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From the latest UN Report on World Economic and Social Survey 2011
“Recently, a number of studies have put increasing emphasis on the fourth argument above for limiting growth in developed countries. To make their case, many of them presented evidence from cross-country data showing that the quality of life does not improve much beyond a certain level of per capita income. For example, taking life expectancy as an objective measure of the quality of life, it can be seen that life expectancy does not increase much beyond a per capita income level of about $10,000. Similarly, as indicated in chapter III of this Survey, cross-country evidence suggests that there are no significant additional gains in human development (as measured by the human development index.) beyond the energy-use level of about 110 gigajoules or 2 tons of oil equivalent per capita.
Quality of life does not necessarily increase beyond a certain level of material consumption …… suggesting that developed countries could focus on quality-of-life issues rather than on material growth.”
Butt out, United Nations!
If you are as long in the tooth as this old coot, you probably remember when the UN was the hope of the world. Heck, the US practically created the UN as part of it’s missionary urge following the horrors of WWII. I was a kid then and I remember collecting money for UNICEF (The United Nations children’s Fund). It all seemed so wonderful, making the world a better place and all. That was then. This is now. It used to seem like a good idea for the US to pay for the UN in order to teach the world about civilization, human rights and democracy. Talk about pearls before swine! The inmates took over the asylum, they turned on us and it’s been downhill ever since.
These days, the UN is nothing but an an embarrassment. It’s like your urbane, suave brother-in-law that can’t manage to hold a job. We’ve set them up in a posh, east-side skyscraper in New York City where they do nothing but embarrass us with stupid decisions and self-righteous pronouncements. Putting North Korea in charge of nuclear disarmament is a good example. You might as well put Casey Anthony in charge of a foster home. So how could it get worse? Stay tuned.
They want to pull us down to their level.
These days the UN is on a mission advocating nanny state hysteria and demanding frugality and green living. It won’t take responsibility for its own failures so it needs to force us to fail too. Their latest report, World Economic and Social Survey 2011: The Great Green Technological Transformation says we earn too much money and use too much energy and they want to make us reform using statist government mandates. (It worked so well in the Soviet Union.) They are going to solve all the worlds problems by reducing the developed countries to third world status.Why anyone would think that reducing our energy use to the level of Bangladesh would make the world a better place, beats me but that’s what they propose. We’re supposed to be embarrassed by success and go cower in a cave with the savages. When they get the US down to subsistence, are they expecting China to drive the world economy? Why not?
To the UN, economic development is evil- or at least wasteful while they refuse to recognize and condemn real evil. It’s time to stop enabling this nonsense and pull our support. Let them set up shop in Bangladesh and keep the money here. Applying that money to keeping our economy going will do far more to help the world than UN bureaucrats and their statist diktats.
Is the UN even relevant today?
Hansi,
They seem to think so and we’e paying for them to destroy us.