3 ms·

I’m shocked you thought the government was ever functional enough to do something like that.

by dgfitz 1y ago

j-bos 1y ago
They used to, iirc that's how they sourced the titanium used in the b2 bombers, which was mined in the ussr.
- selectodude 1y ago
  A-12 Oxcart
- Enginerrrd 1y ago
  I think that was the SR-71, but yeah.
- MegaButts 1y ago
  They got the titanium from the Soviet Union, so not exactly an ally. The US just lied about using it for pizza ovens instead of jets.
estimator7292 1y ago
The US government was pretty decent up until ~50-100 years ago. Pretty standard, functional democracy. Lots of money and effort spent on improving the physical and social environment for the betterment of the people. You know, normal, expected stuff from a functioning government.
- themafia 1y ago
  To me it was WW2 and the lingering "intelligence apparatus" it spawned. We went from using our resources for national security and started using it to steal banana plantation land and contracts in South America. It went from a necessary evil to a clandestine service available to the highest bidder.
  - rurban 1y ago
    Yes, it was Franklin Roosevelts declining health and death the fascists took over. They already brought Hitler to power, and from then on took over their state. They planned, but didn't need their Business Plot.
- reenorap 1y ago
  Up until the US went into debt to fund the arms race, things were great. Now that there's so much debt and unfettered financial engineering by Wall Street, the idea we can get get back to "the American Dream is a home with a white picket fence" is impossible.
  - cogman10 1y ago
    "The American Dream" was made possible by government spending to subsidize home purchases. The 1950s housing act. America was great when the pocket books of the government were open to public spending and funded primarily by high taxes on the rich. In the 1950s the top marginal tax rate was 90%. What made america great was taxing the hell out of the rich and big business to the point where they'd rather invest in their employees and companies. That's what drove the innovation and quality of life improvements throughout the 50s and 60s. We abandoned that in the late 70s onwards because of an economic downturn that hit everyone. Rather than just powering through it we went with "Let's just tear down everything" and now we are dealing with what the government was like in the gilded age of the 1920s. Stories of corruption, corporate capture, and scandal are nearly identical to what we see today. We need a new deal.
    - reenorap 1y ago
      When the US has a surplus with no debt, as it was pre-Nuclear Arms race, they can afford to do things like be generous with housing, etc. We can't do that now because we have too much debt, and most of the money is being funneled to the elites.
      - ckemere 1y ago
        We had a surplus under Clinton (well after Nuclear Arms race) which was parlayed into deficit by Bush tax cuts.
        reenorap 1y ago
        I misused the word "surplus". Surplus is talking about a net positive in terms of government income less spending. What I meant was total government debt. Yes we had surpluses under Clinton but the US was still deeply in debt. We went from the largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation in the world under Ronald Reagan.
- ckemere 1y ago
  Lots of comments below. I think Reagan “Government doesn’t help” campaign + (obviously) big tax cuts were the beginning of the end. Early 1980s was the beginning of deficit spending and tax cuts based on the Laffer Curve big lie. Bush followed suit, and Obama/Biden realized that the American people would gladly elect presidents who spent borrowed money. Unclear how we recover as a country given the reach of the Fox News propaganda. Maybe a huge recession?
  - phil21 1y ago
    > recession This, but an actual depression that will likely make the Great Depression look like a good time - largely due to folks being a lot more self-sustaining back then due to common skillsets and lived experiences.
- greenavocado 1y ago
  WtfHappenedIn1971.com

I’m shocked you thought the government was ever functional enough to do something like that.

by dgfitz 1y ago

I’m shocked you thought the government was ever functional enough to do something like that.

j-bos 1y ago

They used to, iirc that's how they sourced the titanium used in the b2 bombers, which was mined in the ussr.

selectodude 1y ago
A-12 Oxcart
Enginerrrd 1y ago
I think that was the SR-71, but yeah.
MegaButts 1y ago
They got the titanium from the Soviet Union, so not exactly an ally. The US just lied about using it for pizza ovens instead of jets.

estimator7292 1y ago

The US government was pretty decent up until ~50-100 years ago. Pretty standard, functional democracy. Lots of money and effort spent on improving the physical and social environment for the betterment of the people. You know, normal, expected stuff from a functioning government.

themafia 1y ago
To me it was WW2 and the lingering "intelligence apparatus" it spawned. We went from using our resources for national security and started using it to steal banana plantation land and contracts in South America. It went from a necessary evil to a clandestine service available to the highest bidder.
- rurban 1y ago
  Yes, it was Franklin Roosevelts declining health and death the fascists took over. They already brought Hitler to power, and from then on took over their state. They planned, but didn't need their Business Plot.
reenorap 1y ago
Up until the US went into debt to fund the arms race, things were great. Now that there's so much debt and unfettered financial engineering by Wall Street, the idea we can get get back to "the American Dream is a home with a white picket fence" is impossible.
- cogman10 1y ago
  "The American Dream" was made possible by government spending to subsidize home purchases. The 1950s housing act. America was great when the pocket books of the government were open to public spending and funded primarily by high taxes on the rich. In the 1950s the top marginal tax rate was 90%. What made america great was taxing the hell out of the rich and big business to the point where they'd rather invest in their employees and companies. That's what drove the innovation and quality of life improvements throughout the 50s and 60s. We abandoned that in the late 70s onwards because of an economic downturn that hit everyone. Rather than just powering through it we went with "Let's just tear down everything" and now we are dealing with what the government was like in the gilded age of the 1920s. Stories of corruption, corporate capture, and scandal are nearly identical to what we see today. We need a new deal.
  - reenorap 1y ago
    When the US has a surplus with no debt, as it was pre-Nuclear Arms race, they can afford to do things like be generous with housing, etc. We can't do that now because we have too much debt, and most of the money is being funneled to the elites.
    - ckemere 1y ago
      We had a surplus under Clinton (well after Nuclear Arms race) which was parlayed into deficit by Bush tax cuts.
      - reenorap 1y ago
        I misused the word "surplus". Surplus is talking about a net positive in terms of government income less spending. What I meant was total government debt. Yes we had surpluses under Clinton but the US was still deeply in debt. We went from the largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation in the world under Ronald Reagan.
ckemere 1y ago
Lots of comments below. I think Reagan “Government doesn’t help” campaign + (obviously) big tax cuts were the beginning of the end. Early 1980s was the beginning of deficit spending and tax cuts based on the Laffer Curve big lie. Bush followed suit, and Obama/Biden realized that the American people would gladly elect presidents who spent borrowed money. Unclear how we recover as a country given the reach of the Fox News propaganda. Maybe a huge recession?
- phil21 1y ago
  > recession This, but an actual depression that will likely make the Great Depression look like a good time - largely due to folks being a lot more self-sustaining back then due to common skillsets and lived experiences.
greenavocado 1y ago
WtfHappenedIn1971.com