Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If government actually went after the cause of the problem, they would soon be out of a job.
They can build a bigger and bigger machine, if they just treat the symptoms the parasite is creating.
We The People, are the host and the parasite is killing the host.
Government never solves the problems they create. It would take away their job security.
A bigger government is not the solution. It is the entire problem.
And which party does that?: Republicans. It's not the "Government". It's republicans who have tried to roll back decades of progress in order to remain relevant by trying to make Democrats fight the same battles for human rights all over again.
If government actually went after the cause of the problem, they would soon be out of a job.
They can build a bigger and bigger machine, if they just treat the symptoms the parasite is creating.
We The People, are the host and the parasite is killing the host.
Government never solves the problems they create. It would take away their job security.
A bigger government is not the solution. It is the entire problem.
I don't agree that government is the sole problem, but I think that it is considerably larger than it needs to be. If we are talking about specific issues...education, healthcare, the financial sector, etc...you can make an argument that government has caused it's share of problems and maybe even the majority of problems but I don't think that it is the only problem or the root cause of problems in all of those systems. With exception to education...education problems to me are the sole responsibility of the government and their inability to realize their functional limitations.
And which party does that?: Republicans. It's not the "Government". It's republicans who have tried to roll back decades of progress in order to remain relevant by trying to make Democrats fight the same battles for human rights all over again.
Decades of progress? You must be joking. The war on poverty is a joke. Our educational rankings compared to international averages are a joke despite spending more than most Western countries. Social Security is unsustainable. Medicare is unsustainable without major tax increases or structural changes.
What "progress" are you referring to that hasn't been met with major problems? Democrats have a tendency to create overreaching programs under the guise of "do-goodedness" to buy votes and then blame the GOP when we cut the purse strings.
And which party does that?: Republicans. It's not the "Government". It's republicans who have tried to roll back decades of progress in order to remain relevant by trying to make Democrats fight the same battles for human rights all over again.
really? you are only blaming the republicans for the problems we have in this country? like somehow the democrats are gods angels sent to save us from ourselves? get real. the problems in this country stem from a variety of sources, starting with we the people ourselves. instead of doing what our fore fathers did, and work to fix their own problems, these days we tend to look to government to fix things, and have since the 1930s when democrats were mostly in charge. the last president to actually shrink government was in fact warren g harding, a republican. every president since has grown government, some rapidly some not.
do not blame just one party for the ills of society my friend, and do not blame just government either, as we the people must take responsibility for this mess, because we in fact created it.
And which party does that?: Republicans. It's not the "Government". It's republicans who have tried to roll back decades of progress in order to remain relevant by trying to make Democrats fight the same battles for human rights all over again.
What has been rolled back by republicans? Do you think the high single parent rate mostly mothers is progress?
Decades of progress? You must be joking. The war on poverty is a joke. Our educational rankings compared to international averages are a joke despite spending more than most Western countries. Social Security is unsustainable. Medicare is unsustainable without major tax increases or structural changes.
What "progress" are you referring to that hasn't been met with major problems? Democrats have a tendency to create overreaching programs under the guise of "do-goodedness" to buy votes and then blame the GOP when we cut the purse strings.
Well, why are things unsustainable? Government money eventually makes its way to private industry to pay for the programs. Maybe things are so unsustainable because Americans have been sold a materialistic bag of goods that makes them want more and more and then demand more and more for their services and products?
Private industry needs to stop looking for ways to price gouge and rip off the American people. It's all how can we squeeze more and more money out of people and no wonder the government has to step in and fund people's lives. Private industry needs to stop lobbying for building codes that practically corral people into buying houses larger and more expensive than they want to or need.
Cable companies need to stop charging people for commercially supported entertainment! Guess you missed THAT bait and switch? Remember when paid-for tv was supposed to be commercial free? Now we pay for it AND get commercials shoved down our stupid throats.
Meanwhile people like you point the finger at the "government" and call these private industry thieves your "capitalist heroes". That's the kind of deflection private industry wants to see while they screw over everyone.
If government actually went after the cause of the problem, they would soon be out of a job.
They can build a bigger and bigger machine, if they just treat the symptoms the parasite is creating.
We The People, are the host and the parasite is killing the host.
Government never solves the problems they create. It would take away their job security.
A bigger government is not the solution. It is the entire problem.
Making sure there are problems that never get solved is job security for the Utopia spouting liars and snake oil salesmen that we call politicians.
This is the bread and butter of the Democratic Party, set up a bogeyman with them being the only ones who can keep the barbarian hordes at the gate, or rain don't free money from your taxpayer neighbors to cure the ills of life.
The repubs are not much better. Each election cycle they claim the same damn thing; they can't push for change now, they need to wait until after the next election cycle. Then once they get back the House, or the senate or the presidency, then, boy howdy, the gloves are off and they will be able to make the changes we need to set things right again.
But each freaking time we give these fools what they said they wanted, and nothing gets fixed, things actually get worse.
Well, why are things unsustainable? Government money eventually makes its way to private industry to pay for the programs. Maybe things are so unsustainable because Americans have been sold a materialistic bag of goods that makes them want more and more and then demand more and more for their services and products?
Private industry needs to stop looking for ways to price gouge and rip off the American people. It's all how can we squeeze more and more money out of people and no wonder the government has to step in and fund people's lives. Private industry needs to stop lobbying for building codes that practically corral people into buying houses larger and more expensive than they want to or need.
Cable companies need to stop charging people for commercially supported entertainment! Guess you missed THAT bait and switch? Remember when paid-for tv was supposed to be commercial free? Now we pay for it AND get commercials shoved down our stupid throats.
Meanwhile people like you point the finger at the "government" and call these private industry thieves your "capitalist heroes". That's the kind of deflection private industry wants to see while they screw over everyone.
Things are unsustainable for a number of reasons. Private industry increases costs...true...but the "why and how" are your answers. The how is easy obviously but the why is really the key. Government programs are essentially insurance policies. The represent a third party. Naturally when businesses have no incentive to lower costs...they don't. The government isn't remarkably strong at controlling cost as exemplified by the fact that we basically never have a budget surplus. Why would a business seek to lower costs when they have a guarenteed payer? Businesses aren't in it for charity. They charge what they can to get by with...as they should. Government expenditure is a competition killer.
Quote:
Private industry needs to stop looking for ways to price gouge and rip off the American people. It's all how can we squeeze more and more money out of people and no wonder the government has to step in and fund people's lives.
Again...Why would they? I'll go into a bit more detail. I've worked in the insurance industry since college. It's not secret that when medical providers know that an insurance company is involved...they run more tests. If you walk into an ER with no insurance...they stablize you and boot you out because you probably can't pay for all of those tests. When businesses acknowledge a third party payer with a weak cost control mechaism...they exploit it. Any business that is in the business of staying in business will probably do this.
Quote:
Meanwhile people like you point the finger at the "government" and call these private industry thieves your "capitalist heroes". That's the kind of deflection private industry wants to see while they screw over everyone
I point the finger at government for one reason...they condition this type of behavior. I point the finger at government for the same reason I point the finger at health insurance for making healthcare more expensive and I point the finger at auto insurance for making repair costs more expensive. Government expenditure acts as social insurance against whatever issue they intend to "fix." Costs are driven down for one reason and one reason alone...competition to attain business. No business will lower their costs, just cuz.
That being said...I sincerely believe that government means well. And I'm not a huge Rand Paul fan but he made a good comparison on the Daily Show. He said that lawmakers have T-Rex syndrome. Basically that means they have HUGE hearts...and SMALL brains. It is applicable in this instance. They set out to fix a problem with the only solution that they have...it's just that solutoin usually doesn't fix anything. The Soviet's probably meant well at one point too...but alas...bread lines. I guess what I'm saying is that I think you and most of the other Democrats have your heart in the right place but you're looking at the solution without checking the math along the way. But if you backtrack through historical implementation of most large programs and their subsequent success/failure...you'll find that the math is all wrong.
And which party does that?: Republicans. It's not the "Government". It's republicans who have tried to roll back decades of progress in order to remain relevant by trying to make Democrats fight the same battles for human rights all over again.
Give me a break! What human rights have the Republicans taken away? The Democrat party is the party that has been waging a 50+ year long 'war on poverty" that really has been a war on the poor. Keeping them down and dependent on their handouts from Uncle Sam, all while telling them it's the nasty rich that are to blame.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shankapotomus
Well, why are things unsustainable? Government money eventually makes its way to private industry to pay for the programs. Maybe things are so unsustainable because Americans have been sold a materialistic bag of goods that makes them want more and more and then demand more and more for their services and products?
Nobody is forcing you to buy anything. If you want to go live the life of a hermit you are free to do so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shankapotomus
Private industry needs to stop lobbying for building codes that practically corral people into buying houses larger and more expensive than they want to or need.
Show us even one building code that forces builders to build larger houses than are desired by their customers. If you want a smaller house I'm sure there are plenty out there to be bought.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shankapotomus
Cable companies need to stop charging people for commercially supported entertainment! Guess you missed THAT bait and switch? Remember when paid-for tv was supposed to be commercial free? Now we pay for it AND get commercials shoved down our stupid throats.
Last time I checked you are not forced to buy cable, and are free to receive your TV over the air with an antenna just like in the old days. I hope you are happy with those 13 channels.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
