[thechat] Jan 18 peace march

Martin Burns martin at easyweb.co.uk
Tue Jan 21 09:07:00 CST 2003


On Tue, 21 Jan 2003, aardvark wrote:

> > From: Martin Burns <martin at easyweb.co.uk>
> > > >
> > > > Or alternatively, let market forces sort it out as it does for
> > > > other high-paying professions.
> > >
> > > but that would mean privatizing it,
> >
> > Nope. Not necessarily. In the UK, the medical profession is well paid
> > and (still largely) non-privatised. Competition is fierce to get into
> > the limited places available in medical schools.
>
> that's also a whole different model -- not just in the public eye,
> but in the type of job...

Highly paid public service - yes, that's the new model I think Lach was
aiming for.

> > If you have a limited supply of entry places to a high demand
> > profession, and the currency of entry is not money, then it'll come
> > down to talent.
>
> it's not a high demand profession, it's almost a fallback for many...

...because it's not a well paid profession.

> and there isn't a limited number of places because of such programs,

Well there presumably is a limited number of places (based on number of
teachers required in each subject over the next N years), but because the
number of places way outstrips the demand on them, it's never visible.

> > > instead, people freak out when coca cola buys exclusive rights to
> > > sell to a school cafeteria audience, even though it puts much needed
> > > money in the public school coffers...
> >
> > Not sure that 'Coca-Cola = endorsed quality" is a good health
> > education message.
>
> well, that was the sort of response people over here had... thing is,
> the schools already sold juices and other food products that are
> distributed by coca cola...
>
> did you know that Minute Maid is a coca cola company? the coca cola
> contract also put Minute Maid fresh-squeezed orange juices in front
> of the kids (an option they didn't previously have)...

However, what's the message you leave in the mind of the kids..? Marketing
Coca Cola. Depends on the age of the kids, of course. I get *extremely*
angry when my son's nursery wants to take him on a trip to McDonalds and
follow it up with a whole range of activities based on McDonalds branded
items.

I do *not* want him at age 16 months start to learn that McDonalds is the
axiomatic place for children to go to.

I'm much less worried about having a brand sponsor the cafeteria than the
lessons/books, although I'm sure there are attempts to leverage the one
into the other.

> sadly, the contracts were worded without much consideration of other
> products (juices, water, etc.), and too many iditiotic
> representatives made comments like "we believe carbonated beverages
> can be part of a healthy diet."

mmmm yes. Carbonated perhaps. Carbonated with a massive sugar content,
perhaps no, except in the femto-gramme per year levels.

Cheers
Martin

--
"Names, once they are in common use, quickly
 become mere sounds, their etymology being
 buried, like so many of the earth's marvels,
 beneath the dust of habit." - Salman Rushdie




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