The UK is having elections on May 6, 2010 and this article examines some of Conservatives' proposals namely Do It Yourself government.
Read this article http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/14/election-2010-conservatives-big-society
Then in order to decide how much autonomy is really good you might reflect on the following areas. Do you generally feel favorably or unfavorably about doing the following:
1. Planning your own vacation on the internet
2. Using self check-out at the grocery store
3. Figuring out your own taxes
4. Doing your own banking online
5. Taking/Developing/Sharing your own photos
6. Voting in local elections
7. Voting in national elections
8. Deciding how your h.s. is run (repairs, hiring, activities)
9. Using the local libraries
10. Participating in community activities
11. Watching tv on the net
12. Dividing your own trash and recycling
13. Providing your own transportation to get where you are going
14. Cleaning up your neighborhood
After you think about that you should decide which areas of daily life should be taken care of by you, by the government or by a private company. For those students studying economics you might consider what the fiscal implications are to having or not having DIY governement. How much do we really want the government to take care of and how much are we willing to pay for it?
I thank all my dedicated students who came to class on Thursday. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. And I look forward to reading your responses.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Je serais d'accord pour tout sauf pour le 11 , le 4 , et le 3.
ReplyDeleteAprès avoir disctuté sur ce sujet en cours je pense que ça doit etre un travail d'équipe pour former une nation il faut quelqu'un qui puisse nous guider ( le gouvernement).
je pense que les idées , les programmes , l'innovation doit venir des citoyens .
Ils vivent au coeur des problèmes je pense qu'ils sont plus aptes à savoir ce qui merite d'etre amélioré ou pas.
L'Etat devrait que controler les projets pour savoir si ils doivent etre financés.
C'est pour cela que je trouve quand meme quelques avantages dans le systeme politique anglais , le peuple vote des projets et la reine donne son accord ou non.
I agree with all proposals except 11 and 8 , because for 11 i really hate those multi-functional devices that invade our life i rather think than each device should have its own function( for example cellphones were made to phone and not to take pictures ...) about number 8 i think that some students are mature enought to assume that kind of decisions but not every .
ReplyDeleteI also partially agree with Amina , of course that in every field as in politics there are experts more competent than any citizen to resolve some questions, however i think that DIY it's not a bad think because it also allows citizens to invest more deeply within their community , some people have a tendency to think that the government owes them everything and President kennedy 's quotation is really the idea that everyone should keep in mind to be the best citizen as possible.
Another interesting thing about this article is the fact that it raises a point that few people mention , indeed DIY can be difficult for some especially old people because they are not used to muti- functional devices that allow you to devellop your photos or watching TV on internet or they prefer to have a cashier who will help them if they are mistaken with prices instead of using self check-out to the grocery.
Finally i would say that if i'm not mistaken , the article doesn't mention the fact that DIY in politics is also a way for Conservatives to cut down the government's spendings with less people to help you in administrations and therefore less employees that the governement will have to pay.
Very nice, gz
ReplyDelete