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Not the governments job to address exogenous threats that could negatively impact the health and wellbeing of every American? Are you saying the government sho

by freen 1y ago

Not the governments job to address exogenous threats that could negatively impact the health and wellbeing of every American? Are you saying the government shouldn’t have a military either? What, pray tell, is the governments job? By the by, avarice and cowardice ARE values. Very few people outright say “I’m a coward”, or “my wealth is more important than your life”. Instead, when faced with a difficult choice, say for instance, have more personal disposable income or lessen the suffering of others, those values are often expressed more euphemistically, and when even that is unpalatable, then the old “it’s wasteful and inefficient” argument comes into play. You’ll note that those who argue “waste and inefficiency!” never seem to actually attempt to address the problem that money was “wasted” trying to address. (If they did, they’d soon discover why it’s so hard, complicated, and expensive to try to actually address social issues, which is what folks who actually care about governance have known all along.) That’s because generally speaking the “the government is wasteful and inefficient” people’s real values are greed, not frugality.

afpx 1y ago
This is a complex topic. A lot has to do with "American culture". Culture, as you know, can last for millennia. First, I'm personally not against a moderately sized government. I'm an urbanite and lean kind of socialist, to be honest. I'm ok with there being lots of well-paid government workers. Good for them. I want everyone to have opportunity, access, and safety nets. But, I also believe in the system and respect my fellow citizens enough to understand their perspectives. The overarching American culture is anti-government. Some of it is because of waste. But, most of it comes from an innate distrust of government and the belief that government trends toward corruption, and corruption is the bane of a functioning society. A small number of Americans believe that the government's role should only be rule of law, policing, border defense, and tax collection. A larger number believe that government should manage common infrastructure, standards, public services, intelligence, and markets. A small number believe that the US federal government should support and defend the world. But, Americans like control. This is rooted in a founding mythos centered on rebellion and self-determination. The further removed they are from having control over government, the more anxious they get. Local government is good - state government is tolerable - federal government is bad. Federal government means academics and experts who don't know anything and only bring biases, agendas, and corruption. The federal government leads to tyranny. Also, once a govenment program starts, it's very difficult to shut it down. Bureaucracies tend toward mission creep, institutional inertia, and self-preservation. For TB specifically, most of it could have been managed by now if there was broad support and action from wealthy nations over the past 100 years. It could have been treated like Polio. But, wealthy nations don't see TB firsthand, so they don't think it's important. It's not just a US problem.
- freen 1y ago
  Hayek, of “Road to Serfdom” fame believed that the government should provide universal healthcare. That said, the only trick in the history of the human experience that consistently improves the lot of a society is taking a portion of the private surplus an applying to the public good. Best of luck making your own interstate highway system with you and your friends though. The ROI on that one is absolutely bananas, by the by. That said, don’t get me started on the ROI of the sewer system? Bonkers. Medicaid ? About 150% ROI in 1-2 years. What is missing from the simple ROI analysis is the counterfactual: if Medicaid didn’t exist, what would the actual aggregate cost to the economy be? Conservative estimate? ~$500 billion in economic growth lost annually if Medicaid didn’t exist. We spend approximately $800 billion on it annually, and get $1.6 trillion of ROI over 2 years. But yeah, donate to the Shriners.

by freen 1y ago

afpx 1y ago

This is a complex topic. A lot has to do with "American culture". Culture, as you know, can last for millennia. First, I'm personally not against a moderately sized government. I'm an urbanite and lean kind of socialist, to be honest. I'm ok with there being lots of well-paid government workers. Good for them. I want everyone to have opportunity, access, and safety nets. But, I also believe in the system and respect my fellow citizens enough to understand their perspectives. The overarching American culture is anti-government. Some of it is because of waste. But, most of it comes from an innate distrust of government and the belief that government trends toward corruption, and corruption is the bane of a functioning society. A small number of Americans believe that the government's role should only be rule of law, policing, border defense, and tax collection. A larger number believe that government should manage common infrastructure, standards, public services, intelligence, and markets. A small number believe that the US federal government should support and defend the world. But, Americans like control. This is rooted in a founding mythos centered on rebellion and self-determination. The further removed they are from having control over government, the more anxious they get. Local government is good - state government is tolerable - federal government is bad. Federal government means academics and experts who don't know anything and only bring biases, agendas, and corruption. The federal government leads to tyranny. Also, once a govenment program starts, it's very difficult to shut it down. Bureaucracies tend toward mission creep, institutional inertia, and self-preservation. For TB specifically, most of it could have been managed by now if there was broad support and action from wealthy nations over the past 100 years. It could have been treated like Polio. But, wealthy nations don't see TB firsthand, so they don't think it's important. It's not just a US problem.

freen 1y ago
Hayek, of “Road to Serfdom” fame believed that the government should provide universal healthcare. That said, the only trick in the history of the human experience that consistently improves the lot of a society is taking a portion of the private surplus an applying to the public good. Best of luck making your own interstate highway system with you and your friends though. The ROI on that one is absolutely bananas, by the by. That said, don’t get me started on the ROI of the sewer system? Bonkers. Medicaid ? About 150% ROI in 1-2 years. What is missing from the simple ROI analysis is the counterfactual: if Medicaid didn’t exist, what would the actual aggregate cost to the economy be? Conservative estimate? ~$500 billion in economic growth lost annually if Medicaid didn’t exist. We spend approximately $800 billion on it annually, and get $1.6 trillion of ROI over 2 years. But yeah, donate to the Shriners.