Ace of Spades HQ

January 16, 2011

Earthquake Deaths Linked To Corruption
— LauraW

Countries that are very corrupt allow for the most construction fraud, which is difficult to see when the buildings are being built but becomes obvious when the Earth shakes.

The authors determined that there is roughly a one-to-one relationship between a nations' wealth and its perceived level of corruption. "Less wealthy nations are the most corrupt," said Bilham, also a fellow in the CU-Boulder based Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. "We found that fully 83 percent of all deaths from earthquakes in the last 30 years have occurred in nations where corruption is both widespread and worse than expected."
Relative wealth is the most obvious parameter that influences a country's corruption, according to the authors. Bilham and Ambraseys chose the gross national income per capita to compare the relative wealth of the countries. High wealth is strongly linked to countries with a stable government conducive to the rule of law, they said.

Emphasis me.

Wow.
WOW.
These scientists, I tells ya. What will they discover next?

Being poor kind of sucks, doesn't it? Huh. Go figure.

I pose to you that makes people (in the aggregate) more slithery than they ordinarily would be if they were more comfortable and didn't have to cut corners. And being poor makes you less able to protect yourself when things go awry, as they always occasionally must.

Not exactly a chicken-or-the-egg type puzzle, is it?

Where the rule of law protects citizens and allows us to become wealthy, and to therefore increase the wealth of the nation, we are better able to not only withstand adversity personally and as a group, but to prevent it in the first place.

And are more likely to demand that our builders (and most others we do business with) do the right thing. Because we are willing and able to pay for it (in the aggregate).

Lots of rich people propagating wealth = we are all better off

Holy Fucking Shit. Science.

This isn't just true about earthquake fatalities of course. There's a larger political point about econ policies which actively thwart wealth creation in the name of 'economic justice.'

Somebody is going to pay for those retarded policies in a million other little surprising and painful ways- I guess we already are, actually- and it won't be the Rockefellers.

Posted by: LauraW at 12:20 PM | Comments (45)
Post contains 394 words, total size 3 kb.

1 Capitalism equals corruption! Wait a minute...... Only conservatives hate science! Uhhh, let me try again......

Posted by: Typical Leftist Douchebag at January 16, 2011 12:26 PM (9Lm5R)

2 Well, since BO is busying himself restoring science to its rightful place (as the twisted whipping boy of leftist propaganda), maybe he can make use of this insight be restoring rule-of-law by appointing a czar and employing executive power not yet legislated to him?

We can catch up with the details later.

Posted by: ef at January 16, 2011 12:28 PM (c7Pp2)

Stunningly, SCIENCE gets it right!

Posted by: USCitizen at January 16, 2011 12:30 PM (gthAv)

4 Meh, I would say that corruption is more of a correlation to poor building practices - poverty is the causation.

Posted by: Druid at January 16, 2011 12:30 PM (RnujI)

5 Science, HOW DOES IT WORK!?!?!

The problem is that the people who don't know these things don't know them because they refuse to learn them.

Capitalism (or more accurately, the benefits of a free and open market) has been described as the most counter-intuitive truth in history - no matter what you do to inform them, every generation has to learn that anew.

Posted by: Merovign, Bond Villain at January 16, 2011 12:30 PM (bxiXv)

6 High wealth is strongly linked to countries with a stable government conducive to the rule of law, they said.

There are times and places where stating the obvious is an act of courage. I fear we are in one now.

Posted by: toby928™ at January 16, 2011 12:32 PM (S5YRY)

In the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in the PRC, which killed 70,000 people, the primary school in Dujiangyan collapsed on 900 students, killing 50. Other schools in the same city were relatively unharmed.

The principle cause was crappy and inadequate structural steel in the concrete.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at January 16, 2011 12:34 PM (Wh0W+)

9 out of 10 morons agree that this post would generate more comment content if it included a cheerleader picture.

Thank you; continue.

Semicolon added for extra credit.

Posted by: The Auditors at January 16, 2011 12:36 PM (9kcAD)

9 I'm new to this cause and effect thing. So this means the Obama administration causes earthquakes? Shouldn't he apologize or something?

Posted by: AE at January 16, 2011 12:38 PM (kSfPT)

10 9 out of 10 morons agree that this post would generate more comment content if it included a cheerleader picture.

Redhead cheerleader if anyone is taking requests.

Posted by: ef at January 16, 2011 12:39 PM (c7Pp2)

11 Also, re: 2008 earthquake, women and Thomas Friedman, hardest hit.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at January 16, 2011 12:40 PM (Wh0W+)

12 Earthquakes cause poverty...the science is settled.

Posted by: Lemmiwinks at January 16, 2011 12:42 PM (54F2e)

13 12 Earthquakes cause poverty...the science is settled.

Allah sez cleavage causes earthquakes.

Posted by: Top Iranian Scientists at January 16, 2011 12:44 PM (0iM3Z)

14 Women's unbound, uncovered breasts cause earthquakes you uncivilized infidel dogs.

Posted by: Iran at January 16, 2011 12:44 PM (9Lm5R)

15 13 and 14 peer reviewed each other. Wow, the science really is settled!

Posted by: Duke Lowell at January 16, 2011 12:46 PM (6QeTX)

16 Had my thoughts all organized and hit ctrl+r instead of +t. Whoever designed key commands for browsing and usage in general were assholes. Why are cut and paste keys right next to each other? Fucktards.

Anyway, the point I had eloquently put before I deleted it was that capitalism (more accurately the need for free and open markets) has been described as the most counter-intuitive truth. Every generation needs to learn its lessons over again, for some reason they are too hard to teach.

Obviously the education process is somewhat broken, as "academic" has become a synonym for "divorced from real-world consequences."

It would be nice to have some kind of ISO certification for what is taught in schools, i.e. you have to be able to back up what you're shoveling into young minds.

The problem is that the standards organization would probably be taken over by the corrupt educational establishment.

As a side note, here in CA the State Superintendent of Schools election was between the Educational Establishment Candidate and the Even More Educational Establishment Candidate. The only potential reformer was actually shut out of the process by what looks like political corruption. I wish I had more resources to investigate it.

Posted by: Merovign, Bond Villain at January 16, 2011 12:48 PM (bxiXv)

17 "There are times and places where stating the obvious is an act of courage" No kidding. These guys work in Boulder. They might get lynched.

Posted by: Bugler at January 16, 2011 12:50 PM (VXBR1)

18 Worth mentioning again, in the name of "social justice".

The USA has the richest "poor people" on the planet.

Also, as a matter of pure geometric certainty, its utterly impossible to "eliminate poverty" when poverty is defined (ridiculously) as income below a certain percentile of the national spread.

Put more succinctly, no amount of schooling is going to change the fact that half of Americans are stupider than average.

Posted by: looking closely at January 16, 2011 12:53 PM (KNy97)

19 Of course corruption still occurs all too frequently in wealthy nations, too. Look at all the money that kleptocrats siphoned away from major building projects in New Orleans that were intended to protect from storm disasters. Who ultimately paid for that lack of prevention?

Look at the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle; who paid dearly for that little bit of cozy bedmaking with politicians?

Posted by: lauraw at January 16, 2011 12:55 PM (DbybK)

20 What all these countries need is more Diversity because Diversity=Strength. I know this because the Diversity Awareness instructor at my company's all-employee, mandatory, day long Diversity Awareness Training day said so.

That's why Japan is so poor and suffers millions of deaths every year due to earthquakes -- they have no Diversity. Only Diversity can save us!

Posted by: bobbo at January 16, 2011 12:55 PM (QcFbt)

21 The USA has the richest "poor people" on the planet.

Yep. Years ago an Indian friend of mine (dot not feather) said that To be poor in America was to have a black and white TV and ride the bus. To be poor in India was to have no clothes.

We got it good.

Posted by: toby928™ at January 16, 2011 12:56 PM (S5YRY)

22 17 "There are times and places where stating the obvious is an act of courage"

No kidding. These guys work in Boulder. They might get lynched.

Oh I doubt it. Their conclusion will probably be that wealthy nations need to give more to poor ones.

Posted by: lauraw at January 16, 2011 12:57 PM (DbybK)

23 We must band together to stop the Plate Tectonic menace.

Posted by: eman at January 16, 2011 01:13 PM (0aJSF)

24 The schools built for the kids of Chinese big shots did not fall down, go boom.

Posted by: eman at January 16, 2011 01:14 PM (0aJSF)

25 Their conclusion will probably be that wealthy nations need to give more to poor ones.

Posted by: lauraw

I'll give this them - Build the walls of your homes of wattle and daub, your roofs of thatch - you'll be less likely to die when they fall on you. Problem solved.

Posted by: Druid at January 16, 2011 01:22 PM (RnujI)

26 licensed Civil Engineer here - our structures stand due to rigorous codes/plan designs/checks and inspection. In 27 years - no offer of graft nor none given. IOW rule of law

Posted by: Frank G at January 16, 2011 01:30 PM (4X0aT)

27 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash

Posted by: Dave in Texas at January 16, 2011 01:32 PM (Wh0W+)

28 Another thing poor countries can't do: help others.

We can help Haiti when the shit hits the fan.
This kind of goodwill and material assistance and manpower on a massive scale simply does not flow in the other direction.

Keep destroying wealth, Obama. Really. Great idea. For everybody.

Posted by: lauraw at January 16, 2011 01:37 PM (DbybK)

29 So when the leaders ignore the basic concepts of law, more people suffer the consequences through a greater disparity between the haves and the have-nots?

Stunning revelation that.

Posted by: wiserbud at January 16, 2011 01:40 PM (EW49d)

Amazing how much difference a lab coat makes.

We would have been guessing. Not the Scientists, though.

They've proofed it for us!

Posted by: garrett at January 16, 2011 01:40 PM (P2PC8)

I remember buildings in Taiwan that withstood earthquakes.. they have rigorous construction codes for these high rise apts.

They also have a healthy free market economy.

Go figure.

Posted by: Dave in Texas at January 16, 2011 01:41 PM (Wh0W+)

32 Amazing how much difference a lab coat makes.

Cut straight to the bone.

Posted by: toby928™ at January 16, 2011 01:56 PM (S5YRY)

33 "Keep destroying wealth, Obama. Really. Great idea. For everybody."

That's been the plan all along. Destroy the wealth. Destroy the country. Then reign over the rubble.

Posted by: VADM (Red) Cuthbert Collingwood RN at January 16, 2011 01:59 PM (UL/HQ)

#28 lauraw

Thats the best take on this situation that I have ever read, or heard in the spoken word.

wtf do they think they are doing?

Posted by: yet another dave at January 16, 2011 02:00 PM (PUnQy)

35 yet another dave, some of it, I believe, is elitism in marxist clothing; they're slamming the door shut behind them.

They already have theirs, you see.

Posted by: lauraw at January 16, 2011 02:11 PM (DbybK)

36 What I discovered in Somalia is a place where there was no shortage of food ... There was a shortage of public order. There was a shortage of a social system to provide food for people who were powerless. Rice was selling in Mogadishu at 10 cents a kilo -- the cheapest rice in the world because of all the rice that had been donated. The problem was that if you didn't have a gun in Mogadishu you didn't have 10 cents. It didn't matter how cheap or readily available the rice was. There were people with guns taking it away from the people who didn't have guns. -- P.J. O'Rourke

Posted by: Drumwaster at January 16, 2011 03:22 PM (dWFSK)

37 All The Trouble In The World, by PJ O'Rourke.

Nice, Drumwaster.

Posted by: lauraw at January 16, 2011 03:43 PM (DbybK)

38 This is how affirmative action works, too. 85% of the time most jobs could be handled by pretty much anyone. Simple-minded people look at this and figure, why not just force unqualified people into these jobs, since most days they aren't difficult? So, they recklessly use job placement and contracts as social engineering toys, happy as clams that they have "brought social justice to a world which made too much out of most employment and work." But, what qualified people are really for is not the 85% of the time when things go smoothly, and almost run on automatic pilot in many cases, but for that 15% of the time when someone is needed who really knows the task and is actually highly skilled at accomplishing it. So, affirmative action seems to go along smoothly ... until competence is required, and then everything breaks down horribly. So the social engineers just scream, "Raacist!!"

This is the Atlas Shrugs, 'Moratorium on Brains' working in the here and now.

Reminds me of when the Deepwater Horizon incident.. The buzzers and alarms were going off and the stupid bitch in charge froze in place, not knowing what to do if all of them went off.

Posted by: Dave C at January 16, 2011 04:47 PM (MECVa)

39 News flash earthquakes attract corruption. Baby Doc Duvalier returns to Haiti after 25 years of exile. Hum do you think he smells unused relief funds?

Posted by: Buffalobob at January 16, 2011 04:57 PM (GwH6h)

40 Nah. He just smells...

Posted by: dead, not sleeping at January 16, 2011 05:02 PM (im9mP)

41 I'll give this them - Build the walls of your homes of wattle and daub, your roofs of thatch - you'll be less likely to die when they fall on you. Problem solved.

Posted by: Druid at January 16, 2011 05:22 PM (RnujI)

I think they tried that one in Haiti.

Posted by: Juicer at January 16, 2011 05:57 PM (f/9yn)

42 32 Amazing how much difference a lab coat makes.

Cut straight to the bone.

Entire [Chinese] High-Rise Building Tips Over
http://tinyurl.com/lksaql

Posted by: ExExZonie at January 16, 2011 06:15 PM (p8ieA)

Another BFO (blinding flash of the obvious) from the People's Republic of Boulder.

Posted by: Taxpayer at January 16, 2011 06:31 PM (NpmCe)

44 Juicer at 44 - Actually in Haiti they built way to many buildings with cinder blocks with inadequate (or in many cases) no rebar or any other reinforcement. I saw a lot of cinder block homes going up in the DR when I was there but they all had good rebar reinforcment. Cinder blocks stacked on top of one another with no rebar and in an earth quake you will feel like you're in a building made of childrens blocks, really hard, heavy childrens blocks.

Posted by: Have Blue at January 16, 2011 09:04 PM (mV+es)

45 Obviously the authors are unfamiliar with Chicago. Our only saving grace - no earthquakes. But when the New Madrid fault finally blows, they'll understand what one-party-mob rule in Chicago's building trades for 50 years hath created in construction quality.

Posted by: Jaibones at January 17, 2011 02:47 AM (maka6)

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