name, in offering public prayers, and in putting trust in God.
  Scalia also suggested the tradition that the state be neutral on religion is not found in the Constitution. I'm not sure what he meant by "neutral," that I should say whether I agree or disagree on that.
   But, he said this, "To be sure, you can't favor one denomination over another. -- But, can't favor religion over non-religion?" That implies religion can be put over non-religion.
   And, I disagree. We should not favor placing religion over non-religion any more than we should favor placing one denomination over another.
   Any leader should be able to invoke God, to pray to him. He should even be free to say his thoughts come from his Lutheran background, or Catholic background, or Muslim background, or Jewish background. And, if the leader knows no God? He should be free to say he knows no God, but wishes the best upon our nation.
   In their utterances, leaders should not be expected to cleanse out reference to God. That is not so much a matter of freedom of religion, as it is freedom of speech.
   In creating policies and laws, however, no one religion denomination should be favored above another or above those who believe in atheism. No law should be created that favors one religion above another. If there were a law that spelled out that there would be public prayers (not a law saying they will be disallowed, but one specifying that they shall take place), that would be wrong, for it would be placing those who believe in God ahead of those who don't. It would violate what the Constitution says, that, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."


Saturday, January 2, 2016

Dissect the Economy into 10 Elements

   Dissect an economy to its basic elements, and you will find at its heart, the provider of a product or service. Other elements of the economy lean on the provider. If you have a car, someone comes along to sell components for it. Someone comes along to market it, either by advertising or by distributing it. Someone comes along to tax it. Someone comes along to regulate it. Someone comes along to buy it. Someone comes along to fix it or service it when it breaks down. And, finally, someone comes along to either re-market it or dispose of it when the initial buyer no longer wants it.
   The inventor, of course, is a special provider of the product. If the producer of the product is the basic element, the inventor is the basic part of that basic part.
   Studied this way, then, we have at least ten components of an economy, each worthy of being studied as to how it fits into and impacts the economy.

  1. The inventor.
  2. The producer. The person who provides the product.
  3. The producer of a product that becomes a component of a more major  product. It should be noted, this occurs in the pre-market phase.
  4. Those who inject themselves into the flow of money from the product, and draw off a portion of it, such as the taxers. These people usually do not, and perhaps never, contribute to the making or marketing of the product. They profit off the product without adding to its value.
  5. Those who impact the product and/or its sales, usually without an exchange of money between them and the product's maker, such as government regulators, industry monitors, and public citizens with their consumer pressures.
  6. Those who advertise and promote the product.
  7. Those who distribute the product. These can sometimes be the same people who promote it, but can also be separate from them.
  8. The buyer.
  9. Those who service the product after its sale. These aftermarket people do things like oiling the car, repairing it, giving it a new paint job, etc. 
  10. Those who take the product off your hands once it has served its usefulness, whether they be reselling it or disposing of it.


Friday, January 1, 2016

Three Ways to Keep the Producer of a Product in Charge

   Three ways to keep the inventor and producer of a product as the party who benefits financially.

  1. Remove licensing requirements. Consider keeping them in some places, but, in general, banish them.
  2. Adjust search engines so that products from small providers are not buried, so a small business has as good of odds of being listed at the top as are others.
  3. Establish laws requiring product developers working for companies to be included in the ownership of the products they develop. They do not need to be included in the ownership of the company, itself, but share in the profits of the product they develop.



Life Lessons from a Basketball Game

   Life lessons I learn from a basketball game. The Jazz won, 109-96, as Trey Burke scored 27 points on 12 of 19 shooting. I had given up on Trey last year. But, this year, he has been wonderful.
   I learn, Don't give up on others too quickly.
   I learn, We tend to not change our judgments of others. If we once think ill, they often cannot get to thinking good about them, regardless what they do. I think of a friend who derides Stephen Curry, and when Stephen does good, I only hear reminders of his shortcomings.
  I learn, we often overlook the potential of others. Jeff Withey blocked four shots and made 4 of 7 shots, thus continuing to perform well in the time he does get on the court. But, although I am not plugged into the sports talk shows much, I doubt he is getting the credit he deserves. He leads the team in plus-minus.
   The second of these two lesson is especially deserving. The words out of our own mouths mold our opinions more than anything anyone else might say. Once uttered, our opinion is often set, not easily to be changed.  

To Change the Economic Model, Change the Person

   While you cannot direct just those who are altruistic to be the price-setters for products, you can have some influence on the altruism being interjected into your price-setting, though at times it will be minimal.
   Some inventors are service-minded, and some are not. Some product creators are, and some are not. Some marketers are, and some are not. Even so, some people are honest, benevolent and altruistic,
   And some are not.
   What are you going to do, only let the honest, benevolent and altruistic participate in your economic model? That would be oxymoronic, for only letting moral people be involved is not moral. Everyone deserves to participate, and to lock some, out would not be moral.
   But, you can influence price setters to be moral. You can influence them to be good. Teach them. It is perhaps all you can do. You cannot dictate how they will operate -- you cannot force them to be altruistic -- but you can influence them. So, if you want them to be altruistic, teach them to be altruistic. I've often said, Nothing taught, is nothing learned. so, teach them to be honest, upright, and service-oriented, and they will be more inclined to be honest, upright, and service-oriented.
   How many business classes include altruism? How many encourage the person to be honest, and helpful, and to charge no more than necessary? Would there be something wrong with instilling this in the student? Teaching goodness is not a bad thing.
   Doing this can change you whole economic model, if successful.