Government's necessary role in the 21st century economy

[Guest Guest]

Many Americans are living in fantasy-land. They've been talked into thinking we can magically return to an 18th century economic model in the 21st century. It's an easy story to tell: government is bad, just get the government out of the way and everything will be fine.

Problem is, it's not true. Without a strong federal government, our economy would collapse and the United States would cease to exist, let alone be a world power. This is not an exaggeration. Economic forces would throw this country into chaos.

Every advanced country in the world knows this. That is why every advanced country has a strong central government, which plays a significant role in the economy.

Without the federal government, we wouldn't have a highway system. We wouldn't have the FDIC or banking and financial regulations, which stabilize our economy. We wouldn't have anti-trust laws to prevent one company from taking over an entire market - those laws need to be strengthened, not weakened further. Our water wouldn't be fit to drink or our air fit to breathe. Our consumer products wouldn't be nearly as safe. You'd be getting gouged for using the Internet. You can't take government out of everything and expect all the bad things to go away magically while all the good things remain the same. That's is pure Alice-in-Wonderland.

The problem is power. It corrupts. But if you think it corrupts government and not business, you're living in fantasy-land. Power corrupts everyone who has it. That includes business. That is why, with the rise of the global economy and companies that are "too big to fail," government must play an active role in our economy. If Americans do not get this, soon, we are headed straight back toward the abyss.

[Guest 2smart4u]

Many Americans are living in fantasy-land. They've been talked into thinking we can magically return to an 18th century economic model in the 21st century. It's an easy story to tell: government is bad, just get the government out of the way and everything will be fine.

Problem is, it's not true. Without a strong federal government, our economy would collapse and the United States would cease to exist, let alone be a world power. This is not an exaggeration. Economic forces would throw this country into chaos.

Every advanced country in the world knows this. That is why every advanced country has a strong central government, which plays a significant role in the economy.

Without the federal government, we wouldn't have a highway system. We wouldn't have the FDIC or banking and financial regulations, which stabilize our economy. We wouldn't have anti-trust laws to prevent one company from taking over an entire market - those laws need to be strengthened, not weakened further. Our water wouldn't be fit to drink or our air fit to breathe. Our consumer products wouldn't be nearly as safe. You'd be getting gouged for using the Internet. You can't take government out of everything and expect all the bad things to go away magically while all the good things remain the same. That's is pure Alice-in-Wonderland.

The problem is power. It corrupts. But if you think it corrupts government and not business, you're living in fantasy-land. Power corrupts everyone who has it. That includes business. That is why, with the rise of the global economy and companies that are "too big to fail," government must play an active role in our economy. If Americans do not get this, soon, we are headed straight back toward the abyss.

Oh, we get this. At least the GOP, Tea Party, Patriots and Independents get it. The Loony Left will never get it. And this Nov. we're going to start pulling us back from the abyss.

[Guest Guest]

Oh, we get this. At least the GOP, Tea Party, Patriots and Independents get it. The Loony Left will never get it. And this Nov. we're going to start pulling us back from the abyss.

You don't act like you get it. You never have a single positive thing to say about the role of government.

As for pulling back from the abyss in November, we already did that - in November 2008.

[Guest Guest]

And as the nutcakes drive to their Tea Party rallies to whine, moan and complain about the government . . .

. . . on roads built and maintained by the government . . .

. . . in a country protected by a government-run military operation that is second to none . . .

. . . and as they whine, moan and complain about how badly off the country is in the richest nation in history . . .

. . . while whining, moaning and complaining to each other on an Internet that couldn't exist without government laws and regulations . . .

. . . in homes full of technologies powered by electricity and delivered by government-regulated utilities that wouldn't provide those services so cheaply if government didn't oversee the necessary utilities monopoly . . .

. . . and whine, moan and complain about their FDIC-insured bank accounts . . .

. . . and make idiotic remarks about returning to an 18th century economic model in a 21st century economy . . .

. . . we can only hope that sane heads will prevail and get us through this long period of national insanity.

Look, folks, you have a choice. You can have the idyllic lifestyle of the 18th century back if you really want it - if you can find a plot of land, maybe you can grow a few crops and survive, provided the other 350 million Americans don't decide to do the same thing. But I don't see any of you running into woods to live in a log cabin with a wood-burning stove and no running water, giving up your cars or your TVs or your computers or your bank account or your modern medical care or any of the thousand other modern amenities you enjoy every day.

Grow up. If you want to have these things, you have to pay the price. And if you don't want them, then stop whining and give them up. And yet somehow none of you is doing that. You want all the good things we have but you don't want to do the things that are necessary to have them.

Without government, you would be at the mercy of the corporations who own the utilities and the oil companies, etc. It's bad enough how much influence they have now. But if you think this is bad, then you have some serious issues that you should think about addressing with psychiatric help because no people in history have been richer than we are. And none of it would have happened without government. The Tea Party isn't the answer; the Tea Party is the problem on steroids and LSD at the same time. And the Republican party today is scarcely any better. If you're smart, you'll try to make the government better, not just whine, moan and complain about it.

[Guest Guest]

And as the nutcakes drive to their Tea Party rallies to whine, moan and complain about the government . . .

. . . on roads built and maintained by the government . . .

. . . in a country protected by a government-run military operation that is second to none . . .

. . . and as they whine, moan and complain about how badly off the country is in the richest nation in history . . .

. . . while whining, moaning and complaining to each other on an Internet that couldn't exist without government laws and regulations . . .

. . . in homes full of technologies powered by electricity and delivered by government-regulated utilities that wouldn't provide those services so cheaply if government didn't oversee the necessary utilities monopoly . . .

. . . and whine, moan and complain about their FDIC-insured bank accounts . . .

. . . and make idiotic remarks about returning to an 18th century economic model in a 21st century economy . . .

. . . we can only hope that sane heads will prevail and get us through this long period of national insanity.

Look, folks, you have a choice. You can have the idyllic lifestyle of the 18th century back if you really want it - if you can find a plot of land, maybe you can grow a few crops and survive, provided the other 350 million Americans don't decide to do the same thing. But I don't see any of you running into woods to live in a log cabin with a wood-burning stove and no running water, giving up your cars or your TVs or your computers or your bank account or your modern medical care or any of the thousand other modern amenities you enjoy every day.

Grow up. If you want to have these things, you have to pay the price. And if you don't want them, then stop whining and give them up. And yet somehow none of you is doing that. You want all the good things we have but you don't want to do the things that are necessary to have them.

Without government, you would be at the mercy of the corporations who own the utilities and the oil companies, etc. It's bad enough how much influence they have now. But if you think this is bad, then you have some serious issues that you should think about addressing with psychiatric help because no people in history have been richer than we are. And none of it would have happened without government. The Tea Party isn't the answer; the Tea Party is the problem on steroids and LSD at the same time. And the Republican party today is scarcely any better. If you're smart, you'll try to make the government better, not just whine, moan and complain about it.

AMEN!

[Guest Guest]

And as the nutcakes drive to their Tea Party rallies to whine, moan and complain about the government . . .

. . . on roads built and maintained by the government . . .

. . . in a country protected by a government-run military operation that is second to none . . .

. . . and as they whine, moan and complain about how badly off the country is in the richest nation in history . . .

. . . while whining, moaning and complaining to each other on an Internet that couldn't exist without government laws and regulations . . .

. . . in homes full of technologies powered by electricity and delivered by government-regulated utilities that wouldn't provide those services so cheaply if government didn't oversee the necessary utilities monopoly . . .

. . . and whine, moan and complain about their FDIC-insured bank accounts . . .

. . . and make idiotic remarks about returning to an 18th century economic model in a 21st century economy . . .

. . . we can only hope that sane heads will prevail and get us through this long period of national insanity.

Look, folks, you have a choice. You can have the idyllic lifestyle of the 18th century back if you really want it - if you can find a plot of land, maybe you can grow a few crops and survive, provided the other 350 million Americans don't decide to do the same thing. But I don't see any of you running into woods to live in a log cabin with a wood-burning stove and no running water, giving up your cars or your TVs or your computers or your bank account or your modern medical care or any of the thousand other modern amenities you enjoy every day.

Grow up. If you want to have these things, you have to pay the price. And if you don't want them, then stop whining and give them up. And yet somehow none of you is doing that. You want all the good things we have but you don't want to do the things that are necessary to have them.

Without government, you would be at the mercy of the corporations who own the utilities and the oil companies, etc. It's bad enough how much influence they have now. But if you think this is bad, then you have some serious issues that you should think about addressing with psychiatric help because no people in history have been richer than we are. And none of it would have happened without government. The Tea Party isn't the answer; the Tea Party is the problem on steroids and LSD at the same time. And the Republican party today is scarcely any better. If you're smart, you'll try to make the government better, not just whine, moan and complain about it.

It's easy to whine, moan and complain, especially about government, but every word of the above is TRUE. We need to watch our government like a hawk watches its eggs but the whiners and complainers, like the Tea Partiers, have gone too far. They're not thinking straight.

[Guest 2smart4u]

And as the nutcakes drive to their Tea Party rallies to whine, moan and complain about the government . . .

. . . on roads built and maintained by the government . . .

. . . in a country protected by a government-run military operation that is second to none . . .

. . . and as they whine, moan and complain about how badly off the country is in the richest nation in history . . .

. . . while whining, moaning and complaining to each other on an Internet that couldn't exist without government laws and regulations . . .

. . . in homes full of technologies powered by electricity and delivered by government-regulated utilities that wouldn't provide those services so cheaply if government didn't oversee the necessary utilities monopoly . . .

. . . and whine, moan and complain about their FDIC-insured bank accounts . . .

. . . and make idiotic remarks about returning to an 18th century economic model in a 21st century economy . . .

. . . we can only hope that sane heads will prevail and get us through this long period of national insanity.

Look, folks, you have a choice. You can have the idyllic lifestyle of the 18th century back if you really want it - if you can find a plot of land, maybe you can grow a few crops and survive, provided the other 350 million Americans don't decide to do the same thing. But I don't see any of you running into woods to live in a log cabin with a wood-burning stove and no running water, giving up your cars or your TVs or your computers or your bank account or your modern medical care or any of the thousand other modern amenities you enjoy every day.

Grow up. If you want to have these things, you have to pay the price. And if you don't want them, then stop whining and give them up. And yet somehow none of you is doing that. You want all the good things we have but you don't want to do the things that are necessary to have them.

Without government, you would be at the mercy of the corporations who own the utilities and the oil companies, etc. It's bad enough how much influence they have now. But if you think this is bad, then you have some serious issues that you should think about addressing with psychiatric help because no people in history have been richer than we are. And none of it would have happened without government. The Tea Party isn't the answer; the Tea Party is the problem on steroids and LSD at the same time. And the Republican party today is scarcely any better. If you're smart, you'll try to make the government better, not just whine, moan and complain about it.

This is by far the most rambling, nonsensical, hodgepodge of ramdom disconnected thoughts I've ever read. Come back when you're sober and try it again.

[Guest Guest]

This is by far the most rambling, nonsensical, hodgepodge of ramdom disconnected thoughts I've ever read. Come back when you're sober and try it again.

As usual, when even you realize you have nothing to say, you claim the other person isn’t making sense. But what part of post # 4 isn’t true?

Do you claim government doesn’t build and maintain the roads? Do you claim the roads aren’t important? What is your argument?

Do you claim the military isn’t run by the government? Do you claim that military isn’t important? What is your argument?

Do you claim the electric company and the gas company (the utilities) aren’t heavily regulated by government, because if they weren’t they would charge monopoly prices and gouge you for everything you’re worth? What is your argument?

I could go through every point, but it’s all the same thing with you, every time. You never make an argument – ever. I’m going to speak to you as though you were a child because you act like a child, a badly spoiled and obnoxious child at that. All you do is make childish remarks and mock everyone who doesn’t accept your fantasy world as reality. I’m just sorry I don’t know your real name because I wouldn’t hesitate to say this to your face. Your conduct here is shameful. If this country stops being a democracy and we lose our freedoms, it will be because of people like you.

If you want to have a discussion, then have one. Make a real argument. You’re not doing that. You never do that.

Unfortunately, there are millions of people just like you. You may get your way in the next election, or the one after that. Sooner or later, you’ll get another George W. Bush. But the country won’t be better off for it, any more than it was better off with the first George W. Bush.

People like you don’t listen and you don’t think. It’s a very bad combination.

Tomorrow is a new day. Post something factual. Pay attention to the opposing argument. Address it head-on. Grow up. This is what citizenship is about. If you want us to keep a government in which the people have a voice, you have a responsibility to do it.

[Guest 2smart4u]

As usual, when even you realize you have nothing to say, you claim the other person isn’t making sense. But what part of post # 4 isn’t true?

Do you claim government doesn’t build and maintain the roads? Do you claim the roads aren’t important? What is your argument?

Do you claim the military isn’t run by the government? Do you claim that military isn’t important? What is your argument?

Do you claim the electric company and the gas company (the utilities) aren’t heavily regulated by government, because if they weren’t they would charge monopoly prices and gouge you for everything you’re worth? What is your argument?

I could go through every point, but it’s all the same thing with you, every time. You never make an argument – ever. I’m going to speak to you as though you were a child because you act like a child, a badly spoiled and obnoxious child at that. All you do is make childish remarks and mock everyone who doesn’t accept your fantasy world as reality. I’m just sorry I don’t know your real name because I wouldn’t hesitate to say this to your face. Your conduct here is shameful. If this country stops being a democracy and we lose our freedoms, it will be because of people like you.

If you want to have a discussion, then have one. Make a real argument. You’re not doing that. You never do that.

Unfortunately, there are millions of people just like you. You may get your way in the next election, or the one after that. Sooner or later, you’ll get another George W. Bush. But the country won’t be better off for it, any more than it was better off with the first George W. Bush.

People like you don’t listen and you don’t think. It’s a very bad combination.

Tomorrow is a new day. Post something factual. Pay attention to the opposing argument. Address it head-on. Grow up. This is what citizenship is about. If you want us to keep a government in which the people have a voice, you have a responsibility to do it.

Let's see, you want me to pay attention to the opposing argument when the opposing argument refers to "nutcakes" and idiotic remarks". Is that right??

[Guest Guest]

Ronald Reagan fed the people a fairy tale and the people bought it. He told an emotionally compelling narrative about a corrupt government causing all of our problems. The first part is true. The second part is not. The people bought it and since then have insisted that there should never be another tax increase, or any new government program. Neither of those is realistic. Two presidents paid a heavy price for increasing taxes. George H. W. Bush lost his presidency, Clinton lost Congress. But if they hadn't done what they did, the national debt would have swamped us long ago.

The other half of the tale doesn't have as happy an ending. By neglecting infrastructure, energy, health care, education, regulation and environment for decades, we have dug ourselves a very deep hole. We had thirty-five years to free ourselves from our dependence on oil but we didn't do it. The oil companies have had a stranglehold on our government, and with the help of people who had their bellies full and weren't thinking long term, they kept control of energy policy in the U.S. all these years. The price we are paying is huge. Paying for gas should be as visible to people as taxes but somehow people just assume it's part of life. In truth, taxes - which people have been paying for thousands of years - are more permanent than expenditures on gas and oil, which one day will be replaced by something else, hopefully something less costly.

If we had invested in our future as a country over these past 35 years, we would be far better off than we are. But because we allowed Reagan to convince us that there was no such thing as a good government program - notwithstanding the spectacular success of the highway and space programs, the development of nuclear technology and our military - we buried our heads in the sand and ignored the future. If we had done that in the 1940s, Japan and Germany would have gotten nuclear weapons first, and we might not have won World War II. Government programs won that war and put the U.S. on the moon first. We have foolishly ignored our history and our emerging needs.

Now we have to pay the price for our ignorance. It is a very heavy price and it's not President Obama's fault. Not one bit his fault. We did this to ourselves and undoing it is going to be painful. Not undoing it will be even more painful in the long run.

That's the truth. But as is often the case, many people do not wish to hear the truth. You can usually tell who they are. They are the ones who refuse to discuss the facts.

[Guest 2smart4u]

Ronald Reagan fed the people a fairy tale and the people bought it. He told an emotionally compelling narrative about a corrupt government causing all of our problems. The first part is true. The second part is not. The people bought it and since then have insisted that there should never be another tax increase, or any new government program. Neither of those is realistic. Two presidents paid a heavy price for increasing taxes. George H. W. Bush lost his presidency, Clinton lost Congress. But if they hadn't done what they did, the national debt would have swamped us long ago.

The other half of the tale doesn't have as happy an ending. By neglecting infrastructure, energy, health care, education, regulation and environment for decades, we have dug ourselves a very deep hole. We had thirty-five years to free ourselves from our dependence on oil but we didn't do it. The oil companies have had a stranglehold on our government, and with the help of people who had their bellies full and weren't thinking long term, they kept control of energy policy in the U.S. all these years. The price we are paying is huge. Paying for gas should be as visible to people as taxes but somehow people just assume it's part of life. In truth, taxes - which people have been paying for thousands of years - are more permanent than expenditures on gas and oil, which one day will be replaced by something else, hopefully something less costly.

If we had invested in our future as a country over these past 35 years, we would be far better off than we are. But because we allowed Reagan to convince us that there was no such thing as a good government program - notwithstanding the spectacular success of the highway and space programs, the development of nuclear technology and our military - we buried our heads in the sand and ignored the future. If we had done that in the 1940s, Japan and Germany would have gotten nuclear weapons first, and we might not have won World War II. Government programs won that war and put the U.S. on the moon first. We have foolishly ignored our history and our emerging needs.

Now we have to pay the price for our ignorance. It is a very heavy price and it's not President Obama's fault. Not one bit his fault. We did this to ourselves and undoing it is going to be painful. Not undoing it will be even more painful in the long run.

That's the truth. But as is often the case, many people do not wish to hear the truth. You can usually tell who they are. They are the ones who refuse to discuss the facts.

See kids, this is why your parents tell you to "just say no". This poor fool is blaming Comrade zerO's socialist nanny state entitlement spending frenzy on Reagan. The trillions that zerO is spending on socialist give-away programs are Reagans fault.

This pervasive far left Loony mentality is why the Tea Party has become a force in politics. Hawaii has just elected a Republican in Comrade zerO's home district, Specter is out in PA., Reed is done, Pelosi is history and in Nov. we will take back Congress from the Kool-Aid crowd.

After the Nov. elections we'll start a countdown of the days left in office for zerO.

BTW, all presidents have always celebrated Memorial Day by having a ceremony at Arlington Cemetery to honor our war dead. Comrade zerO is breaking tradition and will spend Memorial Day in Chicago instead, hanging out with his terrorist buddies. (I wonder what Autonomous thinks about this)?

[Guest You're a funny guy]

This is by far the most rambling, nonsensical, hodgepodge of ramdom disconnected thoughts I've ever read. Come back when you're sober and try it again.

This is just too rich even for you. You call anything you don't agree with rambling, hodgepodge, etc, yet consider your typical response of "Kool Aid alert" as a poignant, well presented, logical response. Maybe your 3rd grade comprehension level is the problem. You make Screech Palin look scholarly.

[Guest Guest]

Let's see, you want me to pay attention to the opposing argument when the opposing argument refers to "nutcakes" and idiotic remarks". Is that right??

Yes, just as I expect President Obama and every public official to ignore the nasty remarks thrown their way and do their jobs, I expect you to do your job as a citizen. It's no problem at all if you truly are committed to acting like a patriotic citizen. Just ignore the personal remarks and focus on the issues. If you do, you will find that the nasty remarks will quickly subside, and then stop.

[Guest Guest]

Let's see, you want me to pay attention to the opposing argument when the opposing argument refers to "nutcakes" and idiotic remarks". Is that right??

Yes, and "lying scumbag" too. You're a lying scumbag suggesting that the reason you're not addressing any actual arguments has anything to do with the many names you have been called, especially when you're the biggest name caller here. (Loony, Comrade ZerO, etc.)

The truth is exactly what was recently said about you and has been said many times. You're an aggravating, juvenile person who doesn't discuss issues and doesn't think past your own biases and preconceived ideas.

But you can feel free to look past all of that and talk about the issues, since you keep opening topics. There would be no other honest reason to do it.

Which probably explains why you don't do it, since you've proved yourself, yet again, to be a

LYING RIGHT WING SCUMBAG.

[Guest Guest]

This poor fool is blaming Comrade zerO's socialist nanny state entitlement spending frenzy on Reagan. The trillions that zerO is spending on socialist give-away programs are Reagans fault.

Wrong again, you

LYING RIGHT WING SCUMBAG.

Reagan is being blamed, properly, for ignoring our long-term needs and convincing people that government is their enemy, and for tripling the debt after promising to eliminate it. As has been observed repeatedly, President Obama has incurred additional debt to save the economy from collapse and establish a health care system that will bring affordable care to everyone, as opposed to having 47 million uninsured under the old law.

BTW, all presidents have always celebrated Memorial Day by having a ceremony at Arlington Cemetery to honor our war dead. Comrade zerO is breaking tradition and will spend Memorial Day in Chicago instead, hanging out with his terrorist buddies. (I wonder what Autonomous thinks about this)?

Also a complete lie, you

LYING RIGHT WING SCUMBAG.

Reagan skipped the ceremony in 1983 and didn't even send the Vice President. Bush 41 skipped it in 1992 and sent VP Quayle. Monkey Boy skipped it in 2002 to go off to Europe. See the list at http://www.usmemorialday.org/remarks.html.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201005250034

http://mediamatters.org/research/201005260069

http://mediamatters.org/blog/201005260041

http://mediamatters.org/research/201005250053

http://liberalmedianot.blogspot.com/2010/0...eremony-at.html

http://iarnuocon.newsvine.com/_news/2010/0...wing-freaks-out

So, just in case anyone missed it, you are a

LYING RIGHT WING SCUMBAG.

Do you get that, stupid? You are lying and you got caught. Again.

You have no conscience at all about

LYING

about the President, now that he's a Democrat.

Don't you ever get tired or at least embarrassed about

LYING?

A true military man would have the

CHARACTER

to

ADMIT his error and APOLOGIZE.

But since you have no character, you will not apologize. Therefore it is obvious that you never served in the military, as you falsely claim and that you are

LYING

about that too,

SCUMBAG.