causeandeffectworld.com Blog

On my mind: government & privacy; pranks, murder and the teenage brain, inequality

Sam will be co-hosting with Todd Feinburg on his nationally syndicated weekend show on Sunday, August 5, 2007 from 1-4 EDT.  You can stream the show live here.

Privacy:  China Enacting a High-Tech Plan to Track People – does the thought of the Chinese government tracking its citizens give you the creeps?  how about the cameras in Britain?

“The British capital has more surveillance cameras monitoring its citizens than any other major city in the world. The highly visible gadgets are posted on the corners of many buildings, on new buses and in every subway station. Since 2003, the license plate of every car driving into central London during weekdays is filmed as part of a program to reduce traffic congestion. London charges a fee to cars and also uses the films to catch and fine cheats. In all, there are at least 500,000 cameras in the city, and one study showed that in a single day a person could expect to be filmed 300 times.” Wall Street Journal, July 8, 2005

Does it depend on the government?  Does it depend on democracy?  Does the increase in government power make democracy more fragile?

Inequality:  What are the lines between lower/middle/upper class, what’s rich?  What is the role of government?  Is there any level of inequality that is too much?  When do we name the American aristocracy?  Does it worry you, knowing that America is ’above average’ that some are predicting the ‘beginning of convergence’ in the world economy?  (This can only mean we’re going down, right?)  Two of the major differences between the United States and the rest of the world is the cost of health care and higher education.  Americans may make more money and pay less in taxes than those in other countries, but we more than make up for it in medical expenses and education debt.  How will this affect us as we try to compete in the the global economy?

Teenagers – Pranks vs Crimes:  What do you think about the new craze of throwing stuff back at the fast food employees who work the drive-through window?  Just a prank, or an arrogant, disgusting, display of snobbery on the part of teenagers with obviously too much money and ‘leisure’ time.  Or perhaps it’s another indication that the teenage brain is just not developed enough to realize the consequence of their actions?  All-State insurance company thinks there is a problem with the teenage brain, and wants to change our driving laws because of it.  If this is true, then does it make sense to ever charge teenagers as ‘adults’ for crimes?  What should we do about teenage pranksters and criminals?