Here are some more observations that might be on the money or might be insane, incoherent, ideas.
- Homemade millionaires trend Republican while inherited family wealth goes Democrat- It makes sense that the entrepreneur would favor less government intrusion, taxation, and want to keep as much of his hard earned money as possible. The person coming from wealth hasn't had to put in the requisite effort that grandpa did and they might feel guilt associated with the largess of their lifestyle. They can afford to push more social causes because their money is tucked away in a trust.
- Hollywood is unabashedly liberal and is making a concerted effort to "liberalize" main-stream America- I hear the pundits on the right talk and you think that Hollywood is out to deliberately destroy values and tradition. You listen to the left and Hollywood is only out to offer different points of view. So what is it? Are the Hollywood elite a nefarious and elitist cabal ought to destroy religion and American values? Or are they more benign- just concerned about making a buck and coming up with entertainment.
- The internet will ultimately make the next generation of American kids less competitive- The internet deludes us, and most notably kids, in thinking that the answer is always just a click away. No hard work or research is necessary when you can find a half-baked site via Google. The internet also kills attention span by creating a sensory overload. This inherent laziness will kill our kids when it comes to math and science. We will have a generation of kids who are brilliant at creating fun and zany websites but who can't communicate and solve serious problems. Please prove me wrong.
- The less lawyers the better the America- Why do we have lawyers? Because people can't trust one another. If there was inherent trust then all deals would be sealed with a handshake and there would be no worries about being hoodwinked. So is there is a direct relationship between the amount of lawyers in America and the state of our Country? The more there are the worse off we are?
Here are some more observations that might be on the money or might be insane, incoherent, ideas.
4 comments:
I am glad that you didn't ascribe a causal relationship between the state of our society and attorneys, leaving me free to assume you mean to state that the number of us bottom feeding lawyers is merely a barometer of the state of moral degradation of our society, and not a cause thereof.
Ryan - let me "correct" some of your misconceptions regarding the role of attorneys in our society.
Let me illustrate with an image you might recall. One of my favorite movies as a kid was "So I married An Axe Murderer" with the estimable Mr. Myers. The movie opens with the coffee shop scene, and a huge bowl of coffee being delivered to the hero. He sarcastically remarks "excuse me, I ordered the LARGE espresso!".
Not to reduce it down, but lets look at the elements. The parties had an agreement/contract. Customer gives storekeeper money in exchange for a coffee. There are a lot of details left out of that agreement, such as type of coffee, extras, time for delivery and and who is to delivery, size etc. Lets say that all those terms are nailed down. Sudanese shade grown arabica espresso etc. But what exactly is a LARGE?
What happens if the parties didn't address this in their agreement, or what happens if they have differing understandings?
These issues become even more complicated as the deals themselves do. Want to build a hotel, office building, or even a house? Hundreds and thousands of details, that seem small become huge in the event of a problem. Lawyers can help forsee these problems (ie you might want to specify who pays for damage done by a tornado during construction), or resolve them when changes arise (ie your funding source revoked their money, leaving you with nothing to pay your contractor) or disputes arise afterwards (what exactly is a smooth finished stucco, and who determines this).
A lawyer can help to avoid these problems by reviewing the agreement initially with an eye open to problems, or to resolve disputes afterwards.
good or ill, we live in a society governed by the rule of law. as our society becomes more advanced and more complex, our laws naturally do as well. (for a perfect example of this, look at the changes to copyright law over the last century, in response to changes in technology).
Additionally, let me add a cynical aside. Who is to say that trust is automatically a good thing? I would argue that having a reason to trust, or trust in someone trustworthy is a wonderful thing. But a default to trust in an untrusting world is a very bad thing indeed.
Very good comments and points well taken. Here's my outsider perspective.
I definitely understand the role of law and lawyers as providing the necessary lubricant that allow the wheels of commerce and lawful interaction to move forward. I understand that a good sign of an advanced country is the presence of an established legal system. (The lack of this is, in my opinion, one of the key impediments to the development of Mexico)
But a couple of doubts....
- Has our legal system become so bloated that it actually hinders and not helps attempts to innovate and move forward? (i.e. SOX regulations for business, general litigiousness of our society, incredibly difficult to understand tax code, etc...) I understand their initial intent, but have they gone too far?
- I am trying to sort out this thought with my general feelings towards our society as a whole. I'm tired of the notion that we are all victims and that the American dream is paved with lawsuits. I don't have any facts off hand to support that, just observations. It seems like very adversarial lawsuits and mudslinging have become much more common these days and I can't help but wonder how guilty the legal profession is for fomenting this. Maybe some tort reform would help?
Wow - I was long winded.
Let me answer posit more succinctly. Litigation is very expensive. And common.
But perception plays a big role here.
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