not sure why you're getting down voted, I think these are some great points. Similar to trying to update a large legacy codebase vs starting from scratch-- it's easier to design, plan, and execute using the latest and greatest, vs. ripping out old infrastructure and systems or building on top of/along side of/etc.
And yes, healthcare spending is unnecessarily insane. Healthcare is tough though because it is not your ordinary product. Is it a right? How do we deal with different levels of care? Politicians don't want to answer these questions. The truth is there is unlimited demand and limited resources in a market where we feel morally obligated to give everyone the absolute best-- an impossibility. Healthcare is just one example that gives me doubts about our political system. Do we have the collective courage/wisdom to make big, important decisions? Sometimes any decision is better than none and I see our current healthcare system as a non-decision-- a "kick the can down the road".
What scares me about China is their gov't's ability to make these decisions (whether right/wrong, regardless of consequences) and get shit done as well as their people's staunch nationalism, essentially, our weaknesses. I do think that western values of freedom and transparency win in the long game, I just hope that the free nations can stay in the game long enough to win.
On that note. I think we need to get better at being a country--politically, economically, etc. We need to work on inefficiencies in the markets: monopolies, corruption, and players in comfortable positions because they've gamed the system. The free market should be uncomfortable for all players. Constant competition is what we want. Unfortunately, as players in the free market win, they gain power and alter the rules of the market so it is no longer free/efficient. We can't fault them for these self-preservation tactics, hell we view them as individuals right? (corporate personhood, Citizens United, etc). At the same time we need to seek out and prevent these cancerous tendencies. In addition, don't let corporations get too big too fail. Let corporations that are no longer fit, die!
I watched that Crouching Tiger series on youtube and while I recognize that it is a bit alarmist, it's tough to ignore the facts.
And yes, healthcare spending is unnecessarily insane. Healthcare is tough though because it is not your ordinary product. Is it a right? How do we deal with different levels of care? Politicians don't want to answer these questions. The truth is there is unlimited demand and limited resources in a market where we feel morally obligated to give everyone the absolute best-- an impossibility. Healthcare is just one example that gives me doubts about our political system. Do we have the collective courage/wisdom to make big, important decisions? Sometimes any decision is better than none and I see our current healthcare system as a non-decision-- a "kick the can down the road".
What scares me about China is their gov't's ability to make these decisions (whether right/wrong, regardless of consequences) and get shit done as well as their people's staunch nationalism, essentially, our weaknesses. I do think that western values of freedom and transparency win in the long game, I just hope that the free nations can stay in the game long enough to win.
On that note. I think we need to get better at being a country--politically, economically, etc. We need to work on inefficiencies in the markets: monopolies, corruption, and players in comfortable positions because they've gamed the system. The free market should be uncomfortable for all players. Constant competition is what we want. Unfortunately, as players in the free market win, they gain power and alter the rules of the market so it is no longer free/efficient. We can't fault them for these self-preservation tactics, hell we view them as individuals right? (corporate personhood, Citizens United, etc). At the same time we need to seek out and prevent these cancerous tendencies. In addition, don't let corporations get too big too fail. Let corporations that are no longer fit, die!
I watched that Crouching Tiger series on youtube and while I recognize that it is a bit alarmist, it's tough to ignore the facts.