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Who bailed out the bankers? Oh, that's right – the institution you describe as the "only thing that truly has any reigns around its neck". I'm not surprised you

Who bailed out the bankers? Oh, that's right – the institution you describe as the "only thing that truly has any reigns around its neck". I'm not surprised your prediction involves a conspiracy theory.

arca_vorago 10y ago
See, you actually bring up a good point, which is that the common discourse tends to divide into anti government/pro business, pro government/anti business, when in reality part of the problem is the lines between business and gov are so blurred how can you tell? I get the feeling you are on the bad gov/pro bus side, but I don't want to put words into your mouth. So yes, the gov did bail out the bankers, but mostly because of regulatory capture and essentially hostage holding from the banks (holding our economy with a gun to its head saying give me the money or I'll shoot!), so this is where I usually hear about how it's the people's fault for electing the government. So how we can keep going up the chain? In the end the responsibility for the welfare of the people is the government, so though we have allowed our citizenry to be propagandized and our votes manipulated until they almost don't count, the real prescription lays in effective and properly representative constitutional government. That's what America was founded on, and while it was never perfect it is what we should strive for. I have seen first hand what reduction of government just because people are afraid of it does in many places. West Texas for example, ends up with privatizing water, electricity, and numerous other things, and then all the people are wondering why their service is bad, hugely overpriced, and rife with corruption, and worst of all complete lack of accountability. Be very very wary of the knee jerk reaction to bad government being to get rid of government vs improving the existing one. That being said, I have always been a fan of G Edward Griffon's saying, "If in doubt, choose less government". So please don't confuse me with a new dealer or anything that extreme. I see your point, I just think there is more room for nuance in the discussion.
- marknutter 10y ago
  I'd say I'm a business-bad/government-worse person but I'll choose lots of bad businesses who can't tax people over one massive and corrupt government who can tax people.

arca_vorago 10y ago

See, you actually bring up a good point, which is that the common discourse tends to divide into anti government/pro business, pro government/anti business, when in reality part of the problem is the lines between business and gov are so blurred how can you tell? I get the feeling you are on the bad gov/pro bus side, but I don't want to put words into your mouth. So yes, the gov did bail out the bankers, but mostly because of regulatory capture and essentially hostage holding from the banks (holding our economy with a gun to its head saying give me the money or I'll shoot!), so this is where I usually hear about how it's the people's fault for electing the government. So how we can keep going up the chain? In the end the responsibility for the welfare of the people is the government, so though we have allowed our citizenry to be propagandized and our votes manipulated until they almost don't count, the real prescription lays in effective and properly representative constitutional government. That's what America was founded on, and while it was never perfect it is what we should strive for. I have seen first hand what reduction of government just because people are afraid of it does in many places. West Texas for example, ends up with privatizing water, electricity, and numerous other things, and then all the people are wondering why their service is bad, hugely overpriced, and rife with corruption, and worst of all complete lack of accountability. Be very very wary of the knee jerk reaction to bad government being to get rid of government vs improving the existing one. That being said, I have always been a fan of G Edward Griffon's saying, "If in doubt, choose less government". So please don't confuse me with a new dealer or anything that extreme. I see your point, I just think there is more room for nuance in the discussion.

marknutter 10y ago
I'd say I'm a business-bad/government-worse person but I'll choose lots of bad businesses who can't tax people over one massive and corrupt government who can tax people.