Tag Archives: Junior Achievement

roundup

Roundup

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The Atheist’s Dilemma — an encouraging story and a reminder of the importance of being a good ambassador, using apologetics and not using the “blind faith” arguments.

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Did You Know? 90% of Babies With Down Syndrome are Aborted — that’s the worldly (final) “solution” to medical problems.  It will happen with more and more people as other issues are discovered in utero.

We were out dancing the other night at an outdoor shopping area with a Latin Rock band.  There were lots of kids around, including several very happy Down Syndrome children dancing to the music.  It is so sad that the loving, tolerant, pro-abortion crowd thinks that society and the children would have been better off if they had been destroyed in the womb.

And even if it was acceptable to kill the unborn who “really” have Down Syndrome (it isn’t!!), people should be terrified at all the false positives that occur.

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Good news: I don’t follow my stats that much, but I had another record day fueled by Reddit linking to the Wendy Wright Schools Richard Dawkins post.

Bad news: Lots of the comments were just tired sound bites by people who didn’t read the post (leading to my adding a couple updates to the post).

Good news: It did lead to a lot of people reading the link on the minimal facts and the Atheist’s Dilemma post linked above.  I figured that if thousands of people were coming with a hostile attitude that I’d point them to some important truths, and it worked!

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More good news: I realized that when the song that just came on my playlist was over that my exercise bike workout would be complete.

Bad news: The song was Free Bird.  Live.

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Killing Sugar Subsidy Would Send a Sweet Message — basic economic principles aren’t that hard to understand, but our leaders are ignorant of them or do the opposite out of self interest.  We need more Junior Achievement classes in this country.

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Army Reserve training material: Evangelicals, Catholics are extremist groups — But of course!  People who support killing unwanted babies with taxpayer funding = not extremists.  People who oppose killing unwanted babies = extremists.  Check.

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The Danger of “Needing” a Job — good advice on living below your means.

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Tattoo regret — Think before you ink.  When my kids were younger I’d ask how they’d feel if they’d received tattoos of Barney the Dinosaur when they were toddlers.  Of course they were aghast at that.  I think the message got through: What seems great now may not later.  Deferred gratification = important life skill.

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More creepiness from MSNBC — reporter coaches her 5 yr. old daughter to say how crazy it is to oppose “same-sex marriage.”

Hey, why don’t you ask the 5 yr. old if it would have been fine to kill her in the womb if Mommy hadn’t wanted her at the time? Surely the Mom has coached her daughter on the importance of being able to kill her unwanted offspring.

How sad that she has perverted the mind of this young girl. To say it “seems strange” that a man would only marry a woman is a pure lie, even from a Leftist like her. Just look around the world, people.

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Economics, Politics

The Isle of Deserta exercise, or how a bunch of 7th graders are better at setting up a society than our politicians

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For 12 years, I taught Junior Achievement classes to nearly every grade from K-12, but the Junior High classes were my favorites (I was as surprised as you are).  They weren’t too cool to take part and had a lot of energy.  They were quick to pick up business concepts such as supply and demand and even the elasticity of supply and demand (e.g., insulin has inelastic demand because no matter how low the price goes non-diabetics won’t buy it, but iPods have elastic demand because the lower the price the more people will buy).  Even the non-egghead kids understood the concepts and actively participated in the lessons.

One of my favorite exercises was the Isle of Deserta.  The kids pretended that they had won a trip to an exotic vacation paradise and would describe what they would pack.  Once they got there they discovered that the island was deserted and they had to figure out how to survive (the exercise predated the Survivor TV show but had a similar concept).

They always created a consistently logical and workable society, but with the proper controls to ensure that it was sustainable.  They realized that it was better to split up jobs to those most qualified and interested, such as some doing the fishing / gathering and others doing cooking and cleaning, as opposed to having everyone fend for themselves.

When asked what they would do for those who could work but refused to, the immediate reaction was something like “Make them shark bait!”  But what about an injured person who couldn’t help?  “We’ll take care of them and give them food anyway.”  What if the person gets better but doesn’t want to work? “Shark bait!”

They intuitively knew that a society should care for the weak and needy, but that it couldn’t survive if able-bodied people shared in the benefits but not the workload.

Even the Bible notes that, although the false teachers pretend this verse isn’t there or isn’t from God:

2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

One of my favorite moments was when a girl went against her peers and insisted that everyone should get the same food and benefits regardless of how hard he or she worked.  She was most adamant about this point, so I let her share her minority view.

But at the end of the lesson when I went to pass out some candy for their overall good behavior (Jolly Ranchers, the official candy of Junior Achievement), she pleaded for extras because she had participated more than the others.  At first I thought she was kidding, but she didn’t catch the irony of her request.  I didn’t want to embarrass her, but it was a teachable moment to point out that she was now proposing a system that was the opposite of her previous submission.  I hope the lesson wasn’t lost on her, and that I cured her of her liberal inconsistencies!

The 7th graders intuitively understood the basics of human nature, especially when the situations were stripped of politics and sound bites.  It is noble and right to help the truly weak, such as widows, orphans and the disabled, but a system without controls and accountability is doomed to fail.  And a system full of entitlements, political payoffs and incentives not to do your best is doomed to fail more quickly.

Anti-capitalists choke on this simple example.  How do they plan to force people to provide goods and services to others — even those who are able to work but won’t?

I say with all seriousness that our country would be much better off if everyone, including every elected official, had to take Junior High level Junior Achievement classes.

Financial, Politics

Did he really say that?!

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As if we needed more evidence that Liberals Liberals fail at basic economics, we have the President of the United States saying this:

There are some structural issues with our economy where a lot of businesses have learned to become much more efficient with a lot fewer workers. You see it when you go to a bank and you use an ATM, you don’t go to a bank teller, or you go to the airport and you’re using a kiosk instead of checking in at the gate.  Barack Obama

That is an epic FAIL on so many levels.  It isn’t a structural issue, it is a foundational and wonderful element of our capitalistic economy.  The unemployment rate didn’t nearly double because of ATMs (and despite wasting a trillion dollars trying and failing to keep it below 8%).  It is a pathetic attempt for him to avoid responsibility.

Why is a “progressive” like Obama so opposed to progress?  Does he think that his beloved teleprompters pre-dated agriculture?  No, they exist because people took risks, worked hard and were rewarded for creativity and automation.

He should be embarrassed, and the media should mock him until their throats (TV and radio) and fingertips (print) are raw.  Using his “logic,” we’d have higher employment if it weren’t for advancements like ATM machines.  Ignoring the jobs of those who make, install, maintain, and write software for these machines, does Obama think that other countries won’t continue to automate even if we stopped?  If businesses don’t automate then costs go up compared to other countries and we lose even more jobs.  You could require that all cars be made by hand, but would anyone ever buy a U.S. car over an inexpensive and higher quality foreign model?

I say without exaggeration that I’ve taught Junior Achievement classes to 7th graders who understand basic economic principles better than him.  There was an exercise asking if you should automate your bike factory to save money and improve quality, even though it would reduce jobs.  Many kids initially opposed this because they forgot about the other bike makers.  When I pointed out that without automation everyone would eventually lose their jobs, they realized the benefits of progress.

As Stacy McCain adds in Pointing Out the Obvious: They Don’t Teach Economics at Harvard Law School : The Other McCain:

The president is attempting here to offer a simplistic explanation of the difference between cyclical unemployment and structuralunemployment. As important as that distinction is, however, it fails to explain many obvious things about this recession.

Unemployment isn’t at 9% because of out-of-work bank clerks and airline ticket agents. Unemployment is most severe in construction trades and other housing-related sectors. Whatever else Obama’s policies have done, they have not led to a meaningful recovery of the housing market and, one might easily argue, have made things much worse. Why? Because for two years, the administration and Democrats in Congress did everything possible to impede the foreclosure process, to keep deadbeats in homes they can’t afford. This has slowed re-sales, prevented mortgage lenders from cutting their losses on bad loans and, in general, hindered the kind of price “re-set” necessary to making the housing market efficient again.

Something else: The recession is not equally bad everywhere. Why is unemployment nearly 12% in California but less than 6% in Oklahoma? Don’t people in Oklahoma use ATMs and automated airline ticket kiosks?

I could go on and on, but it is such a shooting-fish-in-a-barrel topic.  If only the Left could see how intellectually bankrupt and counterproductive Obama’s economics are.  The youth who voted for him are starting to see it (their vision seems to be better when standing in the unemployment line rather than at his “hope and change” speeches).

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If you want to see something delusional, watch the head of the Democrat National Committee claim that Obama has turned the economy around.  Uh, yeah, sure, 9.1% unemployment, skyrocketing deficits and debt, gas over $4 a gallon (which was Bush’s fault when he was in office but apparently a good thing when Obama is in power, because it reduces global warming blah blah blah), etc.

Also see Obama Puts Unions Ahead of a Healthy Economy, Free Trade for an example of why it is hard to believe he even wants to reduce the unemployment rate.

Financial

Dear Illinois, Do you think you can keep raising taxes with no ill effects? Think again.

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See Governor Christie is actively courting Illinois businesses to move to New Jersey (and he is not the only Governor to take advantage of Pat Quinn’s chronic stupidity) – Ah, the free market at work!  That pesky law of unintended consequences will get you every time.  Make your state difficult to do business with and people and companies will leave.

This works on the national level as well.  If you raise taxes and raise barriers to effective commerce, capital funds will go elsewhere and take their jobs with them.  And that lowers tax bases that further erode employment, and the spiral continues.

These are basic economic principles that a 7th grade Junior Achievement student can grasp yet these highly paid politicians cannot.  Like horrible chess players, they can’t think one simple move ahead.  And more and more people will suffer for their ignorance.

Uncategorized

False teachers profit from poverty

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First, let me be clear that I care a lot about the poor.  I’m pretty sure I donate more to help them than false teachers like Chuck “Jesus is not the only way” Currie (unless his giving is 20x the typical Liberal politician).  I taught Junior Achievement classes for 13 years.  I support CareNet, which provides life skills training in addition to saving the weak (the ones Chuck thinks it is OK to kill).  And so on.

But as usual, the types that cause the poverty make their living off “curing” it.

Half of Americans state that someone in their close family is poor, and over 50 million Americans are living in a household struggling against hunger. We need your help now more than ever to build a grassroots movement to cut poverty in half in 10 years.

via : “Tell Congress Not to Scrooge the Jobless This Holiday Season!”.

These “grassroots movement” types don’t understand what reduces poverty: Jobs!!  They fight for job-killing legislation like the Cap and Trade nonsense and ridiculous ventures like ethanol that only help people like Al Gore.

They will never be able to help the poor in the long run because they are Democratic shills and glorified poverty pimps.

It has been proven that Liberals fail at economics.  They don’t know how jobs are created.

Financial, Politics

Jobs!!! Part 3

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The final piece of this short series . . .

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If you had to blame the recession on one person, who would it be? — The Wintery Knight rightly picks Barney Frank, who along with his fellow Democrats insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were fine and the concerns over a housing bubble were unfounded.  Oh, and they resisted the Republican calls for regulation.  Watch the videos.  Facts are pesky things.  If only they got reported by the mainstream media we’d all be in better shape.

And guess what party the top 5 recipients of Fannie/Freddie contributions belonged to?  Hint: It starts with a “D.”

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We need more Junior Achievement classes in all grades.  They are proven to reduce drop out rates and they provide excellent training in basic economic and money management principles.

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Intel CEO Otellini: The Democrats Are Destroying our Economy — this is basic stuff to people who know anything about business.  You shop at businesses that treat you better and have lower prices, right?  What makes you think investors won’t do the same?  If you charge higher prices (i.e., taxes), offer lousy service and demonize your customers then don’t be surprised when they leave you.

The most disturbing part of Otellini’s comments is that he says nothing groundbreaking, nothing unexpected, and nothing that we have not heard many times before. Otellini talks about regulation, taxation, litigation and transparency – all issues that have been cited by business leaders for years. But our ‘leaders’ in Washington ignore these concerns, and instead pile on more taxes, more regulation, more litigation costs, greater uncertainty about the climate going forward. And they do all this while claiming to be ‘pro-jobs.’

Will Congress and the White House ever realize that business leaders are telling the truth? As our government continues to make it more difficult to do business in the US, companies must increasingly look to more favorable climates abroad. If Washington really wants to spur job creation here in the US, they should repeal the health care overhaul, reduce spending, cut the corporate tax rate, give up on cap and trade, and reform litigation. Instead we have been treated to an extended experiment in government control – one that is obviously not producing new wealth, new jobs, or any real hope for the emergence of the industries of the future.

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As noted in the first part, it is proven that Liberals have a very poor understanding of basic economic principles.  They should not be in charge of the economy.  Get out and vote this November, people!  Republicans have their flaws, but their policies result in having employed people complain about them rather than unemployed.

Financial, Politics

Jobs!!! Part 2

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Continuing a three-part series on jobs . . .

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Roxanne explores the vast misunderstandings about job creation in Failing Capitalism (and common sense) 101.  Read it all.

Whether or not you ascribe to that  particular ideology, you should understand the theoretical basis of the reigning ideology of your country.  So, if you live in the Western world, you should have some idea of what capitalism is all about.  That is, you should not write things like:

“Creating jobs is not about intelligence or education. It’s about having enough money to pay someone to do something. And :drumroll:…. having money is not exclusively a function of being educated, intelligent, good-smelling, or anything else, really. Of course, if we argue that wealth is solely a function of merit (as measured by education, which we assume is a function of intelligence), then yeah, it’s pretty much axiomatic that a more educated populace will create more jobs.”

Then Marshall asks, “Who would hire?  Who could?”

This article from Investor’s Business Daily lists ten reasons for the poor job situation in this country: (Hat tip–Wintery Knight)
-Executive orders and regulations promoting compulsory unionism.
-Obama’s forced restructuring of GM.
-Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act of 2010 (ObamaCare).
-Extension of unemployment benefits to 99 weeks — almost two years!
-American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009.
-Minimum wage laws.
-Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010.
-Moratorium on offshore oil drilling.
-Expiration of the Bush tax cuts.
-Obama’s runaway spending.

Not surprisingly, people with no business experience don’t know how to create jobs. Obama’s cabinet has the least private sector experience ever, by far.

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Is the media helping educate people on the problem? Of course not. As Rich Karlgaard of Forbes notes, editorial after editorial blames business for the problem but never talks to the business people. I guess they must be omniscient and don’t need to actually interview the people in question.

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Also see Obama’s Washington: No experience necessary

Wonder how Recovery Summer turned into Wreckovery Bummer?  How an administration ginned up its entire economic strategy into one stimulus bill and has done nothing since, even as the economy disintegrated?  Marty Robins advises his readers to check the CVs of the people in charge in Washington to understand just how incompetence has triumphed — and not just Barack Obama’s . . .