madryan wrote:DoubleBarrel wrote:madryan wrote:soulsurfer wrote:Our Prez sought authority from Congress to combine the Small Business Administration and five other small departments into a single one that would take the place of the Commerce Department. "No business or nonprofit leader would allow this kind of duplication or unnecessary complexity in their operation," Said Obama. "You wouldn't do it when you're thinking about your businesses, so why is it O.K. for our government?"
The Republicans shot it down claiming a power grab.
I can go on and on and on quoting both sides of the isle, non-partisan committees on government waste, independent studies of the same and the obvious in-our-face instances of pork spending.
Each dept of the welfare system is included in this assessment and it gets ridiculous when we pool it together as a whole.
there are billions of dollars (sited by the GAO) in governmental waste, overlap and duplication.
We need to take a sound look and agree that something needs to be done to protect our ppl and their tax $$$$$$$$$$$$
But, alas, "Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program.” ~Milton Friedman
This really cuts to the heart of the problem.
One side has a good idea, the other side shoots it down because they didn't think of it first.
That sort of thing should get one fired.
Anybody else think we need a viable third party ?
Parliamentary system. It forces people to build coalitions. If they can't the government dissolves and everyone votes again.
Don't we already have that by proxy? special interest groups already push for laws and when that doesn't work we get a 'shutdown'...a meltdown in function and have to restart.
No, I like our system of government in theory...as it isn't what goes south when we have a disagreement in congress.
It is the ppl in government themselves that are the issue. They have a list of all the important 'stuff' that has to be dealt with and the knowhow to deal with it. The problem is; the list has other non-important 'stuff' as well as having stuff in the wrong order of importance.
This happens because of the ppl making the list...the politicians. They get bought by interest groups, pushed by local businesses that helped with campaigning, national businesses that helped with campaigning, favors to colleagues, favors to family, personal interests, pet projects etc.
I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with this sort of thing. they just need to be put in their rightful order.
When we get literally hundreds of ppl making the same disordered list with millions, 100's of millions, even billions of dollars EACH....it adds up fast.
And because a majority of them have to agree on the spending...they are all to blame.
Even if it isn't wasteful in its self, it certainly looks that way because of it being spent 'out of order' of true importance.
All of that to say this:
It isn't the system per se that is jacked up, it is the ppl running the system. If we change the system, we only allow more creative ways for the people running it to jack the nation up.
As you have suggested, madryan, we need to fire congress. We also need to hire a leader that will lead - not thru' agenda - but thru' character and example.
This is so far from where we are now as a nation that it sounds idealistic, even unrealistic.
sigh...there was a day.
