The November 14, 2016
PinFeed Almanack
QWERTYness in Question
Underlying all of The Almanack's rants and musings is the amazing durability of
the original Remington typewriter keyboard layout. The message we derive from
QWERTY surviving in cellphones is, 'good enough'. Of course, by good enough we
mean we can imagine ways to fix it, but none that are worth the effort.
A similar calculus seems to apply to Churchill's "Democracy is the worst form
of government, except for all the others." Which in our view puts democracy at
the pinnacle of 'qwertyness'. A week ago the US electorate asked very loudly
whether democracy is good enough.
Leaving aside the base motives that undoubtedly contributed, we imagine that
most voters made their choice based on reasonable concerns, even if the choice
doesn't actually stand to reason. In the hope that we share at least some of
their concerns, The Almanack has a long list of issues that democracy has
failed to address:
- The weather. It's too warm, and it's our fault.
- The water. Too many places, it's unfit to drink.
- Roads, bridges, tunnels are literally falling down.
- Planes, trains, buses, boats are horrifically inefficient and still not safe.
- Food. Farmers don't grow it anymore, and we can't trust what's in it.
- Schools. Why are we illiterate? Why do charters have all the good ideas?
- The military. Contractors don't take an oath, and they cost too much.
- The penal system. Nobody should be making money from building jails.
- Drugs. Shareholders don't care if I get well, as long as they make money.
- Hospitals. See 'Drugs'.
- Financial institutions. Banks and insurance are supposed to be boring.
- Sports. What illicit substance is your favorite slugger taking?
And most visibly of all, employers. Under the 'old' rules, a bad boss was
resented, and if it got really bad, you quit. Under the new rules, a bad boss
is a predator who has your fate in his hands because you can't afford to leave.
Most of the list above would benefit from spending money on fixing or
regulating the issue, but we've been told we can't afford it. So on what did
we spend $20,000,000,000,000?
Bankers didn't go to jail when they stole millions. Athletes are frauds making
millions. Traders and CEOs demolish companies and communities, and walk away
with millions.
It would take all the computing power on the planet, and then some, to
calculate how much of the deficit went to lining the pockets of the
undeserving.
But clearly, we all sense that the social contract is not good enough.
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