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Home/ contemporary issues in public policy/ Contents contributed and discussions participated by Cameron Schroeck

Contents contributed and discussions participated by Cameron Schroeck

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http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/excerpts/scott_seeing.pdf - 0 views

    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      Progress and resolutions are supposed to be achieved from past pas mistakes, however our desire to do things the easy way keeps us from attaining a high-quality outcome. Engineers of societies are often plagued by their desire to look good in front of the public rather than making decisions that are best for the community. Thus, policy framers are often faced with a decision between job security/popularity and good decision making.  
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Patashnik, E.M.: Reforms at Risk: What Happens After Major Policy Changes Are Enacted. - 1 views

  • Reforms at Risk debunks the argument that reforms inevitably fail because Congress is prey to special interests, and the book provides a more realistic portrait of the possibilities and limits of positive change in American government.
    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      It is often easy to blame Congress for giving in to special interests, mostly due to our great tendency to hold others accountable when something does not work. However, Congress is really like a group of book writers, constantly being pressured of what to put into their works, disagreeing among each other about how to write a better metaphor, and having to deal with the ridiculous publishing process all while trying to please a large audience of subscribers.  
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A Payoff Out of Poverty? - NYTimes.com - 4 views

  • Banfield argued that poverty was a product of the poor’s lack of future-orientation, and that nothing government could feasibly do would change that orientation or stop parents from transmitting it to their children.
    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      He makes it sound as if poverty is a disease that is passed down to the next generations. I agree that there will always be poverty, and that the government can only do so much to try to lessen the hardships of those in poverty. I think that government can help, but cannot be 100% effective in eliminating the continuation of poverty. 
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Sample Chapter for Fung, A.: Empowered Participation: Reinventing Urban Democracy. - 2 views

  • Liabilities such as parochialism, lack of expertise, and resource constraints may impair the problem-solving and administrative capabilities of local organizations relative to centralized forms.
    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      Unfortunately, these liabilities inhibit real progress of organizations. It does not take very many of these bureaucratic mazes, (A.K.A. liabilities) to severely override the possible accomplishments of an organization's goal.
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Dan Dennett: Dangerous memes | Video on TED.com - 2 views

    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      I really liked Dennett's metaphor about the ant and the parasite to explain how in humans, ideas can be like parasites in the way they develop and spread. I agree that spreading ideas can be harmful to other cultures that are not accustomed to them. It is easy for us to not acknowledge the impacts of our ideas on other cultures because we are already used to them. However, we must use realize our the potential impacts that our ideas can have on other cultures and societies. 
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Data & Design How-to's Note 5: Get the idea | Drawing by Numbers - 1 views

  • It can be effective when trying to help people understand a problem that is otherwise difficult to grasp or as a visual device for giving a second layer to a story
    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      This is very true. Often, the public is confused or even not interested in political problems, so a visual image proves effective enough to simplify the issue to the point where it is easily understood by the general public. These can even assist in developing voter identification as they can easily decide which side to take on various issues. 
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Home - 0 views

    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      I agree with the man on the right. It is so easy for people to label all politicians as polarized party members who simply do not cooperate with the other party. This can be a result of increased ignorance in the population as the desire to achieve political education has decreased over the years. Thus, one simply says that all politicians only work for themselves. 
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http://frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/iyengarinterview2009.pdf - 8 views

    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      I agree with Iyengar's statement that American society assumes that one believes that individuals should be held responsible due to the country's cherished concept of individualism. Since there is so much appreciation for individuality in the U.S., one automatically concludes that individuals must be held responsible for the workings of society. However, we also need to understand the importance of policies and those that put the policies into place to better comprehend the American system. 
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The Road to Serfdom - Readers Digest, April 1945 Condensation - 7 views

  • They do not realize that to strive for socialism produces something utterly different - the very destruction of freedom itself.
    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      This is interesting how the very society you try to improve is actually harmed when societies advance toward socialism. This can relate to the everlasting desire to improve and/or change our societies. However, when an advancement to socialism is made, society is harmed by the increasing lack of liberty. You think people would realize the harm that they are bringing to themselves. Perhaps they are too blinded by their negative connotations of other societies that socialism seems appealing since it differs from most other governments. 
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The endowment effect: It’s mine, I tell you | The Economist - 11 views

  • That goods and rights such as pollution permits, radio spectrum and mobile-telephone licences do not inexorably flow towards the most efficient distribution worries the legal scholars charged with designing fair allocations.
    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      Those writing and dealing with public policy absolutely cannot expect to give certain allocations to one group and expect it to diffuse out to eventually help society overall. Instead, policy framers must distribute certain endowments accordingly among various groups/organizations with the assumption that nothing is going to sort itself out.
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Dr. Marichal's Course Portals (2170) - 32 views

    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      Very interesting study. Evolution in the making causes us to have more mental battles within us when faced with difficult decisions, especially when associated with life, death, and murder. I would be like most in the trolley situation and pull the lever but not push the large man. However, in the second situation I would say that I would smother the baby to save the village. Now what I might do in reality could be the exact opposite, but as for hypothetical thought, those would be my conclusions. 
    • Cameron Schroeck
       
      Exactly! How would people simply know if something is wrong and fail to give a valid reason. If you know something is wrong or right, there should be a reason to support it.
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