tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10485390.post5314260475086912585..comments2024-03-01T03:17:37.454-05:00Comments on Dalai's PACS Blog: Distorted Reality?Dalaihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17775491711029994911noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10485390.post-37367082307948349882011-09-20T05:48:20.654-04:002011-09-20T05:48:20.654-04:00Anonymous (if he is reading) should consider this:...Anonymous (if he is reading) should consider this: I. as a physician, have done well financially. Was there some luck in being dealt a pretty good brain. Well, I suppose so. But, in my group of freshman at college, (the honors dorm) we were all pretty darn good students. I regarded my occupation as being studying and getting top grades, others didn't. Of the sixteen of us in my immediate group, 2 or three became docs. My best friend opted to work 25 hours a week so that he could buy some toys like a great camera, and he didn't study enough. Others just played more basketball or cards. In short, I pounded on myself to produce, most who didn't, didn't manage the grades. But, I guess, in the liberal theology, this, too, can be rationalized away. You see, I was FORTUNATE enough to be born with a strong work ethic, and so should share my good fortune by turning over my income to someone who will decide where it should go.<br />Now, of that had been part of the deal when I was going to college, I certainly wouldn't have exerted myself to excel beyond what was necessary to stay in college. Only do what would be necessary to keep me at mediocre. Game the system, in a sense, but not really. The system would be telling you that you could only succeed so much. Certainly no point in grinding it out, when you could be sunning yourself on the beach with all the college girls around you. <br />Is this pure theory? Why no, it was given a valid and prolonged trial. Communism in the middle of the last century really made a run at this income redistribution stuff, with the result that all the economies in eastern europe withered and died. Was anyone on the left taking notes? Probably not, they were the ones on the beach with the girls. Then, 15 years later, when they realized the train has left the station, professionally speaking, they now clamor for income redistribution, in order that they be treated "fairly"<br /><br />Oh - thx for the shout out.<br />DrSardonicusDr. Sardonicusnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10485390.post-59189722424261599202011-09-09T08:59:00.293-04:002011-09-09T08:59:00.293-04:00Well, I hear you on the "luck" factor in...Well, I hear you on the "luck" factor in achievement. I am not a physician though I work closely w/ many across the globe. I don't begrudge anyone's level of remuneration since it has little to do w/ mine. Nor do I believe just because there are ones who your detractor labeled "lucky" that they should provide a larger share than others. We all consume services and as such pay for those services. Yes, there are many socialized institutions in America (e.g., K-12 education, the GI Bill, Medicare/aid....) which are feasible and/or help those who could not afford a similar private service. <br /><br />In no way does this imply that when the US spends too much it's the fault of the "lucky" and the wealthy. I came from a very modest upbringing, which was 100 times bettter than my parents' upbringing. I didn't grow up in the depression like they did, it just felt like it.<br /><br />Nevertheless America has achieved greatness through individual and collective market incentives. Redistributing wealth from the "lucky" will reduce the incentives for those "unlucky" ones and set a converse tone to what makes America great.Hal Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09552355078248365129noreply@blogger.com