this is a wide (and wild) problem, but there are also solutions, not tested yet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basic_income
may be one day.... ++ --y Simon Biggs a probablement écrit : > Hi Alan > > I wasn’t trying to address that argument – just questioning whether > education and work ethic are enough to facilitate a meaningful life. > Yes, decent health care is important. A degree of financial security > highly deslirable. > > The US spends more of its GDP on health care (16%) than any other > country in the world and yet is the only OECD country not to have some > form of universal care. The outcome of that is that average US life > expectancy is lower than the OECD average (even lower than the UK’s – > whose NHS costs 8% of GDP and has taken such a battering in the US media > recently). What Obama is trying to do with US health care looks way > overdue and only sensible. Those arrayed against him look like selfish > big business protecting its bottom line at the expense of the people. > > Mind you, everyone admires American teeth ;) > > Best > > Simon > > > Simon Biggs > Research Professor > edinburgh college of art > s.biggs@ eca .ac.uk > www. eca .ac.uk > www. eca .ac.uk/circle/ > > [email protected] > www.littlepig.org.uk > AIM/Skype: simonbiggsuk > > > *From: *Alan Sondheim <[email protected]> > *Reply-To: *NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected]> > *Date: *Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:15:26 -0400 (EDT) > *To: *NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity > <[email protected]> > *Cc: *Theory and Writing <[email protected]> > *Subject: *Re: [NetBehaviour] naughty boy > > > > It's not instrumentalist; it's more fundamental. If you're crazy with > stress because of bad health care, little or no income, you just don't > function well. If you have students, I assume you're full time - my two > courses at SVA won't even pay the bills (adjuncts get next to nothing). I > have nightmares over this, migraines, etc. In other words there has to be > a modicum of feeling you're not going to lose your apartment or your > teeth, you're going to have some sort of stability somewhere. I don't have > that - it doesn't sound like 'naughty boy' does either. > > - Alan > > On Wed, 19 Aug 2009, Simon Biggs wrote: > >> I always feel guilty seeking to justify to students why they should > persist >> with completing their degrees, whether BA, MA or PhD – so I don’t. They >> often say they want a degree so they can get a decent job and balance that >> with their creative practice. They say they see me, with a job and an >> artistic career, as a role model. I point out to them I left school at 15 >> with no qualifications - to be a hippy. Other than being an artist and >> coincidentally securing various positions because of my artistic > activities, >> including my current one, I have never had what I consider a real job > in my >> life. I’m just a good for nothing artist – at least in the eyes of the > taxi >> driver or plumber I often encounter (people with real jobs). It seems that >> being good for nothing can be more rewarding than being socially useful. >> >> I find it a worrying that people judge themselves by whether they are >> gainfully employed or not. Everyone has something to contribute. We > live in >> societies, both poor and wealthy, that historically have tolerated >> significant percentages of their populations being what, in todays > terms, we >> would consider economically inactive. However, economic inactivity > does not >> mean a lack of productivity. There are so many ways that people can >> contribute value to themselves and those around them without getting a > job. >> I never wanted a job anyway! >> >> We should not allow an instrumentalist view of life to become > paradigmatic, >> especially in creative practice. That is the death of the artist. >> >> Best >> >> Simon >> >> >> Simon Biggs >> Research Professor >> edinburgh college of art >> [email protected] >> www.eca.ac.uk >> www.eca.ac.uk/circle/ >> >> [email protected] >> www.littlepig.org.uk >> AIM/Skype: simonbiggsuk >> >> >> >> From: Alan Sondheim <[email protected]> >> Reply-To: NetBehaviour for networked distributed creativity >> <[email protected]> >> Date: Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:25:23 -0400 (EDT) >> To: Theory and Writing <[email protected]> >> Cc: <[email protected]> >> Subject: Re: [NetBehaviour] naughty boy >> >> My degree's in english, which has been useless all >> these years; Azure's is in environmental conservation from NYU (mine's >> from Brown). She hasn't been able to get work; I teach from time to time, >> part-time, and the stress is incredible; I think about suicide, running >> away with Azure, etc. etc. >> >> >> Edinburgh College of Art (eca) is a charity registered in Scotland, > number SC009201 >> >> >> > > > | current internet text file: http://www.alansondheim.org/qf.txt > | Alan Sondheim Mail archive: http://sondheim.rupamsunyata.org/ > | Webpage (directory) at http://www.alansondheim.org > | [email protected], [email protected], tel US 718-813-3285 > ! http://www.facebook.com/alan.sondheim > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > Edinburgh College of Art (eca) is a charity registered in Scotland, number > SC009201 > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > NetBehaviour mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 8.5.392 / Virus Database: 270.13.61/2312 - Release Date: 08/18/09 > 18:05:00 > _______________________________________________ NetBehaviour mailing list [email protected] http://www.netbehaviour.org/mailman/listinfo/netbehaviour
