Making Changes

[Cock Throppled]

Pondering today why it seems so impossible for us to change things that don't work?

I'm not talking personally, I mean culturally, socially.

We have legal, transportation and health systems (to name three) that are bogged down, inflexible, costly and inefficient.

Everyone seems to agree there are major problems, but nothing ever changes except the request to pour more money into what isn't working.

Gordon Campbell and the usual hangers-on took a really nice summer holiday to Europe back in, what 2006 - stayed at the best hotels and ate at the finest restaurants (at our expense, of course) and examined health systems that really work. The result? Maybe Gordo got a little indigestion from rich food, but NOTHING changed and wait lists and waste continues.

Why are we incapable of making changes that need to be made?

 

[HankQuinlan]

That's easy. We're human. There are always vested interests in the status quo that actively resist change, and sometimes these vested interests have great power. As individuals, we also hate change of any sort. Making changes culturally and socially requires individuals to make personal changes, and we don't like it.

You really don't need to look any deeper than human nature. You want basic changes, you have to wait for the catastophe. That's when humans look to change as an option.

 

[badbadboy]

Pondering today why it seems so impossible for us to change things that don't work?

I'm not talking personally, I mean culturally, socially.

We have legal, transportation and health systems (to name three) that are bogged down, inflexible, costly and inefficient.

Everyone seems to agree there are major problems, but nothing ever changes except the request to pour more money into what isn't working.

Gordon Campbell and the usual hangers-on took a really nice summer holiday to Europe back in, what 2006 - stayed at the best hotels and ate at the finest restaurants (at our expense, of course) and examined health systems that really work. The result? Maybe Gordo got a little indigestion from rich food, but NOTHING changed and wait lists and waste continues.

Why are we incapable of making changes that need to be made?

We are incapable of making any real change because what both sides of the political spectrum do is throw more money at studies, hiring more suits and creating more departments to oversee other departments. There is always a new crew of suits touring the hospitals and taking notes etc. They are never throwing money at more RN's, radiology techs, pharmacists etc etc.

Case in point, I know people in health care. Surgery lists are getting longer, again. MRI wait times are getting longer, again, Wards are cut back to a minimum because of summer staff shortages and the Health Care system is clearly not working.

They are unable to take their holidays because only one person is permitted to be off at a time. There are lots of qualified health care professionals from other countries that can be brought in to help with the bogged down system. We have successfully brought in professionals from the UK, Ireland, NZ, Australia and etc etc. Open the flood gates I say and get these hospitals properly staffed. If they won't at least attempt to fix it they should revisit the Canada Health Act and allow a second tier of paid health care to be available to those with plans or money to pay for it. Even socialized countries like England have multiple tiers of health care in the National Health model.

On the legal side the Gov't has cut back on judges, courts, court recorders to the point where it just won't work anymore. I am betting of the 100 or so Stanley Cup rioters charged that half end up getting cut loose because their case will be back logged "an unreasonable amount of time".

 

[vancity_cowboy]

welcome to our 2010 olympics legacy

we've got at least a generation of debts to be paid from that debacle, and cuts to our systems is the only way enough money can be saved to pay those debts

 

[Tugela]

There is allways a resistance to change. Making things more efficient means making the hard choices and people don't like to do that. In spite of the rhetoric, any politician that attempts it will get voted out of office.

Take health care for example. Not everything should be treated. Sometimes you just need to let people die. The fact is, the portion of the population that consumes the bulk of the health care dollers is fairly small. But looking at other options (which mostly involve allowing them to die) are unpopular.

The legal system: don't be so eager to criminalize so many things and want to put people in prison for ever longer sentences. That is what consumes the law and order dollars. There are bad people, and they should be removed from society, but most can be dealt with in less expensive ways. I was thinking about this recently actually, it seems to me that the best way is to get rid of the prison system alltogether. Only have probation and execution. Use execution as a last resort and give plenty of opportunity for probation. Recognize that people make mistakes and sometimes exercise poor judgement. But, when it is clear that probation is not working and their behaviour is a pattern, just get rid of them. And for this I mean ALL crimes, including stuff like shoplifting and DUI.

 

[jesuschrist]

Change is nigh impossible because we are saddled with: 1) constitutional rights, 2) inalienable human rights, 3) democracy.

If you want change for the better of society, get rid of much of the above and replace it with a meritocracy. No more slackers, no more wastage of taxes, no more over-representation by special-interest groups, no more bullshit.