8 ms·

Go start a non-trivial business and then tell me what you think about government. The only people who think that government interference is not part of the pro

Go start a non-trivial business and then tell me what you think about government. The only people who think that government interference is not part of the problem are those who either work for the government, depend on it for a living, benefit from their rulings, actions and handouts or have never started a business and came face-to-face with the beast. Why isn't your all-knowing government moving swiftly to fix the software patent problem? What are they waiting for? I'll tell you why: It keeps thousands upon thousands of government employees (voters) employed and it brings-in money, lots of money. In the meantime they, through inaction, cause untold carnage and damage our ability to innovate at full speed. Also, in the accounting politicians engage in patent issues don't offer them any advantage because they are not going to gain significant votes by doing anything in that segment. I mean, Google had to put what, twelve billion dollars into patents just so they could continue to exist in the smart phone market? Do you know what a company can do with twelve billion dollars? Talk about jobs and innovation. As a software entrepreneur you have to live in fear of some asshole ruining your life because our brain-dead government granted them a patent on the pink sliding button you happen to be using. Stability? Tell that to the Ambassador who got killed Libya. Why are we even there? Why are we at war with half the fucking world? Why are we buying friends through foreign aid? Friends that turn on us and, like a drug, we think we can keep buying their loyalty with more money? That's really brilliant stuff partner. And government owns all of it. Not private enterprise. Not capitalism. Not entrepreneurs. Government. Your all-providing, all-knowing, infallible government. I am fairly well travelled and speak several languages. When I am abroad sometimes I feel ashamed to be an American. Do you know why? Not because of our people. Just like folks all over the world we Americans are kind, loving, hard-working people who love our families and just want to have a nice life. No, when I feel ashamed to be an American it is because of the way our government defecates not only all over us but all over other parts of the world. This isn't about Democrats or Republicans. Our government has become a beast that behaves badly regardless of who is at the helm. It is a shame. And it is probably time for people who believe blindly in the supernatural powers of government to wake up and see reality for what it is. I go back to the same thing. If you love government you have to love the good and the bad. You can't pick. Your government (and other governments) started wars that have killed tens of millions of people. Maybe even pushing over a hundred million. Start at World War 1 and do the math. A hundred million people dead. People didn't start those wars. Businesses didn't. Fucking governments did. And tens of millions of people are dead for it. I suppose you are proud and support that too?

glesica 14y ago
Private sector seems pretty enthusiastic about the wars to me... I agree with libertarians in the sense that I think concentrated power is a bad thing. But I think the idea that an unregulated market would be any better is laughable. The answer, in my mind, is better regulation, not necessarily less regulation (although I suspect that the second would often follow from the first, but not in the way that libertarians seem to want). Food labeling, by the way, is an example of good regulation in my book. Nobody gets to tell me what I can or cannot eat (just talking about labeling laws here, I realize there are also laws banning certain foods). But at the same time, nobody can try to trick me, either, at least not without breaking the law and being exposed to liability.
- robomartin 14y ago
  > Private sector seems pretty enthusiastic about the wars to me Who? Your local baker? The mechanic around the corner? How about the printer? Or the dry cleaner? Apple? Sure, businesses that make things for the military are going to benefit from wars. It only stands to reason that they might be more pro-war (or pro-conflict) than the local dry cleaner. Here's the paradox. And it takes a little reasoning. Who starts wars? Government. Who benefits from wars. Well, nobody, but let's just say that government contractors do. They make weapons, missiles, bullets, crap. They do. If you can make so much money making stuff for the war machinery, are you going to bother making stuff for consumer applications? Nope. If you can sell toilets for $1,000 rather than $50 you are going to make radiation hardened toilets. Let the Chinese make the "small stuff". What happens when you have a war-driven economy then? Well, your consumer products manufacturing base goes to shit. Wages are artificially inflated by the war machine and, very soon, you have to pay a guy $50 per hour to put screws into a VCR. Therefore, the consumer business has to go to other countries where someone can make a VCR for less than we can. And, what happens over a long period of time of doing things this way? Decades? You completely erode your manufacturing base to the point where you almost can't make anything in the country any more. So, there you go. The whole business of government being so smart. Government providing everything we need. Government being all-knowing and providing the foundation upon which we will all build our empires. This same government is almost solely responsible for the destruction of our consumer manufacturing infrastructure by creating a falsely inflated military economy that made it impossible to get anything done in this country. Government is an ass. If government is responsible for all of our success. If we should thank and revere government for all we have accomplished. Then, we should also hold government responsible for all of our failures. You can't have it both ways. If they make things happen then they own the disasters too. Mind you, I am not one for complete lack of government or complete lack of regulation. This is where I have trouble with political alignment labels. Saying that you are "libertarian" doesn't necessarily mean that you adhere to the textbook definition of what this might mean today. The same is true of other political views. Yes, some government is necessary. They need to look after our roads, power grid, ports, etc. The government we have today is far larger than what we probably need. I use fire in survival situations as an imperfect analogy: When a fire is the right size it provides, warmth, comfort, security, the ability to cook food, etc. In a very real sense, it "works" with your, not against you. If it is too small it is useless. In the wilderness you might have to fend-off predators because they will not be deterred by your tiny fire. You might not be able to cook food or sterilize water. A small fire is bad. If a fire gets too big it is dangerous. It can get out of hand and kill you. Beyond a certain size it actually becomes another threat to your survival. If big enough --and if there's enough fuel around-- it starts to create its own wind and it grows larger and larger, until it consumes everything around it. The fire only cares about itself. Every particle serves the fire and not you. It is actually this huge mass that starts to work against you, not for you. Our government is too large. It creates its own wind. It is growing larger and larger. We have too many government workers, their corresponding unions, their families and retirees that form a unified voting block that mindlessly supports, well, bigger government. It is quickly becoming a threat to our own survival. It is working against us, not with or for us. Nobody is proposing that we have no government and live in total anarchy. Just like the small fire, that would be dangerous. What we do need is a government of the right size and mindset. We have not had that for decades.

glesica 14y ago

Private sector seems pretty enthusiastic about the wars to me... I agree with libertarians in the sense that I think concentrated power is a bad thing. But I think the idea that an unregulated market would be any better is laughable. The answer, in my mind, is better regulation, not necessarily less regulation (although I suspect that the second would often follow from the first, but not in the way that libertarians seem to want). Food labeling, by the way, is an example of good regulation in my book. Nobody gets to tell me what I can or cannot eat (just talking about labeling laws here, I realize there are also laws banning certain foods). But at the same time, nobody can try to trick me, either, at least not without breaking the law and being exposed to liability.

robomartin 14y ago
> Private sector seems pretty enthusiastic about the wars to me Who? Your local baker? The mechanic around the corner? How about the printer? Or the dry cleaner? Apple? Sure, businesses that make things for the military are going to benefit from wars. It only stands to reason that they might be more pro-war (or pro-conflict) than the local dry cleaner. Here's the paradox. And it takes a little reasoning. Who starts wars? Government. Who benefits from wars. Well, nobody, but let's just say that government contractors do. They make weapons, missiles, bullets, crap. They do. If you can make so much money making stuff for the war machinery, are you going to bother making stuff for consumer applications? Nope. If you can sell toilets for $1,000 rather than $50 you are going to make radiation hardened toilets. Let the Chinese make the "small stuff". What happens when you have a war-driven economy then? Well, your consumer products manufacturing base goes to shit. Wages are artificially inflated by the war machine and, very soon, you have to pay a guy $50 per hour to put screws into a VCR. Therefore, the consumer business has to go to other countries where someone can make a VCR for less than we can. And, what happens over a long period of time of doing things this way? Decades? You completely erode your manufacturing base to the point where you almost can't make anything in the country any more. So, there you go. The whole business of government being so smart. Government providing everything we need. Government being all-knowing and providing the foundation upon which we will all build our empires. This same government is almost solely responsible for the destruction of our consumer manufacturing infrastructure by creating a falsely inflated military economy that made it impossible to get anything done in this country. Government is an ass. If government is responsible for all of our success. If we should thank and revere government for all we have accomplished. Then, we should also hold government responsible for all of our failures. You can't have it both ways. If they make things happen then they own the disasters too. Mind you, I am not one for complete lack of government or complete lack of regulation. This is where I have trouble with political alignment labels. Saying that you are "libertarian" doesn't necessarily mean that you adhere to the textbook definition of what this might mean today. The same is true of other political views. Yes, some government is necessary. They need to look after our roads, power grid, ports, etc. The government we have today is far larger than what we probably need. I use fire in survival situations as an imperfect analogy: When a fire is the right size it provides, warmth, comfort, security, the ability to cook food, etc. In a very real sense, it "works" with your, not against you. If it is too small it is useless. In the wilderness you might have to fend-off predators because they will not be deterred by your tiny fire. You might not be able to cook food or sterilize water. A small fire is bad. If a fire gets too big it is dangerous. It can get out of hand and kill you. Beyond a certain size it actually becomes another threat to your survival. If big enough --and if there's enough fuel around-- it starts to create its own wind and it grows larger and larger, until it consumes everything around it. The fire only cares about itself. Every particle serves the fire and not you. It is actually this huge mass that starts to work against you, not for you. Our government is too large. It creates its own wind. It is growing larger and larger. We have too many government workers, their corresponding unions, their families and retirees that form a unified voting block that mindlessly supports, well, bigger government. It is quickly becoming a threat to our own survival. It is working against us, not with or for us. Nobody is proposing that we have no government and live in total anarchy. Just like the small fire, that would be dangerous. What we do need is a government of the right size and mindset. We have not had that for decades.