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People gripe about high taxes, but then are shocked when teachers and services are reduced/fired.
People complain about the jackbooted thugs of the government but then when there is a terrorist attack, wonder why the government didn't do more to protect them.
Nothing is perfect but I think people don't step back and look at things objectively enough before they start lambasting the government. Thoughts?
The government is largely patheic. They engage in things that are none of their concern, while ignoring critical issues. The security of America is number 1, not some snail darter, blue butterfly or worrying about the natural ebbs and flows of the climate.
Location: Currently I physically reside on the 3rd planet from the sun
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GregW
Government may be inept but business is frequently inimical. Government may be late but business will take every dime you have.
Um, government is always inimical and by default becomes a monopoly, however business may frequently be inimical but unless they have a monoploy must complete with others for your business.
How about if government does its ****ing job instead of trying to do business job and prevent monopolies instead of bailing them out.
What would you perfer, a facist corporate state? Or anarchy? Really, explain to me what you see as being better than what we have now.
As for the two items listed, if government would simply get out of the way, the people could do quite a lot to help themselves.
I believe every child in America should be given a voucher to cover educational expenses through high school. Any school wishing their voucher money would have to compete for students the same way colleges do.
The best way to prevent terrorist attacks is to have as many citizens armed as possible. If one passenger on each of the 9/11 hijacked planes had a firearm they would have never made it past the cockpit door. As it happened, all of the passengers we disarmed by the federal government prior to the flight. Even a tazer in the hands of a passenger or flight attendant would have made taking over the plane with a box cutter knife impossible.
Unless we're talking about abortion, gay marriage, free speech, bedroom matters, etc. Never forget many so called "conservatives" beat the drum for the "Patriot" Act the hardest.
just cut the bloated bureaucratic systems that administer these services.
This is by far the most logical comment so far in this thread. Does anyone REALLY believe the founding fathers ever intended this size or scope of the federal government?
With about 2.0 million civilian employees, the Federal Government, excluding the Postal Service, is the Nation's largest employer.
Do federal employees EVER lose their jobs,...or are they just reassigned to another position? Federal employees seldom quit their jobs, simply because of the pay, benefits, and retirement guarantees.
What is alarming is the fact that the federal government is growing when unemployment is at its highest.
I lose patience with those who lay the blame for all society's problems at the foot of the government. It is flawed, of course, as any large institution guided by the even more flawed American political system would be. However, it provides essential services, decent careers for some of our most competent citizens (I am not joking. Consider NASA, the Pentagon, Los Alamos National Labs, the National Weather Service), many of whom have PhDs, advanced technical skills,etc., and provides a natural economic balance for the private sector. I view the private sector as stocks and the government like bonds. It is clear which makes more money over the long-term, but when the market tanks, it is good to have the stability of government enterprises chugging along. You might also use the tortoise and hare analogy. Along with explosive growth and risk, we need stability. I have lived in a number of colleges towns over my life, and I can tell you, they have much more vibrant and stable economies at all levels than adjacent areas, because of the government jobs present at the university.
De Tocquesville noted that a big problem in America, which was even then (1820s or so) very caught up in leveraged business compared to his native France. So much so, that when a financial disaster hit, everyone was hammered at the same time. He admired our energy and enterprising nature, but also commented on the risk from too many people thinking in a similar way. I think he was right, and the recent housing bust, which sent the American home owner, construction worker and the whole economy down the river at the same time, because of spectacular overleveraging and conflicts of interest at many levels, is an example of putting too much investment in one sector. The very fact that the government workers are not rewarded for making a profit, gives them more incentive to tell the truth on important issues, and we should listen. If everything is "for profit" you get a debacle like we are still enduring.
Yes, we should continue to have debates about the size and scope of government, but the government is all good or bad stuff is just silly. We need it right along with business, and the powers should be balanced, so neither devours the other.
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Unless we're talking about abortion, gay marriage, free speech, bedroom matters, etc. Never forget many so called "conservatives" beat the drum for the "Patriot" Act the hardest.
