tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post7046382960646966517..comments2023-11-05T10:53:07.638+00:00Comments on Patently Rubbish: Caused or Correlated?patentlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00602962323262055007noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-7416127464322468152011-02-10T12:52:21.088+00:002011-02-10T12:52:21.088+00:00Amen.Amen.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-65697733209130038562011-02-10T12:50:49.248+00:002011-02-10T12:50:49.248+00:00Please let it be complete. Please....Please let it be complete. Please....patentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00602962323262055007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-89717676725219135722011-02-10T05:51:08.352+00:002011-02-10T05:51:08.352+00:00"It has to be better than telling them that i...<i>"It has to be better than telling them that it's all so not their fault, it's nothing to do with their outlook on life, they've just been hard done by, society should give them more money..."</i><br /><br />How long has that been the default option? 13 years? More, in some London boroughs that never ever change political hands?<br /><br />I'd say the experiment is now complete, wouldn't you?JuliaMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07844126589712842477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-21250131560281852012011-02-09T16:53:53.081+00:002011-02-09T16:53:53.081+00:00I wouldn't send them. Forcing people into the...I wouldn't <em>send</em> them. Forcing people into the Army produces neither good soldiers nor a good army. But it is an institution with a long and good record in taking people who are heading for failure and giving them some self-respect.<br /><br />Yes, we do agree on that. It is the lazy option, quite frankly. It is the kneejerk reaction of "Oh, we need a budget! And a department! And some staff!" that solved nothing and gave us the deficit. <br /><br />Alleviating this one takes time, effort and intelligence. So the sooner we get it out of the hands of government, the better.patentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00602962323262055007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3083855923964640893.post-53656601038296078932011-02-09T16:45:48.674+00:002011-02-09T16:45:48.674+00:00I'm as peaceful and law-abiding as can be, bu...I'm as peaceful and law-abiding as can be, but thanks for the hint that I might be a dangerous (and therefore very attractive) subversive. I wish.<br /><br />This whole correlation/causation thing is hugely complicated, as you say, and my post didn't really go into it. My main point was that blaming 'society' for 'not doing enough' misses the point in a lazy and dangerous way, and you correctly conclude that there are better ways of dealing with the issue. (I'm always a bit wary of proposals to send 'em into the Army, though: what has the poor old Army done to deserve that?) But your point about correlation is a good one. Low eduational achievement and poverty show a high correlation. We might assume a causative link somewhere. But do poor people lack the nutrition and physical and social resources to take advantage of freely-available education (as the Left would say), or does the lack of qualifications (and the other life-enhancing and enabling aspects of education) lead to poverty? It's probably both, forming a classic vicious circle. What we seem to agree on is that feeling guilty and throwing money at the problem is unlikely to benefit the poor in the long term.Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15743685798068014455noreply@blogger.com