The link below is to a fascinating article and very in tune with what is happening today in this country. The writer, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, makes a case for our economic problems being tied to our loss of the work ethic !

His crticism is not aimed totally at who you might think

"What would Tocqueville or Weber think of America today? In place of thrift, they would find a nation of debtors, staggering beneath loans obtained under false pretenses. In place of a steady, patient accumulation of wealth, they would find bankers and financiers with such a short-term perspective that they never pause to consider the consequences or risks of selling securities they don’t understand. In place of a country where all a man asks of government is “not to be disturbed in his toil,” as Tocqueville put it, they would find a nation of rent-seekers demanding government subsidies to purchase homes, start new ventures, or bail out old ones. They would find what Tocqueville described as the “fatal circle” of materialism—the cycle of acquisition and gratification that drives people back to ever more frenetic acquisition and that ultimately undermines prosperous democracies."

I think he hits at issues that nobody talks about.....just the simple ethics that have left this country. We expect things and we expect them NOW...

"In the wake of the market crash, our national discussion about how to fix capitalism seems limited to those who believe that more government will fix the problem and those who think that free markets will fix themselves. Few have asked whether we can recapture the civic virtues that nourished our commerce for 300 years."

This is a long article, but well worth the read....

It ends...

"Late in life, Adam Smith noted that government institutions can never tame and regulate a society whose citizens are not schooled in a common set of virtues. “What institution of government could tend so much to promote the happiness of mankind as the general prevalence of wisdom and virtue?” he wrote. “All government is but an imperfect remedy for the deficiency of these.”

America in the twenty-first century is learning that lesson."

http://city-journal.org/2009/19_3_work-ethic.html

I agree 100%. There is little doubt that our democracy has changed. It is no longer government for the people and by the people, but rather government for those with the most money and influence. The societal values of the public have changed, as is noted in the article you reference. And that has lead to similar changes among those elected to represent them. It's a sad commentary and difficult to see how it can be changed.

Originally Posted by Villages Kahuna

I agree 100%. There is little doubt that our democracy has changed. It is no longer government for the people and by the people, but rather government for those with the most money and influence. The societal values of the public have changed, as is noted in the article you reference. And that has lead to similar changes among those elected to represent them. It's a sad commentary and difficult to see how it can be changed.

The lack of ethics reaches from the high of business through government and has made all of us a nation of enablers.

You speak of those with the most money and you are correct, but look around and see folks who EXPECT the government to take care of them..it does NOT STOP with just those who make money !

are two mutually desirable effects in a Democracy.


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWsx1X8PV_A[/ame]

Originally Posted by Bucco

The lack of ethics reaches from the high of business through government and has made all of us a nation of enablers.

You speak of those with the most money and you are correct, but look around and see folks who EXPECT the government to take care of them..it does NOT STOP with just those who make money !

Bucco, notice how there are only three posts in this thread. Is it because no one cares for our content or style, or does what was said here stop them in their tracks with truths?

Originally Posted by gnu

Bucco, notice how there are only three posts in this thread. Is it because no one cares for our content or style, or does what was said here stop them in their tracks with truths?

No, it's just it's darned depressing. Now, how do we reverse this before we're history?

This has all been a long time coming and, unfortunately, the fix will be also. I wish I had the magic wand or whatever to get the job done. Like anything else, we need to go back to square one and attempt to not repeat the mistakes. So much seems to be controlled by the "me" mentality and not those who want to do the job as meant to be. They also have lost sight of who their employers really are (politicians). Also, job loyalty used to be a two-way street, but has now become a one-way. I'm not THAT old, but have seen it happening over the years and it is really sad.

The latest chapter (this week) of Charlie Rangel's lying deception is a perfect example of what you are saying. Your observation of a "lack of response" by the brevity of the thread may reflect more than a lack of concern/interest by readers.

directly proportional to the loss of the majority rules. As special interests found they could get government to do almost all their bidding, the slide to loss of values has escalated.

No discipline and no respect, are the order of the day.

It will change only when the silent majority rises and claims the have had it.
Until then they are by default contributing to the demise of the American values this country was founded on.

Wanna bet Rangel gets re-elected. If one cannot be fired what do they have to fear?

btk