Writing a piece on the minor that my classmates and I have attended the past few months, proves more difficult than expected. Therefore I have decided to start with a brief outline of the minor itself. The minor European Union Policies is a program offered by the Avans School of International Studies (ASIS). For me, this is not the academy of Avans that I usually attend, since I usually study Management, Economics and Law at the Academy of General Financial Management. For me, choosing European Union Policies turned out to be a good decision.
The lectures turned out to be rather challenging, which is something that my own study lacks sometimes. Not only the fact that the entire minor was in English, but also the fact that we all have to deal with cultural differences between ourselves and our classmates, made the minor into something completely new for me, since I am used to studying in Dutch, with only Dutch students. However, it never felt a like a bad thing that we all come from different backgrounds (though the majority of the group exists of Dutch students, which probably makes it a lot harder for the foreign students than for me).
When I look at the contents of the minor, I think that there are many good things, and a couple of things that could do with a little adjustment here and there. For me, it would have been a good thing, if for instance debating had been in the first half of the minor instead of the second, since it is sometimes a struggle to get things done in time now. This not necessarily mean that debating costs the most time, but the division of the subjects throughout the period the minor takes place in, is in my point of view not ideal. However, I do realise that this might also have something to do with my planning and organisational skills. But let’s not look at the downsides alone. The tutor group sessions, in which learning goals were created and later discussed, proved for me to be a good way to get myself acquainted with the material. Especially since I had hardly any knowledge from European institutions or policies before attending this minor. Though for me it has been a little challenging not to get into an argument or a discussion with classmates and moreover, the teachers, all the time. At my own academy, I am used to rather informal manner of conversation with my teachers, and to the possibility of open discussion with the most of them. During this minor I have come across some teachers who do not appreciate my ways that much, so I have had to make myself ‘shut up and listen’ a little more frequent than I am used to.
Overall though, I can say that the minor European Union Policies has been a positive experience for me, which I have enjoyed, and where I met some great people!
Saturday 28 November 2009
Hands off government!
The title might not immediately tell you what the contents are, but what is meant is the ‘credit crunch’, and when that has been clarified, my point of view is immediately clear.
Due to investments that could not be accounted for, and due to governments which have shut their eyes for the risks taken by bankers and investors around the globe, the financial situation worldwide has gone down the drain. That in itself is rather upsetting, but what upsets me even more personally, is that the governments, who for many years allowed the missteps and risky investment and who have pretended not to notice what was going on, all of a sudden decided that they should do something, that they would act rather than ignore the situation.
Personally, I believe that they should have stayed away again, just like they did when the investments were made. You cannot play ostrich when you like and then start acting like Napoleon, telling others what to do when that suits you better. Either you are there when the missteps are taken, or you lie low all the time. It is bad enough that the civilians in society do as they please, but the government is supposed to set an example of good behaviour. Civil servants who act from their profession, are meant to look either one way, or the other. It is impossible to look both ways, and still achieve a proper result.
The governments try to solve problems by cutting working hours, by which they fictionally try to keep the market going. But that is exactly what happened in the USA in the thirties. The government also tried to keep the market going fictionally, and they tried doing that by working with money that wasn’t available. Which is exactly what is happening now. The Dutch government for example, has implemented a rule that when a company cuts working hours, the remaining hours will be paid with money which is generally used to support the unemployed. This is just a way of shifting the problem to a later time, since nothing is actually solved by these sorts of measures. The best thing for the governments to do, is to keep their hands off, and let the market sort the problem.
Due to investments that could not be accounted for, and due to governments which have shut their eyes for the risks taken by bankers and investors around the globe, the financial situation worldwide has gone down the drain. That in itself is rather upsetting, but what upsets me even more personally, is that the governments, who for many years allowed the missteps and risky investment and who have pretended not to notice what was going on, all of a sudden decided that they should do something, that they would act rather than ignore the situation.
Personally, I believe that they should have stayed away again, just like they did when the investments were made. You cannot play ostrich when you like and then start acting like Napoleon, telling others what to do when that suits you better. Either you are there when the missteps are taken, or you lie low all the time. It is bad enough that the civilians in society do as they please, but the government is supposed to set an example of good behaviour. Civil servants who act from their profession, are meant to look either one way, or the other. It is impossible to look both ways, and still achieve a proper result.
The governments try to solve problems by cutting working hours, by which they fictionally try to keep the market going. But that is exactly what happened in the USA in the thirties. The government also tried to keep the market going fictionally, and they tried doing that by working with money that wasn’t available. Which is exactly what is happening now. The Dutch government for example, has implemented a rule that when a company cuts working hours, the remaining hours will be paid with money which is generally used to support the unemployed. This is just a way of shifting the problem to a later time, since nothing is actually solved by these sorts of measures. The best thing for the governments to do, is to keep their hands off, and let the market sort the problem.
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