We, humans, were given a remarkable gift of unique intelligence. Perhaps, rather than using this gift to exploit all things in our environment, the gift was intended to equip us to be guardians of our planet’s resources and inhabitants.
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Of What Purpose Was This Gift?
Posted in Politics, Spirituality, tagged Democrats, Environment, GOP, Intelligent Design, Mitt Romney, Politics, Religion, Republican Party, Rick Santorum on 2012/04/03 | Leave a Comment »
Businesses Do Not Argue Against Their Financial Interests
Posted in Politics, tagged Blackout, Business, California, Deregulation, Energy, Enron, Insurance, Policy on 2012/03/15 | Leave a Comment »
Generally, a person doesn’t argue to increase competition in his industry unless it increases his profits. There are many examples of when market deregulation led to increased consumer prices, contrary to industry assurances and assertions. The most apparent is energy marked deregulation pushed by Enron. Another example is automobile insurance deregulation in Massachusetts. Both led to [...]
A Secret To Navigating Office Politics Without Being Political
Posted in Getting Ahead, Politics, tagged Career, Employment, Friends, Networking, Office Politics, Politics, Relationships, Success on 2012/02/16 | Leave a Comment »
If you’re poor at navigating through office politics, align yourself with the top performers in your Department. By top performers, we don’t mean people who have been successful politically but are generally inept at their responsibilities. Instead, we’re talking about colleagues whom others perceive as invaluable contributors because they are subject matter experts, tech-savvy, or [...]
Posted in Improving Relationships, Politics, Psychology, tagged Caring, Children & Family, Diplomacy, Empathy, Love, Peace, Politics, Relationship, Success on 2012/02/05 | Leave a Comment »
If you don’t care, there’s no reason (excuse) to not be empathetic.
Perception Controls Fact
Posted in Politics, Psychology, tagged Arts, Fact, Logic, Perception, PR, Psychology, Reality on 2012/01/22 | 2 Comments »
Generally, fact matters less than perception: perception is fact to the perceiver – it doesn’t matter what was the real intent or what was really done, what matters is how people perceive the words or actions. It is because perception forms reality that it is possible to change a person’s understanding of reality.
Millionaires Can Suppress Job Growth, Too
Posted in Politics, tagged Business, Development, Employment, Investment, Job Search, Jobs, Republicans, Unemployment, United States on 2011/12/17 | Leave a Comment »
In a way, millionaires are inherently job takers rather than job makers. By paying a person compensation of or exceeding $1 million, a business has less money to invest in capital, inventory, or its employment rolls. What do you think?
For Success Make The Person Whom Dislikes You Fight For You
Posted in Getting Ahead, Politics, tagged Bad Bosses, Bullies, Jobs, Psychology, Relationship, Resolution, Success, Workplace Conflict on 2011/12/16 | Leave a Comment »
Having trouble with a person at work? Think of ways to get them to fight for you on a matter or defend your interest on something. Generally, people develop a sense of interest in things in which they made an emotional, financial, or time investment.
A Person Can Demand Deference, But Not Respect
Posted in Manage Successfully, Politics, tagged Admiration, Deference, Government, Management, Politics, Respect, Royalty on 2011/12/15 | Leave a Comment »
There’s a difference between respect and deference. A position of power might require deference, but does not require respect. Don’t expect people to respect you if your actions do not engender respect.
When Other People’s Credit Errors Haunt You
Posted in Finances, Politics, tagged Credit, Credit Card, Credit History, Equifax, Experian, Nightmares, Personal Finance, Transunion on 2011/11/20 | Leave a Comment »
Take care letting someone put you on their credit card (or other form of credit), whether as a cosigner or additional user. Even if your name is removed from the credit card, any delinquency or other deficiency related to that card showing up on the other person’s credit report might show up on yours. At that point, [...]
Payback For Victims Of Road Ragers
Posted in Politics, tagged Aggression, Driving, Law, Prevention, Safety, Security, Transportation, Travel, Violence and Abuse on 2011/11/19 | Leave a Comment »
Some states have anti-road rage laws, where transgressors can lose their license in addition to being fined. Playing games on the road in a company vehicle is like leaving your calling card at a robbery. If the victim or passenger of a nearby car has a mobile phone with video options, there won’t be any questions [...]
Worker’s Comp May Cover Workplace Bullying
Posted in Finances, Politics, Resignation Tips, Unemployment, tagged Bullies, Employment, Insurance, Law, Workers Compensation, Workplace Bullies on 2011/11/17 | Leave a Comment »
If bullying or harassing behavior leads to severe emotional or mental distress you might be eligible for worker’s compensation. If you feel compelled to leave an employer, or are compelled to temporarily separate from an employer (such as due to hospitalization) due to the emotional, mental, or physical consequences of bullying or harassing behavior, consider looking into [...]
Posted in Politics, tagged Governmant, Law, Police, Sitations, Tickets on 2011/11/13 | Leave a Comment »
If government wants people to obey the laws, it should hire fewer hot cops.
An Equitable Tax Policy
Posted in Politics, tagged 999, Herman Cain, Income, Rick Perry, Tax Law, Tax Policy, Taxes, Wealth on 2011/11/12 | Leave a Comment »
An equitable approach to taxation would be for people owning 40% of the wealth to pay 40% of the taxes, and those owning 1:1 millionth of the wealth to be responsible for 1:1 millionth of the taxes. Please, let us know if you disagree and why.
Flat Taxes Do Not Simplify The Tax Code
Posted in Finances, Politics, tagged 999, Herman Cain, Income, Income Tax, Politics, Republicans, Rick Perry, Tax on 2011/10/26 | 1 Comment »
The problem with flat income taxes is that income must be defined still. For example, will income include interest and dividends? Will income include revenue from foreign sources? Will income include gifts? If yes, how will the value of non-cash gifts be determined? Will income include amounts received from the sale of an item? If yes, will the total amount [...]
Cutting Benefits To Soldiers Is Not Supporting Soldiers – Cut The Dependence On Contractors & Reward Soldiers, Instead
Posted in Finances, Politics, tagged Budget Cuts, Congress, Families, Military, Military Contractors, National Security, Soldiers, Super Committee, Wage on 2011/08/17 | Leave a Comment »
Rather than cutting the wages and benefits earned by members of the military, Congress should cut the amount paid to military contractors and source the dollars and opportunities back to members of the military. A contractor’s annual wage can be 10 times that of a soldier, and a contractor’s signing bonus can be more than a soldier’s annual [...]
Posted in Getting Ahead, Manage Successfully, Politics, Psychology, tagged Ethics, Getting Ahead, History, Lie, Manipulate, Manipulation, Perspective, Reality, Spin, Successful Management, Truth on 2011/07/17 | Leave a Comment »
Spinning or manipulating facts is a form of lying.
Your Public Image
Posted in Beauty, Getting Ahead, Personal Enrichment, Politics, tagged Image, Libel, Photographs, Pics, Pictures, Reputation, Rumor, Satire, Slander on 2011/06/18 | Leave a Comment »
To the extent possible, maintain control of your image. Once in the public sphere, there’s no telling and little stopping how your image will be used.
What Does Infrastructure Say About Your Community?
Posted in Business, Family Enrichment, Getting Ahead, Personal Enrichment, Politics, Psychology, Travel, tagged Bridges, Community, Cronyism, Decay, Development, Ethics, Ethos, Getting Ahead, Goals, Government, Happiness, Infrastructure, Investment, Job Search, Jobs, Law, Moving, Nepotism, Politics, Psychology, Relocating, Roads on 2011/05/23 | Leave a Comment »
If you want an idea of what a community is like, take a look at its infrastructure. The condition of bridges, roads, and other public resources reflects a community’s ethos: it’s priorities, whether the culture is collaborative, the extent to which it is egalitarian – rewarding people based on merit rather than privilege or status, and [...]
Wicked Games To Get Your Way
Posted in Getting Ahead, Manage Successfully, Politics, tagged Chaos, Confusion, Control, Duplicity, Employment, Games, Getting Ahead, Getting Your Way, Intrigue, Leadership, Management, Manipulation, Politics, Success, Wicked, Work on 2011/05/07 | Leave a Comment »
We don’t advise the following but have seen it done successfully. If you want to convince someone to agree to something that you doubt to which they’ll agree, change the situation so that the person or party is compelled to agree. For example, if your Department or company wants to perform a task under Method 1 [...]
Challenge Your Students To Learn
Posted in Education, Manage Successfully, Politics, tagged Analytical Skills, Challenge, College, Converse, Education, Einstein, Flambaum, Grade School, High School, Kurzweil, Learn, Lessons, Maynard Smith, Mead, Myerson, Nash, Noelle-Neumann, Physics, Political Arguments, Political Debate, Political Science, Politics, Professor, Putnam, Relativity, Riker, Students, Teaching, Tenure, University, Webb, Youth, Zinn on 2011/04/24 | Leave a Comment »
Accelerate students’ education by challenging them to contend widely accepted concepts. Trying to determine why something is inaccurate, develop alternative explanations, or generate solutions cultivates analytical skills while enhancing the understanding of a subject matter. More than a decade ago, a high school student challenged her teacher on two principles of the physical law regarding [...]
Posted in Politics, tagged Fees, Government, Infrastructure, Politics, Privatization, Privatize, Taxes, Tolls on 2011/04/13 | Leave a Comment »
The government charges its citizens to improve and install infrastructure through taxes. When government services and infrastructure are privatized, citizens pay twice, through taxes and tolls.
…Makes The Whole World Blind
Posted in Personal Enrichment, Politics, Spirituality, tagged Civil Liberties, Civil Rights, Conflict, Crime, Deuteronomy 19:16-21, Equality, Equity, Eye For An Eye, Gandhi, Justice, Leviticus 24:19–21, Liberty, Life, Love, Mahatma, Mohandas Gandhi, Peace, Philosophy, Politics, Protest, Quotes, Religion, Revenge, Vengeance on 2011/04/10 | Leave a Comment »
An eye for an eye levels you to the victimizer’s plane. Is the emotional satisfaction worth assuming the victimizer’s mantle?
Who Defined Whom?
Posted in Getting Ahead, Improving Relationships, Personal Enrichment, Politics, Psychology, tagged Behavior, Bullies, Demands, Getting Ahead, Happiness, Office Politics, Opinions, Politics, Principles, Psychology, Relationship, Respect, Value, Workplace Bullies, Workplace Conflict on 2011/04/09 | Leave a Comment »
You don’t gain respect from people whom constantly demand you appease them by predictably obliging at your expense. If you want people to value your opinions and contributions, you must demonstrate that you have opinions and contributions by which you abide. For what do you stand? Do your principle goal posts move each time they are pushed? If [...]
The Common Sense 101 On Regulations: Regulations Propel Economic Growth (Part II)
Posted in Politics, tagged Air Pollution, Alternative Energy, Arthur Andersen, Bailout, Depletion, Development, Disaster, Economic Meltdown, Economic Stimulus, Efficiency, Enron, Environment, EPA, Fossil Fuels, Fukushima, GDP, Government Intervention, Innovations, Job Growth, Lobbyists, Meltdown, OSHA, Politics, Product Safety, Regulations, Sarbanes-Oxley, Solar Power, SOX, Stimulus, Workplace Safety on 2011/03/24 | Leave a Comment »
Yesterday, we covered some of the ways in which regulations drive job and economic growth. Regulations promote job growth by: Employing people to enforce the regulations. Employing people to facilitate compliance with regulations. Employing people to defend companies and people not compliant with regulations. Employing lobbyists to affect the regulations. Employing people to find (a) [...]
The Common Sense 101 On Regulations: Regulations Create Jobs (Part I)
Posted in Politics, tagged Air Pollution, Alternative Energy, Arthur Andersen, Bailout, Depletion, Development, Disaster, Economic Meltdown, Economic Stimulus, Efficiency, Enron, Environment, EPA, Fossil Fuels, Fukushima, GDP, Government Intervention, Innovations, Job Growth, Lobbyists, Meltdown, OSHA, Politics, Regulations, Sarbanes-Oxley, Solar Power, SOX, Stimulus, Workplace Safety on 2011/03/23 | 2 Comments »
The argument that regulations stymie job growth or cost jobs defies common sense. By their nature, regulations create jobs. Further, on the whole, regulations increase profits, thereby increasing GDP. Regulations create jobs in several ways. The most obvious is to employ people to enforce the regulations. The second most obvious is positions created by industries and businesses [...]
How To Apply Lessons From Wisconsin At Home
Posted in Improving Relationships, Politics, Psychology, tagged Arguments, Behavior, Children & Family, Dating, Disagreements, Friends, Friendship, Happiness, Love, Politics, Psychology, Relationship, Scott Walker, Unions, Wisconsin on 2011/03/21 | Leave a Comment »
A lesson from Wisconsin’s battle over public unions is that it pays to take advantage of the general public’s short memory by front loading any controversial actions. This allows time for tempers to cool and the subject matter to lose priority in peoples’ lives. The same lesson can be applied at home. If you have bad [...]
Can Raising Taxes Improve The Economy?
Posted in Business, Finances, Getting Ahead, Hiring Decisions, Manage Successfully, Politics, Unemployment, tagged Business, Business Development, Debate, Depression, Economic Development, Economic Growth, Economic Stimulus, Economist, Economy, Ethics, Government Spending, Growth, Income, Investment, Life, Middle Class, Perspective, Political Arguments, Political Debate, Politics, Poor, President Obama, Propaganda, Raise Taxes, Recession, Rich, Spending, Stagflation, Stagnation, Stimulus, Tax Cut, Tax Cuts, Tax Rate Increases, Tax Rates, Taxes, The WSJ, Unemployment, Wages, Wealthy, WWII on 2011/03/20 | Leave a Comment »
In an earlier post, we considered whether tax rate increases can spur economic development from a historical vantage point. From a conceptual vantage point, it is also evident that tax rate increases can spur economic development. Currently, U.S. effective tax rates (the actual tax liability as a percentage of income)* are nearly the lowest since entering WWII and among [...]
How To Apply Lessons From Wisconsin At Work
Posted in Getting Ahead, Politics, tagged Behavior, Employment, Getting Ahead, Jobs, Office Politics, Performance Evaluation, Politics, Psychology, Scott Walker, Unions, Wisconsin on 2011/03/19 | Leave a Comment »
A lesson from Wisconsin’s battle over public unions is that it pays to take advantage of the general public’s short memory by front loading any controversial actions. This allows time for tempers to cool and the subject matter to lose priority in peoples’ lives. The same lesson can be applied at work. Generally, managers do not [...]
Lessons From Wisconsin’s Battle Over Public Unions
Posted in Getting Ahead, Manage Successfully, Politics, Psychology, tagged AFL-CIO, Behavior, Civil Liberties, Democratic Party, Democrats, DNC, Election, Ethics, GOP, Indiana, NY Times, Ohio, Politics, President Obama, Private Unions, Problem Solving, Public Unions, Republican Party, Republicans, Scott Walker, Strategic Thinking, Strategy, Successful Management, Unions, Wisconsin on 2011/03/11 | 1 Comment »
Lessons from the Wisconsin public union battle: The sooner you accomplish something, the sooner people forget. By launching the battle immediately following the last big election, Governor Scott Walker and the Republican members of Wisconsin’s congress front load the risk of their controversial actions. (It also creates more time for public union financing to dissipate [...]
Posted in Finances, Politics, Psychology, tagged Broke, Broken, Bullies, Crush, Debase, Desperation, Employment, Enslave, Enslavement, Ethics, Etiquette, Feudalism, Health, Hiring Decisions, Humiliation, Indenture, Jobs, Labor, Life, Office Politics, Perspective, Politics, Poll, Poor, Poverty, Relationship, Rich, Salary, Servitude, Shame, Theft, Unemployment, Vanquish, Vassal, Wage, Wealth, Workplace Bullies on 2011/03/05 | Leave a Comment »
When everything is taken away from the poor, what more is there to take?
Predicting Your Future?
Posted in Getting Ahead, Manage Successfully, Politics, Psychology, tagged Alternatives, Arguments, Consequences, Debate, Fool, Forecasting, Prediction, Prophesy, Prophet, Winning on 2011/02/25 | Leave a Comment »
Long-term predictions are a surefire way to look like a prophet, or a fool. Strengthen an argument by focusing on immediate or short-term consequences and alternatives. (Misspellings and incorrect word usage are also surefire ways to look foolish.)
Project Confidence Via First Person
Posted in Getting Ahead, Manage Successfully, Politics, Psychology, tagged Behavior, Communication, Confidence, Critical Success, First Person, Form, Getting Ahead, Grammar, Interview, Language, Opinion, Perspective, Politics, Psychology, Second Person, Speaking, Success, Successful Management, Tips on 2011/01/13 | Leave a Comment »
Ever notice that when some people try to explain their reasons for doing something, they respond in second person, using language that projects their actions onto the listener? For example, when a person is asked how he feels about his parents winning the lottery, he might say, “you are surprised when you learn it’s your parents [...]
Turning Rumor Into Fact
Posted in Politics, Psychology, Tales & Curses, tagged Axiom, Belief, Communication, Distrust, Ethics, Fact, Human Behavior, Lie, Media, Movies, Network, Print, Psychology, Radio, Rumor, Rumor Mill, Trust, Truth, TV, Wikipedia on 2011/01/08 | Leave a Comment »
A common axiom provides that if you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes truth. With modern technology, one does not need to repeat a lie for it to become truth. A rumor or fiction told in a movie, on TV, or over the radio can be amplified and retold through various forms of electronic media until it’s rabidly accepted as [...]
Getting Ahead By Reading Into Conspiracy Theories
Posted in Business, Getting Ahead, Politics, tagged Business, Cassandra, Congress, Consequences, Conspiracy, Debt, Hiring Decisions, Job Search, Jobs, Laws, Layoffs, Lie, Office Politics, Pattern, Politics, Prediction, Problem Solving, Revenues, Starve the Beast, States, Successful Management, Tax Cut, Tax Rates, Taxes, Truth, Unemployment, Workplace Bullies, Workplace Conflict on 2011/01/05 | Leave a Comment »
Regardless of whether conspiracy theories are true, a wise person acknowledges where certain patterns will lead on a long term basis and adjusts her plans and goals accordingly. For example, a political conspiracy theory is that politicians seek to increase certain public-sector costs, such as Defense, and reduce tax rates in order to later argue [...]
Polls: Should employers be required to provide benefits such as PTO (paid time off) and complete health insurance to its temporary employees?
Posted in Politics, Polls, tagged Business, Employers, Employment, Employment Agencies, Employment Laws, Ethics, Health, Health Care, Health Insurance, Hiring Decisions, Job Search, Jobs, Lay Off, Paid Time Off, Perspective, Politics, Poll, PTO, Temping, Temporary Employees, Temporary Wages, Temps, Unemployment, Vacation on 2010/12/26 | Leave a Comment »
Rather than hiring permanent employees, many companies are hiring temporary employees (even though the costs are often higher due to the contracting employment agency’s gross up). Neither the company nor the employment agency are required to provide benefits such as complete health care and paid time off to the temporary employees. Which means many of these employees are [...]
Posted in Politics, tagged Axiom, Language, Meaning, Translation on 2010/11/18 | Leave a Comment »
Dumb means “mute.”
Parenting Lessons From the 2010 Midterm Election
Posted in Family Enrichment, Politics, Tales & Curses, tagged 2010, Axiom, Children, Daughters, Election, Friends, Friendship, Lessons, Midterm Election, Parenting, Parents, Politics, Relationship, Sons, Youth on 2010/11/04 | Leave a Comment »
A theory explaining the 2010 midterm election results trumpeted by a number of political pundits is that President Obama lost the enthusiasm of his base because he did not prioritize the interests of his base above compromise. Whether or not this is true, such a theory has a lesson that can apply to parenting children. [...]
A Path To Creating Vegetarians
Posted in Dating, Improving Relationships, Natural Remedies, Penny Recipes, Politics, tagged Carnivore, Dating, Diet, Food, Health, Herbivore, Meat, Meat Eaters, Omnivore, Partner, Relationship, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarianism, Vegetarians on 2010/10/25 | Leave a Comment »
If you’d like to convince your partner to go vegetarian, invite him to a meat tasting tour – to meat processing facilities.
Poll: Do you think businesses are deferring significant employment expansion until after the midterm elections?
Posted in Hiring Decisions, Politics, Polls, Unemployment, tagged Business, Employment, Ethics, Hiring Decisions, Job Search, Jobs, Lay Off, Office Politics, Politics, Poll, Unemployment on 2010/10/17 | Leave a Comment »
What Happens When The Soldiers Return?
Posted in Politics, tagged Afghanistan, Bridges, Budget, Congress, Deficit, Deficit Reduction, Deficit Spending, Food For Thought, Funding, Government, Government Spending, Infrastructure, Iraq, Military, Political Arguments, Political Debate, Politics, Raise Taxes, Revenue, Revenues, Roads, Schools, Soldiers, Surplus, Tax Cut, Tax Cuts, Tax Rate Increases, Tax Rates, Taxes, US, War, War Effort on 2010/10/08 | Leave a Comment »
If we cut funds to government spending and cut tax rates, what happens when the U.S. finally wraps up activities in Afghanistan? Program funding will be reduced, but, we’ll no longer be spending billions on the war effort, either. What will the U.S. do with the surplus revenues no longer spent on wars? Will it be another [...]
Can Tax Rate Increases Spur Economic Development?
Posted in Politics, tagged Business, Business Development, Debate, Earned Income, Economic Development, Economic Stimulus, Economy, Ethics, Government Spending, Growth, Income, Investment, Life, Middle Class, Perspective, Political Arguments, Political Debate, Politics, Poor, President Obama, Propaganda, Raise Taxes, Rich, Spending, Stimulus, Tax Cut, Tax Cuts, Tax Rate Increases, Tax Rates, Taxes, Unemployment, Wages, Wealthy on 2010/10/03 | 2 Comments »
During the Great Depression and the period leading up to it, the tax rate of the highest personal earned income tax bracket (“highest tax bracket rate”) was 25%, 10 percentage-points lower than the current highest tax bracket rate of 35%. From the period of Great Recovery through 1971, the highest tax bracket rate exceeded 60%, floating above 90% [...]
Poll: Should workplace bullying be treated as seriously as sexual harassment?
Posted in Getting Ahead, Manage Successfully, Politics, Polls, Unemployment, tagged Bullies, Employment, Ethics, Etiquette, Jobs, Office Politics, Politics, Poll, Successful Management, Unemployment, Workplace Bullies, Workplace Conflict on 2010/09/05 | 2 Comments »
Workplace bullying can create the feeling of a hostile work environment. But, victims of workplace bullying are not offered the same protections as victims of other forms of workplace harassment, such as sexual harassment. For example, H/R might be less sympathetic to persons affected by bullying in the workplace. An employee driven out of his job by a workplace [...]
Poll: Do politics belong in the workplace?
Posted in Getting Ahead, Manage Successfully, Politics, Polls, tagged Employment, Ethics, Etiquette, Jobs, Office Politics, Politics, Poll on 2010/08/28 | 1 Comment »
Please, tell us why or why not.
Site Of The Week: Modeled Behavior
Posted in Business, Education, Finances, Noteworthy Sites, Politics, tagged Business, Enrichment, Industry, Life, Site of the Week on 2010/08/27 | Leave a Comment »
Modeled Behavior applies statistics to a diversity of matters - economic, political, social, etc. – in a cooperative environment with its readers.
Recognizing The Inspiration For Our Aspirations
Posted in Personal Enrichment, Politics, Spirituality on 2010/07/25 | Leave a Comment »
Who do you most aspire to be like? What is it about those people that you aspire to emulate? Most likely, you’ll find that it’s not because of a position they held, but, the contributions they made to their family, community and society that you value. Are you striving to emulate their actions, or the positions [...]
Valuing A Role Over Contributions May Defeat Goals
Posted in Personal Enrichment, Politics on 2010/07/25 | Leave a Comment »
If you had an opportunity to improve things for you, your descendants and your constituents, but, discarded it on the off – and unlikely – chance that you might be able to keep your job by turning your back on the opportunity, will you regret not optimizing the advantage once you lose your job? Or, [...]
