USUPhilosophy

You can read here about the new plan what will mandate a 1 week (5 working day) furlough for all USU employees in March.  Basically, every USU employee will be required to take 5 days off without pay in March.  Instead of taking 25% out of each March paycheck, they will take that amount out of paychecks over 5 months, which eases the blow.  

For those in PHIL 1120 Social Ethics, this raises some interesting social and economic justice questions.  Is this utilitarian or deontological reasoning?  Is it better to spread out the pain with a furlough if it means saving jobs?  What is the purpose of a business anyway (though in this case it is a public university)?  Is the protection and welfare of workers a primary end of business, or are workers merely instruments in profit maximization?  

For my part, I think the furlough is a good idea, it is expressive of a certain solidarity that shares the pain of these times without, one hopes, having that pain be felt in a truly crisis situation for any particular family.  Of course, I would like to know exactly how many jobs the USU plan will save – I can imagine someone who takes the furlough pay cut only to lose their job in July would be pretty unhappy.

See attached for some serious theological debate.
dogs-to-heaven-jpegs

There’s an interesting video here on Nietzsche, as part of the BBC series on philosophy and happiness. It’s good to get some pictures of the Alps and places where Nietzsche lived, and the overall account seems pretty good. It’s unfortunate that de Botton sticks to the old syphilis diagnosis, and the story about Nz embracing a flogged horse (both surely false).

A cluster of interesting links and discussion here about whether belief in God is more rational than Russell’s orbiting teapot or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Check it out!

I don’t think Huenemann’s Social Ethics is to the Social and Economic Justice chapter yet, and my Business Ethics class is not to the question of ‘price gouging’ yet, but my uncle emailed me this thought:

‘ Food giant McDonalds says its 2008 net profit soared 80 percent from last year.  It was lifted by growing demand from customers seeking low-cost meals in a deepening global recession.  I can’t wait for the  democrats’ outcry over these obscene profits.  Only a few months ago, Barack Obama called for an emergency economic plan that would relieve the burden on families struggling with high gasoline prices.  Obama and Hillary called for taxing ‘Big Oil’s’ windfall profits.  This was in reaction to a 3 percent rise in ‘Big Oil’ profits.  They certainly won’t ignore an 80 percent profit increase at McDonald’s.  Wasn’t it Obama, Hillary, Nancy, and Harry whom all asked ‘Big Oil’ to justify their profits?  They publicly spawned the national hate for ‘Big Oil’.  They used angry phrases like; ‘The Big Oil party is over!’ and ‘Big Oil is gouging Americans!’  So, is ‘Big Clown’ gonna get his?  I bet congress is ready to grab ‘Big Clown’ by his McNuggets and shake them until ‘Big Clown’ admits his wrongdoing.  Will we see a week long Senate hearing with Frank and Dodd berating Ronald, Mayor  McCheese, and the Grimace?  Will they have their day and finally sentence the Hamburgler for stealing money out of our nations poorest pockets in the name of Big Mac profits?  What about that sneaky Captain Crook, will he testify?  You wait and see, there won’t be a double standard anymore!  

Sincerely,

The Whopper’