Out Of The Mouths Of Babes
An interesting experiment was conducted at the very heart of our local headquarters of the Great Rightwing Zionist Conspiracy yesterday. Having had some hilarious fun with my ten-year-old and a cuddly toy Election (including a National TV Debate where Skullsplitter the Barbarian Baby Bear had to have it patiently explained to him that rushing at his opponent and decapitating him was not a valid debating technique and unlikely to win many votes except at his home polling station) she then asked to try out some election games online, which is something we have done before a few times.
This time we discovered a very enjoyable, just-complicated-enough sim called The Democracy Game. It seems to be pitched at just the right level for her. A central box shows the incumbent's popularity with different voter groups such as Poor, Motorists, Liberals, the Religious etc, who naturally enough blend into each other somewhat to a large degree, so a voter may support your Party on one issue but not on another, thus making for an interesting juggling exercise whilst also trying to run an economy! As the game says, you may well find your high-faluting principles quickly sacrificed to political or financial expediency quite swiftly...
Well, seems my little darling has some...interesting tendencies. Trying the demo, her vehement reaction to Gun Control (NO GUNS FOR ANYONE!) took me a little aback, especially when she proceeded to unconcernedly send her Liberal approval rating into freefall by authorising phone-taps, a huge expansion of the Intelligence Services, armed the Police and massively increased their funding - and incidentally wiped out British crime in a year and a half. Oh, and never had the same Terror Attack happen that occurred when I, erm, didnt.
Its interesting isnt it? At ten, despite being in a household where the mistrust of the incumbent administration's totalitarian tendencies is palpable and obvious enough that even at her tender age she must have picked up on it, she still instantly went straight towards high Statism and Authoritarianism, and sod the Liberals. I wish we had a Government that could be trusted this much...
"Daddy, what's Inheritance Tax?"
"Well its a Tax that Government levies on things that you leave to your family and friends in your will, after you die."
Stunned silence.
"That's the most STUPID thing I've ever heard! No WAY am I doing that!"
Out of the mouths of babes, eh...
This time we discovered a very enjoyable, just-complicated-enough sim called The Democracy Game. It seems to be pitched at just the right level for her. A central box shows the incumbent's popularity with different voter groups such as Poor, Motorists, Liberals, the Religious etc, who naturally enough blend into each other somewhat to a large degree, so a voter may support your Party on one issue but not on another, thus making for an interesting juggling exercise whilst also trying to run an economy! As the game says, you may well find your high-faluting principles quickly sacrificed to political or financial expediency quite swiftly...
Well, seems my little darling has some...interesting tendencies. Trying the demo, her vehement reaction to Gun Control (NO GUNS FOR ANYONE!) took me a little aback, especially when she proceeded to unconcernedly send her Liberal approval rating into freefall by authorising phone-taps, a huge expansion of the Intelligence Services, armed the Police and massively increased their funding - and incidentally wiped out British crime in a year and a half. Oh, and never had the same Terror Attack happen that occurred when I, erm, didnt.
Its interesting isnt it? At ten, despite being in a household where the mistrust of the incumbent administration's totalitarian tendencies is palpable and obvious enough that even at her tender age she must have picked up on it, she still instantly went straight towards high Statism and Authoritarianism, and sod the Liberals. I wish we had a Government that could be trusted this much...
"Daddy, what's Inheritance Tax?"
"Well its a Tax that Government levies on things that you leave to your family and friends in your will, after you die."
Stunned silence.
"That's the most STUPID thing I've ever heard! No WAY am I doing that!"
Out of the mouths of babes, eh...
Labels: Amber
posted by Dangerouslysubversivedad at 9:12 AM
3 Comments:
Yeah I'm against Inheritance tax too, but what to you think of the original justification, to break up these huge estates owned by Lords who did everything they could to 'keep it in the family'.
I think Inheritance tax is wrong but the way some people have dominated the land in the past is also wrong.
I said something similar to my dad a few months ago!
Dave, how about raising the level to a million and dropping the % to 10, making it more of a tax and less of a punishment.
Seconded.
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