Let's look at headlines from 2000 to 2004 leading up to the point that we, the people re-elected this leader.You should probably just read this.
My favorite part:
"More Americans, including more minority families, own their own homes than ever before. In June 2002, President Bush challenged the nation to increase the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million by the end of this decade. Since the President issued his challenge, 2.4 million minority families have joined the ranks of homeowners. The 2007 budget includes increases to several programs that advance the President's goal of creating an ownership society"
I've never much liked Bush the leader. He was governor of Texas for a bit and implemented some crazy educational reforms. Today, the DISD is in financial trouble.
Most of the time, it's probably better for the government to leave things alone. When it does decide to meddle, it helps to have an intelligent meddler.
Another good post from someone who thought this all through.
This was an ad from the 2004 election:
Most of the time, it's probably better for the government to leave things alone.
ReplyDeleteYou've a bit of a contradiction here. By most counts, the main fuel for the sub-prime collapse was the total lack of governmental oversight & regulation. The market has no rational sense of long term self-preservation. This has been shown time and again; the tragedy of the commons is seen in our current situation.(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons) Even the Chinese milk scandal is basically a result of the government refusing to exercise oversight. Check out the NYT piece for a parallel with our own history: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/opinion/30wilson.html?ref=opinion
Fundamentally, most people are greedy and short-sighted. Periodically, it comes back and bites us on the ass. Sometimes that can be catastrophic.
http://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societies-Choose-Fail-Succeed/dp/0143036556/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222792379&sr=8-1
You are correct in my contradiction. I noticed the contradiction when I posted.
ReplyDeleteIt's one of the things that mucks with my Libertarian leanings every time.
I don't want the government spending my money. I don't trust it to do so.
But, I'm just one person in a democracy and the government is probably better at spending most people's money than they are.
Your "bad milk" story is sad, but, in some instances it can be argued that government regulation is hurting more people than it is helping because of the length of time it can take to allow life saving medication to be "approved".
How much regulation is too much? How little is too little?
We trust the government too much. We take no responsibility for ourselves. In America, when the milk goes bad, it's the government's fault. When the economy goes bad, it's the government's fault.
It's the government's fault that it's the government's fault.
Not really related to milk or the tragedy of the commons, but a fun little polemic on Sarah. I enjoyed it, especially the flow chart.
ReplyDeleteSarah's debate