5 ms·

> our politicians burn clock cycles with stupid power games and nonsense If you actually look into local chinese politics you see a lot of stupidity, nonsense

by novok 5y ago

> our politicians burn clock cycles with stupid power games and nonsense If you actually look into local chinese politics you see a lot of stupidity, nonsense and power games there too. A combination of factors makes this less apparent to the typical chinese or american observer although, in different ways.

robomartin 5y ago
And yet they manage to move forward. If you timeline any major Chinese city going back 50 years and see what has been achieved during that time, well, it's hard to argue with results. Don't get me wrong, I do understand there's a lot wrong with Chinese politics, their system of government, human rights, etc. There is no perfect society anywhere on this planet. Not justifying any of it, just stating the obvious. However, when you look at a place like the US, you have to slap your forehead and ask what we are thinking. The "we" being voters, of course. We hand over the reigns to people who would be ambulance chasers and used car salesmen and expect good results? That's not even fair, ambulance chasers and used car salesmen are probably better than the people in politics. I don't want to sound partisan, because I am not. You look at people like AOC, Schummer, McConnel, Trump, Clinton, Obama, Bush, etc., etc., etc., and you really have to ask: Are these folks truly a representation of the best this nation can offer. I would be shocked if anyone intelligent though any of them (and the rest) are. Garbage-in, garbage-out. Simple as that. Simple example: Go back N elections. Say, n=15, that's 60 years. Dig-up videos and speeches. If you can hold back your projectile vomiting, watch a few. They have been promising solutions to healthcare, education and myriad other topics for decades and decades. I can understand that things aren't as simple as they might seem from behind this keyboard. That's a given. But, 60 years and we are still saying things are broken? What the hell have these people done in 60 years? Simple: In a conspiracy-theory world, if you keep these issues alive you can use and reuse them election after election to divide the population into groups on on either side of the issues and get votes. If you actually fix problems you have to work hard for other things to get done. It is far easier to make promises and then drop people on their heads after you get elected. I know this is a cynical view, but the proof is in the pudding as they say. The fact that, decades later, we are still saying that everything every politician always runs on is broken means these people are not doing their job. If you think about this from the perspective of any other profession it becomes obvious. The difference is that outside politics these kinds of negative results get you fired. Getting back on topic. We need to become rabid supporters and exceptional builders of nuclear power or we need to forget about the utopia of a fully electric transportation system.
- shlurpy 5y ago
  The sixty year old promises failed or were rolled back because of the 40 year old ratcheting towards neoliberalism removed the ability for government to conceive of meaningful action, as a bipartisan consensus with no alternatives. How would we build 150 reactors today? We would get together "industry leaders" to consult, who would suggest half of that be some non-nuclear nonsense to line their pockets, then we would provide incentives to companies written by those companies with loopholes, would take that money and make half assed attempts that allow them to keep the largest portion of taxpayer money possible with the least effort, and then abandon their efforts to shell companies embroiled in lawsuits. Little would get done at the cost of massive amounts of public money flowing into private hands. This is by design, and its the only thing politics is aligned to do. When it works out in some area, it's fluke for the system and fortune in a sea of failure for the people of the nation.
  - nebula8804 5y ago
    Despite all of what you said being true....would we even have the manpower in this country to accomplish such a feat? Majority of this country is overweight, ~42% is obese and the median age is ~38 years(I guess this is OK? Getting kind of up there for physical labor).
- powerapple 5y ago
  People have to understand that different development stage will have different priorities. In developed world, efficiency should not be the first priority, fair is the first priority.
- nebula8804 5y ago
  It seems like you are forgetting the creeping corruption that has been occurring at least since Nixon. That alone explains why nothing is moving forward. The US is currently being picked alive by as many vultures as possible that can get their hands on a piece of flesh. I don't know where this will end once the carcass is completely gone.
BurningFrog 5y ago
There is a lot of stupidity in the politics of all countries. The nice thing is that they're stupid about different things! So if the US blunders on nuclear power, China can succeed. In the end the world can use the solutions from countries who got things right. This is one reason I think World Government would be an enormous disaster, with all of humanity within a single point of failure.

by novok 5y ago

robomartin 5y ago

And yet they manage to move forward. If you timeline any major Chinese city going back 50 years and see what has been achieved during that time, well, it's hard to argue with results. Don't get me wrong, I do understand there's a lot wrong with Chinese politics, their system of government, human rights, etc. There is no perfect society anywhere on this planet. Not justifying any of it, just stating the obvious. However, when you look at a place like the US, you have to slap your forehead and ask what we are thinking. The "we" being voters, of course. We hand over the reigns to people who would be ambulance chasers and used car salesmen and expect good results? That's not even fair, ambulance chasers and used car salesmen are probably better than the people in politics. I don't want to sound partisan, because I am not. You look at people like AOC, Schummer, McConnel, Trump, Clinton, Obama, Bush, etc., etc., etc., and you really have to ask: Are these folks truly a representation of the best this nation can offer. I would be shocked if anyone intelligent though any of them (and the rest) are. Garbage-in, garbage-out. Simple as that. Simple example: Go back N elections. Say, n=15, that's 60 years. Dig-up videos and speeches. If you can hold back your projectile vomiting, watch a few. They have been promising solutions to healthcare, education and myriad other topics for decades and decades. I can understand that things aren't as simple as they might seem from behind this keyboard. That's a given. But, 60 years and we are still saying things are broken? What the hell have these people done in 60 years? Simple: In a conspiracy-theory world, if you keep these issues alive you can use and reuse them election after election to divide the population into groups on on either side of the issues and get votes. If you actually fix problems you have to work hard for other things to get done. It is far easier to make promises and then drop people on their heads after you get elected. I know this is a cynical view, but the proof is in the pudding as they say. The fact that, decades later, we are still saying that everything every politician always runs on is broken means these people are not doing their job. If you think about this from the perspective of any other profession it becomes obvious. The difference is that outside politics these kinds of negative results get you fired. Getting back on topic. We need to become rabid supporters and exceptional builders of nuclear power or we need to forget about the utopia of a fully electric transportation system.

shlurpy 5y ago
The sixty year old promises failed or were rolled back because of the 40 year old ratcheting towards neoliberalism removed the ability for government to conceive of meaningful action, as a bipartisan consensus with no alternatives. How would we build 150 reactors today? We would get together "industry leaders" to consult, who would suggest half of that be some non-nuclear nonsense to line their pockets, then we would provide incentives to companies written by those companies with loopholes, would take that money and make half assed attempts that allow them to keep the largest portion of taxpayer money possible with the least effort, and then abandon their efforts to shell companies embroiled in lawsuits. Little would get done at the cost of massive amounts of public money flowing into private hands. This is by design, and its the only thing politics is aligned to do. When it works out in some area, it's fluke for the system and fortune in a sea of failure for the people of the nation.
- nebula8804 5y ago
  Despite all of what you said being true....would we even have the manpower in this country to accomplish such a feat? Majority of this country is overweight, ~42% is obese and the median age is ~38 years(I guess this is OK? Getting kind of up there for physical labor).
powerapple 5y ago
People have to understand that different development stage will have different priorities. In developed world, efficiency should not be the first priority, fair is the first priority.
nebula8804 5y ago
It seems like you are forgetting the creeping corruption that has been occurring at least since Nixon. That alone explains why nothing is moving forward. The US is currently being picked alive by as many vultures as possible that can get their hands on a piece of flesh. I don't know where this will end once the carcass is completely gone.

BurningFrog 5y ago

There is a lot of stupidity in the politics of all countries. The nice thing is that they're stupid about different things! So if the US blunders on nuclear power, China can succeed. In the end the world can use the solutions from countries who got things right. This is one reason I think World Government would be an enormous disaster, with all of humanity within a single point of failure.