As we all get bogged down in the much of attack ads that go directly to the lowest common denominator and avoid truth, logic and nuance, this is a refreshing point of view. It turns out, most people aren't stupid -- it's just the system that encourages us to be stupid.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f ... 9CNSH1.DTL
Collective thinking/Democracy
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SonomaCat
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SonomaCat
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To the credit of the posters on this board, I think the theories discussed in the article have been shown in here from time to time with the thought out discussions from both sides that took the time to explain, compare and contrast their opinions. When that is done, most of the time, people realize that their positions aren't really all that far apart. Or, at very least, posters then understand the point of view of the opposing viewpoint and force themselves to critically assess their own positions as opposed to taking in more preaching to the converted.
Last edited by SonomaCat on Thu Oct 21, 2004 12:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Bleedinbluengold
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Which explains why, in my belief, that our government tends to by moderate over the long term. Just like physics explains how forces tend to achieve equilibrium, democracy explains how a government tends to be moderate over the long term. Democracy just won't allow the political pendulum to get too one-sided.
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El_Gato
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I agree perhaps that the overall ideology in government tends to center or moderate itself over time, but I beg to differ that government at ALL levels is anything other than liberal when it comes to taxation and spending.
Show me any evidence that government is attempting to moderate or slow down the rate of its own growth. I hate to sound like an extremist because I'm not. But if we continue to allow government to take ever- larger portions of our wealth & allow them to expand spending as we have the past 40 years, we are doomed economically.
The problem we face is that the SERIOUS issues looming in the near future have NO EASY ANSWERS. Health care & Social Security alone are going to bankrupt this country unless we implement some drastic measures to change these programs and soon! Few of today's politicians have the stones to offer REAL SOLUTIONS &/or REFORM to our current problems.
Here's a question to ask the next candidate you speak to: How much money should the public spend to keep someone alive who has no means to pay for their own medical needs? I guarantee you they will give you some pre-planned mumbo-jumbo but they WON'T answer the question. The thing is, we can't continue to act as if EVERYONE gets as much money as necessary to keep them alive; we simply can't afford it any longer! How many times does Medicare spend tens of thousands of dollars to prolong an elderly persons life a few days or weeks?
The problem in addressing this is that the second you offer the ONLY logical and economically viable solution (that being a spending cap or a maximum benefit on each and every person), you will immediately be labelled as a cold-hearted, mean extremist who wants the nations elderly to simply "wither & die on the vine", I believe was the term algore used in 2000. This is most likely political suicide. Yet no politico has anything to offer that would otherwise solve this crisis. We simply can't just continue to blindly spend and, even worse, ADD to the crisis (aka prescription drugs).
The CBO estimates that without the prescription drug benefit, Medicare/Medicaid payments would equal around 10% of GDP by 2075, I read recently. Add the drugs, however and they estimate that figure would rise to nearly 50%!!! Half our nations wealth devoted to keeping people alive because they couldn't, didn't, or wouldn't plan for it & provide it for themselves. Someone please tell me how anyone with a conscience could approve such a measure!
Sorry for the rant, but I'm so tired of most people IGNORING the fact that government is bankrupting our nation. We have to start making SERIOUS changes soon, or we are truly doomed.
My favorite saying for years has been "Life is tough; it's tougher if you're stupid" but coming in at #2 lately is "Stupidity is a choice". There are far too many people choosing to be stupid in this country, while the politicians continue to "sell out" our future...
Show me any evidence that government is attempting to moderate or slow down the rate of its own growth. I hate to sound like an extremist because I'm not. But if we continue to allow government to take ever- larger portions of our wealth & allow them to expand spending as we have the past 40 years, we are doomed economically.
The problem we face is that the SERIOUS issues looming in the near future have NO EASY ANSWERS. Health care & Social Security alone are going to bankrupt this country unless we implement some drastic measures to change these programs and soon! Few of today's politicians have the stones to offer REAL SOLUTIONS &/or REFORM to our current problems.
Here's a question to ask the next candidate you speak to: How much money should the public spend to keep someone alive who has no means to pay for their own medical needs? I guarantee you they will give you some pre-planned mumbo-jumbo but they WON'T answer the question. The thing is, we can't continue to act as if EVERYONE gets as much money as necessary to keep them alive; we simply can't afford it any longer! How many times does Medicare spend tens of thousands of dollars to prolong an elderly persons life a few days or weeks?
The problem in addressing this is that the second you offer the ONLY logical and economically viable solution (that being a spending cap or a maximum benefit on each and every person), you will immediately be labelled as a cold-hearted, mean extremist who wants the nations elderly to simply "wither & die on the vine", I believe was the term algore used in 2000. This is most likely political suicide. Yet no politico has anything to offer that would otherwise solve this crisis. We simply can't just continue to blindly spend and, even worse, ADD to the crisis (aka prescription drugs).
The CBO estimates that without the prescription drug benefit, Medicare/Medicaid payments would equal around 10% of GDP by 2075, I read recently. Add the drugs, however and they estimate that figure would rise to nearly 50%!!! Half our nations wealth devoted to keeping people alive because they couldn't, didn't, or wouldn't plan for it & provide it for themselves. Someone please tell me how anyone with a conscience could approve such a measure!
Sorry for the rant, but I'm so tired of most people IGNORING the fact that government is bankrupting our nation. We have to start making SERIOUS changes soon, or we are truly doomed.
My favorite saying for years has been "Life is tough; it's tougher if you're stupid" but coming in at #2 lately is "Stupidity is a choice". There are far too many people choosing to be stupid in this country, while the politicians continue to "sell out" our future...
Grizzlies: 2-5 when it matters most