Suffer the little children.....

[j_b]

the power of money goverment is a problem of epic proportions, to that i'll agree - however, how are you constitutionally going to resolve it?

 

the rich fucking the poor is as timeless as the earth itself - i don't like it, but i don't see any great solution beyond the fucked up jury-rigged bullshit thing we currently have rattling down the road

 

public financing only of political campaigns and put a stop to the revolving door between pols and business would be a good place to start.

[billcoe]

....pffft: closet right winger...not that I disagree, but that's what these wanks always say when I have an anti-government intervention sentence and they don't know what else to say. So you happen to be right....THIS time!

 

 

here's a cartoon for you.

 

[j_b]

Welcome to governmentisgood.com

 

Why a website defending government? Because for decades, conservatives have been attacking government and not enough has been done to defend it. Ever since Ronald Reagan declared in 1981 that "Government is not a solution to our problem, government is the problem," Republicans have been waging a political war against this institution. Their core message: the free market is good and government is bad.

 

Blithely ignoring anything good about government, conservatives have conducted a relentless smear campaign against this institution, portraying it as wasteful, ineffective, corrupt, oppressive, and bad for business. And wherever they have been in power, Republican officials have pursued an anti-government agenda of slashing taxes, cutting social programs, and rolling back regulations. “Smaller government” has been the conservative mantra – except of course for the ever-growing expenditures for defense and national security.

 

This website is a response to this one-side, distorted, and misleading depiction of government. It makes the case that government – despite is flaws – plays a valuable and indispensable role in promoting the public good. Government programs are actually improving the lives of all Americans in innumerable ways.

 

Today, this more positive – and more realistic – view of government is beginning to gain more traction among the public. For one thing, the mortgage system collapse and the ensuing deep financial crisis have given most Americans a renewed appreciation of the importance of government and the vital roles it plays in our society. If not for vigorous government rescue efforts, we would probably be slipping into an economic depression – with no end in sight.

 

And it is clear that this economic meltdown was caused in large part by conservative-led cutbacks in government regulation of financial markets. The media have been full of stories about how we need a more active government to re-regulate the financial sector. And nobody is talking about privatizing Social Security anymore.

 

But many Americans are still missing a crucial point: more energetic government is necessary in a whole range of areas in our society – not just in the financial sector. The anti-government philosophy of deregulation has not only proved a disaster for the financial system, but also for food safety, energy policy, and environmental protection. And cutting back taxes has led to school budgets being cut, public safety workers being laid off, poor children being denied medical care, and bridges and roads falling into dangerous disrepair.

 

Government is not the problem; it is actually the only solution to most of the pressing problems we face as a nation – including infrastructure decay, rising unemployment, global warming, and a worsening health care crisis. As this online resource shows, if we want an America that is prosperous, healthy, secure, well-educated, just, compassionate, and unpolluted, we need a strong, active, and well-funded public sector.

 

[..]

 

Part of making government cool again is to show that it has never been as bad as critics have made it out to be. This website sets the record straight about government performance. It challenges many of the common conservative criticisms of government – that it is massively inefficient, that bureaucracies usually provide poor service, that government is the enemy of economic prosperity, and so on. An objective examination of the actual record of government reveals that most of these charges are highly exaggerated, misleading, or simply wrong.

 

This is not to deny that American government has its problems. There are incidents of waste, some regulations are poorly designed, and some politicians abuse their power. More importantly, our government is certainly not as democratic and accountable as it could be, and special interests have way too much political power. Such problems need to be fixed, and this site identifies several needed reforms. Nonetheless, whatever drawbacks this institution has right now are far outweighed by the enormous benefits that we all enjoy from a vast array of public sector programs. On the whole, government is good for us.

 

In fact, democratic government is one of the greatest institutional inventions of modern Western civilization. It allows us to pool our resources and to act collectively to address the serious social, economic, and environmental problems that we are unable to deal with as individuals. The public sector is also how we provide for essential human needs that are neglected by the market – such as a clean air and water, safe workplaces, and economic security. What’s more, government serves as an essential instrument of moral action – a way for us to rectify injustices, eliminate suffering, and care for each other. In short, democratic government is one of the main ways we work together to pursue the common good and make the world a better place.

 

http://www.governmentisgood.com/

 

 

[ivan]

i don't like it, but i don't see any great solution beyond the fucked up jury-rigged bullshit thing we currently have rattling down the road

 

 

"This is what we fought the Nazis for, some fucked up jury-rigged bullshit thing rambling down the road?"

 

i think bob dylan pretty much nailed why we fought the nazis in "with god on our side"

[ivan]

i seem to recall thalidomide folks getting to sue.

 

A little late, wouldn't you think?

sure, for the initial victims, but ultimately it punishes the companies that irresponsibly produce shit drug

[olyclimber]

did you buy some bunk acid?

[ivan]

did you buy some bunk acid?

the primary law for buying acid: never buy acid from a negro

[olyclimber]

racialist

[ivan]

was there ever a halycon day when the american electorate was deeply engaged and educated and keepign the tiller of government on the strait and true?

 

may be not a halcyon day but Americans were way more engaged in the 30's, which explains why regressives have tried to dismantle much of the progressives policies that were implemented then. Except for the last 2 elections voter turnout has pretty much been falling over the last 60 years, and the anomaly of the last 2 elections could be explained by a reaction to the Bush administration fiasco.

ok, so...the 30s (what's your metric btw? sure there were a lot of folks involved in gov work, but then that was about the only gig in town for work eh?) - before then? gov has gnerally been the province of the elite - since the dawn of time, the masses have been distracted by the hardship of their own daily lives, their ignorance, or their idiocy, wether it be the romans and their circuses, the english and their lewd theater, the 19th centruy and the dime novel, the catholics and the endless cycle of fish, fucking and mother mary - for whatever reason, elitist or not, most humans won't take the time to be enlightened, and will leave the running of things to others

[ivan]

racialist

i wasn't one till i got ripped off by a horrible negro

[prole]

i seem to recall thalidomide folks getting to sue.

 

A little late, wouldn't you think?

sure, for the initial victims, but ultimately it punishes the companies that irresponsibly produce shit drug

 

Yeah, I'm sure it's just as hard for those companies to move on as it is for the people they deformed, poisoned, and crippled. But hey I know they'd be cool with it if they knew they gave their lives, limbs, and minds for economic freedom. Because, you know, how else would they be able to get the new drugs they needed to treat the ailments they got from the original drugs that fucked them up in the first place...

[j_b]

ok, so...the 30s (what's your metric btw? sure there were a lot of folks involved in gov work, but then that was about the only gig in town for work eh?) - before then?

 

There was a sharp rise in voter turnout starting in the 30’s due to economic hardship and the associated rise of the labor movement. Social progress occurred during that period because people forced change, which demanded they be engaged. Before then, I can’t really tell because my recollection of history isn’t that good and also because women got the vote only in 1920, but I think eligible voter turn out was highest in the 19th century after the civil war.

 

gov has gnerally been the province of the elite - since the dawn of time, the masses have been distracted by the hardship of their own daily lives, their ignorance, or their idiocy, wether it be the romans and their circuses, the english and their lewd theater, the 19th centruy and the dime novel, the catholics and the endless cycle of fish, fucking and mother mary - for whatever reason, elitist or not, most humans won't take the time to be enlightened, and will leave the running of things to others

 

I don’t disagree with your historical characterization of the distribution of power among social classes but you are missing the arrow of time. Along with the enlightenment, then scientific and technological development, emancipation and social progress have occurred, in turn placing greater demands on the legitimacy of power. For example, the national revolutions of the 19th century radically altered the balance of power between elites and the rest. The ‘others’ who run things don’t have to be the traditional elites and there are few reasons to believe that we can’t improve further on the representativity of democracy. Now, it’s also true that following the generalization of TV, atomization of civil society and greater disenfranchisement from the political process have occurred, which in my mind implies that media have to play an even more essential role in informing and engaging the public.

 

 

[ivan]

you are missing the arrow of time.

i differ in my philosophy - i don't see history as an arrow, but a circle - well, maybe something kinda like a bashed in corkscrew - basically we just go through cycles w/ occasional shoves into new'ish circles that eventually spin right back to something near the original start

 

the revolutions of the 19th century slightly expanded the # of power-brokers, and introduced the concept of social mobility, but it didn't really change the basic fact that all large socities are dominated by a small % of the total population

 

there is no "way it's supposed to be" - there is no god - if there was one, he's either a vicious retard or a sadistic clown - i prefer the lasagna at any rate, the current situation will likely last a few more itirations until al gore morphs into the zombie-overlord and kills us all

[t_rutl]

until al gore morphs into the zombie-overlord and kills us all

[tvashtarkatena]

Social progress and altruism can be a slippery fish when they come up against the perception of threatened survival. Economic and security insecurities (SIS)TM can and have reversed decades of social progress very quickly.

 

This is only natural. When the rules suddenly change, via climate change, resource depletion, asteroid impact, whatever, the ants in the ant farm get flustered.

 

Today, the conservative ants are having trouble admitting to themselves that the rules are changing, so they cling to the perceived safety of cults, a past that never was, and simplistic, placebo maxims.

 

Americans have proven themselves to be no less herd-like than any other national brand. This country has one of the strongest undercurrents of fascism in the world; a fertile movement in troubled times, and, unlike other similar societies, we've got the guns to make something really bad happen.

 

I can happen here.

 

Stay tuned.

[ivan]

Social progress and altruism can be a slippery fish when they come up against the perception of threatened survival. Economic and security insecurities (SIS)TM can and have reversed decades of social progress very quickly.

 

This is only natural. When the rules suddenly change, via climate change, resource depletion, asteroid impact, whatever, the ants in the ant farm get flustered.

 

Today, the conservative ants are having trouble admitting to themselves that the rules are changing, so they cling to the perceived safety of cults, a past that never was, and simplistic, placebo maxims.

 

Americans have proven themselves to be no less herd-like than any other national brand. This country has one of the strongest undercurrents of fascism in the world; a fertile movement in troubled times, and, unlike other similar societies, we've got the guns to make something really bad happen.

 

I can happen here.

 

Stay tuned.

at least we have the cascades

 

and yosemite

[tvashtarkatena]

Zombies don't climb, and, from the data on this site, neither do conservitards.

[ivan]

Zombies don't climb, and, from the data on this site, neither do conservitards.

this is why the crux of my zombie-survival plan has always just been reaching beacon rock