On Kyoto’s ratification, economics and social goals: GDP and Productivity versus Education and Health
Nipawin - Tuesday, September 3, 2002 - by: Mario deSantis
democratic environment	We must understand that through an always better democratic environment we have to reconcile our individual greed with our overall welfare, our short term pleasure with our long term happiness, and as an ultimate objective we must struggle for peace rather than wage wars to make peace. I just want to provide this background of social democracy so that we are better able to understand our social and economic predicament and be better prepared to make decisions rather than follow the dogmatic social and economic policies of politicians and neo-classical economists.
standard of living already declining	There are politicians and economists in Canada who do not support the ratification of the Kyoto agreement to reduce pollution gases into the atmosphere. These politicians and economists discount the related danger of pollution and global warming and they claim that the economy would suffer by some $40 billion and that the standard of living would decline. I must say that the $40 billion cost is the result of the regressive linear analysis of correlation economists who are copycatting the fraudulent studies of statistician Bjorn Lomborg. As the standard of living is concerned it has been declining for many years.
GDP & productivity irrelevant	In my last article I debunked the brainwashing perception of ever greater GDP and Productivity numbers. Yes, in the short run greater GDP and Productivity numbers could make sense as goods and services stay the same, but in the long run we cannot support ever greater GDP and Productivity numbers. In the long run our welfare is not measured by the GDP. In the long run our welfare is measured by a better democracy, by peace with our neighbours, by education, by continuous learning, by our level of health care. In the long run the Productivity numbers don’t make sense at all; and in fact what is the purpose to compare labour productivity in the sixties and labour productivity in the nineties when we realize that the Information Technology sector is a present economic phenomenon? In the long run our goods and services are different and as a consequence there is no point in keeping track of the so called Productivity increases.
growth goals oscillation	For all those people who are opposed to the ratification of the Kyoto’s agreement I want to remind them that
	"the most fundamental modes of behaviour are exponential growth, goal seeking, and oscillation."
eventual collapse	The exponential growth cannot be sustained and therefore this exponential growth is followed by an eventual collapse. We remember the recent two year US $8 trillion loss of the American stock market with the related loss of pension money for the common people and with the related stealing by rich and famous people. We remember the exponential growth and collapse of the Argentina’s economy, and we are faced now with the exponential growth of Brazil’s foreign debt as well.
regressive democracy	The oscillation behaviour of the economy is mostly due to a disconnection between the provision of goods/services and the related needs/wants of people. When there is an understanding that the present economic stagnation is due to our over capacity to produce goods/services then I feel sick as I think that this over capacity to produce identifies the problem of a regressive democracy. I am developing the understanding that President George Bush wants to offset the American over capacity to produce by going to war against Iraq rather than by implementing domestic social reform in health care and education.
social goals	We can maintain and better our social and economic predicament by seeking socially rewarding goals. These goals cannot be the pursuing of ever greater GDP and Productivity numbers as these goals are not sustainable. Therefore, we are left with our social and economic goals of peace, better education, continuous learning, and better health.
References:
	Pertinent articles published in Ensign
	Kyoto could cost Canada up to $40 billion, study shows. Alberta economy could stand to lose up to $5.5 billion annually Government of Alberta News Release, February 21, 2002 http://www.gov.ab.ca/acn/200202/11952.html
	The Big Lie of the Free Market is Against the Environment: Environmentalist Dana Meadows versus Statistician Bjorn Lomborg by Mario deSantis, December 13, 2001
	The Environmentalists Are Wrong By BJORN LOMBORG, August 26, 2002 The New York Times
	Breaking down the brainwashed perception of GDP and Productivity by Mario deSantis, August 30, 2002
	Business Dynamics. System Thinking and Modeling for a Complex World by John D. Sterman. Irwin McGraw-Hill, 2000. The excerpt "the most fundamental modes of behaviour are exponential growth, goal seeking, and oscillation" is found on page 108. http://www.mhhe.com/business/opsci/sterman/index.mhtml
	Brazil Pays So the Banks Don't Have To By Mark Weisbrot, September 1, 2002 The Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19276-2002Aug31.html
	Too Much Supply, Too Little Demand By Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post Staff Writer, August 25, 2002; Page A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A58181-2002Aug24.html
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