71–80 of 95 posts
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Perhaps that’s part of the reason she got impeached? (Speaking of, the masses protesting by government buildings to make that happen showed people that could hardly be paralysed by a concern about what she might say.)
https://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/asia/south-ko... tldr its a shitshow
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> "Your government shouldn't have enough power to fight an epidemic, because that's too much power" What’s enough power? A government-mandated lockdown is legally impossible in Japan but they have managed to keep COVID cases within a number that can be handled by their medical system.
I feel that if you're an island like Japan, Singapore, or New Zealand, or effectively isolated like Korea (3 sea borders + 1 land border which is permanently closed, and land-mined) then maybe the amount of power your government has isn't the key factor in keeping your country safe from a pandemic. The procedures used in NYC aren't drastically different from Singapores', but the key difference is that Manhattan canno…
Centuries of free travel between states has made the borders very porous and mostly just a legal concept. There are so many minor road crossings between, say, New York and Pennsylvania that it would be impossible to secure.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> "Your government shouldn't have enough power to fight an epidemic, because that's too much power" What’s enough power? A government-mandated lockdown is legally impossible in Japan but they have managed to keep COVID cases within a number that can be handled by their medical system.
I feel that if you're an island like Japan, Singapore, or New Zealand, or effectively isolated like Korea (3 sea borders + 1 land border which is permanently closed, and land-mined) then maybe the amount of power your government has isn't the key factor in keeping your country safe from a pandemic. The procedures used in NYC aren't drastically different from Singapores', but the key difference is that Manhattan canno…
Participating in an underground rave in Singapore would result in lashes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes - while we have to be careful of making sure not to support the anti-mask/'covid is fake' hysteria because it really is a time to act in unison ... there is a 100% chance governments around the world are going to use this time to do things they might not otherwise do and we have to be careful. And I mean good and bad governments, with good and bad ideas. It's hard being in government, you never get to do the thin…
> In Canada, pre-covid, we saw the average house price increase in value more than the average wage in the country. That is point blank crazy. That is a weird financialisation of the economy that we don't yet understand - inflation in a fixed asset that doesn't increase productivity. This is a result of an overly conservative investment landscape and out of control immigration quotas. Housing is used as a way to park…
Just like when interest rates are higher in one country than the next, money flows there.
ROI is higher in housing than other sectors, money flows there.
Foreign buyers and mass immigration are driving factors, but I don't think the primary issue.
Another way of putting it, is that real productivity is way down, and the real economy is in deflation - stuff is getting cheaper, and the opportunities to create value are fewer and far between, the only places left are the stock market and housing etc..
As a South Korean, I'm not sure covid has much to do with acceptance of "big government." Unlike most of the West, many Asians have lived under real dictators - some still do. We know what a dictatorship looks like, and we know how terrible your life can be when the government abandons its duty to protect people. To put it other way, "Your government shouldn't have enough power to fight an epidemic, because that's to…
I think you are inferring too much from too short a period of history. Rhee's semi-monarchial military government ended only in 1960. East Asians have long operated a comparatively strong state apparatus, a system borrowed from the Qin that goes back about 2200 years, which many scholars will argue is the first truly bureaucratic state. This is one of the central components of a developed country, and certainly of bi…
That Rhee's dictatorship ended only in 1960 is precisely my point - he was soon followed by Park Chung-Hee (killed by his own aide on 1979), who was followed by Chun Doo-Hwan (stepped down on 1988). In other words, the memory of dictatorship is still fresh in many South Koreans alive now - unlike America's revolutionary war, this is too recent (and, not too mention, too inglorious) to be painted over by some kind of PG-13 foundational myth.
So the suggestion that the size of the government has something to do with dictatorship would make many Koreans politely roll their eyes. Right or wrong, our world view is shaped by our experience - and my Korean experience says having a weak government has nothing to do with avoiding tyranny, and in fact is a pretty good predictor for an incoming shitstorm (be it a foreign aggression or a domestic coup). What we need is a reasonably strong government, led by the right people. (Well of course it's not foolproof - but then again, nothing is.)
As a South Korean, I'm not sure covid has much to do with acceptance of "big government." Unlike most of the West, many Asians have lived under real dictators - some still do. We know what a dictatorship looks like, and we know how terrible your life can be when the government abandons its duty to protect people. To put it other way, "Your government shouldn't have enough power to fight an epidemic, because that's to…
[1] Facebook is full of nurses coming forward with this, and I know some people working at the hospital.
As a South Korean, I'm not sure covid has much to do with acceptance of "big government." Unlike most of the West, many Asians have lived under real dictators - some still do. We know what a dictatorship looks like, and we know how terrible your life can be when the government abandons its duty to protect people. To put it other way, "Your government shouldn't have enough power to fight an epidemic, because that's to…
Throughout worldwide modern history we have seen that authoritarian governments are by far the greatest risk to human life. It's just too dangerous to allow governments a large amount of control over people's daily lives. I'd rather take my chances with the virus.
you're entitled to your opinion too, eh?
meanwhile asians think white people are nuts to be willing to die from covid because "freedom"... you're entitled to your opinion too, eh?
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25222164
"Different strokes for different folks" often grows out of differences in their personal reality that make different choices make more sense to them.