I enjoyed reading your post, and again, I feel we agree on a few things:
"The cause of the Ford layoffs is eventually the unrealistic promises made long ago to Ford's labor unions, most likely made to avoid a strike. "
I didn't say the layoffs itself was evil, I did say it was BAD though. Then you brought up the union, and I said they are also "Evil". It's the same affliction, my friend. People who don't have money want money, people who have money want more money, people who have money want power, people who have power want money. Everybody wants money, and most want power, it's the one thing 97% of the people in the world could probably agree on.
"There will always be "the poor," but the individuals that make up that group at any given moment in time always have the option of casting aside their infatuations with various forms of self-destruction and seeking a more productive path. "
Tough-love, huh? that's a good idea, and I even agree with it to some extent so don't be put off by my 'moralist' exterior. In fact, most of the time I hope things will get so bad people won't have any choice but to get off of their asses and get pissed off. However, there's no point discussing that, it's a wasted conversation I feel. "You know what my plan is? To leave everything like it is".
"Our society does not encourage healthy decision making."
Exactly, thanks for agreeing with me. Healthy decision making makes healthy people. I've already brought up a few examples of ways to help people make healthy decisions, so how about if I bring up something unrelated that we discussed before, but I don't think you caught onto.
What do you think the policies of cheap busienss and poor quality does for people's decision making? Any normal, reasonably intelligent person would spend ten dollars extra for their cooking supplies, however, most people look for the cheapest knockoff item available as you have stated before(and I've bought pans like that, they fall apart a couple days later, burn everything and leave horrible tefflon stains on your food which is really unhealthy for you). Is this healthy decision making? Does it set up a good pattern for life? Is it healthy that, instead of looking for quality or something 'better' they are instead reliant on cheap, knock of products that offer sustanance only?
Personally, I don't see how people make decisions to live cheaply. I buy pants at walmart and they start falling apart a month later; I've learned my lesson, but for some reason these people don't, and you can't reasonably expect them to be able to figure it out on their own since it has been perpetuated for thousands of years.
"but you could also go for the alternative of developing a federal "Big Brother" program that actively educates those that meet financial misfortune in hopes of helping them out in the larger sense. "
I see you agree with me on educational reform.
Is it really that unreasonable for me to expect that business maintains some kind of integrity? So far what we have discussed has involved mainly the development of a healthy society, how does bad business policy play into that field? Personally, I feel if we are expecting to revamp society in any way we need to have all the corners covered.
Your suggestion is that, instead of making business integral we let the people figure it out for themselves. Or maybe we teach the people... but isn't it, societally, the responsibility of healthy, successful citizens who ARE educated and ARE capable of making healthy decisions to help these people make proper choices and develop a healthy lifestyle? Business isn't the only field where this is apt.
I still don't see how any of this refutes the fact that there are poor people in the world ;( I thought that's what this thread was going to be about.
"What works for poor people works for rich people, as long as we don't accidentally build a society that screws with the natural order of things. "
Natural order? Big animal eats little animal? I don't think you want that in our society ;(
However, personally I think the natural state of society can be acheived, but I think we are far from it because I belive a healthy society would have a healthy philosophy behind it. Not a healthy government, or a healthy religion; but a healthy philosophy and general psychology. My goal is to acheive that, even if it's just in my own social atmosphere. I work on affecting the world not only via message board conversations, but also in the way I accord myself in my day to day affairs. That's the most important part.
P.S. I see what you're saying about technology 'opening more doors' so to speak, and bringing in more money. However, more technology doesn't necessarily mean more jobs, and more technology doesn't mean a healthier society. If anything, society has actually become less healthy due to technology in some instances. I feel basing your philosophy on the hopeful development of society via technology and business innovation is a poor bet, but they are your chips. I however tend to base my philosophies in a more direct field, rather than sissy-footing around the problem because I'm afraid to confront it.