3 ms·
> cowardly half-measure > in a free society I feel these two go together. One reason that we have such a patchwork of messy ineffective policy is because the
by jl6 3y ago
> cowardly half-measure
> in a free society
I feel these two go together. One reason that we have such a patchwork of messy ineffective policy is because the policymakers are pulled in different directions by a deeply divided society. Just look at this thread - there’s very little clear consensus about what exactly the right answer is. Everybody has an opinion. People vote. Policy lurches.
> do what needs to be done
In contrast, this kind of tough talk is more fitting of a non-free society where sweeping decisions get made by steamrolling stakeholders. The populace gets tired of pusillanimous party politicians, so they elect a strongman who can do what needs to be done. But will the strongman do the right thing? Strongmen don’t have a great track record.
- standardUser 3y agoThere's no consensus bout the best way forward. But what baffles me is that there's still no consensus that the current system is an abject failure. Decades of imprisoning people, seizing their property, ruining their job prospects, all at an outrageous cost in both tax money and liberty. Yet too many people still refuse to entertain any genuinely different approach. And when they do, we get half-measures like these. I think part of the problem is that many people suffer no personal consequences from existing policies and they (wrongly) think the people who do suffer somehow deserve it.
- mccrory 3y agoI wish more people understood this, but that is just wishful thinking. There is too much money involved in the current system as it is. These changes deconstruct that. Less money to private prisons, less money to the DEA, etc etc