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All the coverage of the government shutdown issue seems to ignore the fact that the ease of obstructionism in the US system was by design. There are valid argum
by the_watcher 13y ago
All the coverage of the government shutdown issue seems to ignore the fact that the ease of obstructionism in the US system was by design. There are valid arguments about the wisdom of that design, as well as that design's utility in the modern world, but it's sad that most of the coverage I have seen doesn't even address this.
This article, in particular, doesn't address the point of view that actively limiting the government might be a net positive (although his cabbie might bring it up if the answer to his question about lawmakers knowing what they are doing is "No.)
- wwweston 13y ago> that design's utility in the modern world Is it the modern world? I'd think it's more a function of an uncompromising and highly state-hostile political philosophy which could and has arisen at other times. I guess there's an argument that technology allows a magnifying effect for extreme voices that might otherwise be marginal.
- the_watcher 13y agoI don't know if you are responding to the point you reference. I was simply pointing out that obstructionism is easy in the US by design. You can disagree with the designers, or disagree that the design still works today. But you can't disagree that the design exists.