Monday, August 30, 2010

The Question of Government

To my mind, it's not that Government is all bad or whether or not it can be a force for good. That argument was settled in America long ago. A majority of Americans want the safety net. Even at tea parties there have been reports of people warning Democrats to "keep the Government out of my Medicare."

As far as that goes I'm a fan of utility regulation as well. There's something to be said for maintaining a tightly regulated investment vehicle that's typically a safe haven for retirement investors. Texas has ignored that, at their peril IMO, most Republicans would disagree. So be it. I'm a believer in multi-modal transportation. Yes, that includes rail. I wish America had more of it. Granted, not the terrible plan forwarded by Houston Metro, but more of it that actually went somewhere, did something, and moved someone from where they lived to where they worked. That would be nice and a good use of taxpayer monies.


The question should be: How much Government do we want and how much are we willing to pay for it. Instead we're stuck with a choice between a party that promises the moon while assuring us only the other guy is going to be taxed, or a party that promises to cut pretty much everything except corporate welfare.

In November, the question of Government is unfortunately going to be answered with a false choice. Which is one reason why I'm sitting this election out. I reject both options.

1 comment:

Ed T. said...

"Which is one reason why I'm sitting this election out. I reject both options. "

Actually, it isn't that you reject both choices: it's that you don't care which one prevails. While this may well be due to the fact you feel neither option is acceptable, another way to spin... er, perspective on this (and the one that will be assumed by whomever wins) is that you feel that either option is equally acceptable.

Alas, I am not sure there is really a good answer, although I have taken to marking a write-in for "Alfred E. Newman" or "Pat Poulson" or even myself on those races where I couldn't find an acceptable candidate.

~EdT.

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