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> The politicians making these decisions aren't playing with their own money. True that! Btw, the (apocryphal) Steinbeck quote I think is about socialism/comm
by leto_ii 7y ago
> The politicians making these decisions aren't playing with their own money.
True that!
Btw, the (apocryphal) Steinbeck quote I think is about socialism/communism. I don't think we need to go as far as that to figure out that giving billions in subsidies to mega corporations is maybe not a good thing.
- jfengel 7y agoIt helps explain why we do it. Everybody imagines that it's going to make them rich, because rich is their natural state of being, and they're only poor now because of some external influence. Corporate subsidies (among other things) seem reasonable when you think it's going to create "good jobs" and that you (of course) are destined for one of those. For people to say, "Turns out that I'm not ever going to be rich, and maybe we ought to work on a system that allows even poor people to live tolerable lives instead" would require a major rewrite of the American character.
- leto_ii 7y ago> ...would require a major rewrite of the American character I wouldn't be that pessimistic. As far as I understand it, when polled Americans are significantly to the left of what mainstream politics has become. At least when it comes to economic issues.