Government is not a choice. Government is a necessity.

[kentuck]

As Republicans stroll along the streets singing about the evils of "big government", it has never been more obvious that we need our "government" to fix the massive problem with unemployment in this country. We do not need that many unemployed. Why should we care?

People need jobs because jobs can add meaning to their lives. But let's face the truth: The private sector is not going to fix our roads, they are not going to re-build our bridges. They are not going to repair our infrastructure on their own. It's just too big of a job to undertake. That is why we have to have government take the lead in rebuilding our infrastructure.

But, of course, the government can do nothing if the private sector is not involved. For example, if there is a bridge that needs repaired or built, the government does not stop people on the street and ask if they "know how to build a bridge"??

Government goes to the existing private sector, including small construction companies, and take bids for the jobs that need to be done. The private sector benefits from their work and their hiring others to work for them. Government leads but government is not taking the profit from the infrastructure that benefits us all. That is how government serves us all, regardless of your Party affiliation.

[Enthusiast]

1. Timely idea-government.

I keed.

To have government we must have revenue. One cannot operate a first class nation without revenue. All the big things this nation has every done, and all the small things this nation has ever done, it did through taxation. The notion that ever lower taxes solves the problems of the nation is simply wrong.

In the 1980s we heard that Reagan was a great president. "They" kept telling us how great Reagan was (I was never a believer). Now the nation has adopted Reagan's core philosophy and use it as a guiding principle, giving it the weight of scripture from on high. Big mistake. Reagan was wrong in 1980s and he's wrong now. Someone should give a Grover Norquist a pie in the face.

[No Elephants]

2. Nothing would be wrong with a government public works department that had people on the payroll.

[Enthusiast]

3. Here we might find some clues

as to why this country now sucks.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2013/06/01/happiest-countries-in-the-world/2377563/

[Divine Discontent]

4. right on!

if we want universal care for our citizens, we're going to have to keep demanding it from our cowardly politicians that say it can't be done. the largesse that was directed towards the rich over the past 40 years has been sickening. there are over a hundred million poor people in our country, and millions of rich folks who couldn't survive on what many of us live off of, without a mental breakdown!

and that list showing well-being and health being so important is something we're going to continue to struggle against having because the haves don't particularly care about the have-nots, and whether we drop over or not! We need a couple hundred Alan Grayson's in the House, and 60 Bernie Sanders' in the Senate - and a whole hellalot less teanuts like Coburn & Paul. Fortunately, the wicked witch of Minn. is retiring! So, that's a start...

[Divine Discontent]

5. ps - seeing the wealth increase dramatically for the wealthy because of stocks

just makes this more aggravating ----- "Oct 20, 2011 – Half Of Americans Made Less Than $27,000 Last Year" there's a lot more people struggling that maybe aren't officially "poor" but they struggle to get by, and there's surely then, well over 100M people barely able to get by in this country while a few million are living like kings and queens.

[Enthusiast]

15. You just don't want a monarch.

See, you are prejudiced against monarchs.

I keed. :hi:

[No Elephants]

7. I don't know about demanding, DD.

They know very well what we want.

We want jobs for Americans.

We want education for our kids that they don't have to spend the first twenty years out of college paying off.

We want medicare for all.

We want an end to corporate welfare.

We don't a tax system that enables companies like G.E. and Facebook to owe zero in taxes.

We don't want the religious beliefs of others forced on us.

And so on.

They already KNOW all that. They don't seem to give a crap.

[No Elephants]

8. Deleted. duplicate post

.

[Enthusiast]

14. I like the way you think, DD!

60 Bernie Sanders'! We could get shit done!

[No Elephants]

6. More places to find clues as to why this country now sucks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Leadership_Council

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Democrats

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Way

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Labels



In a nutshell, the Republican Party swallowed the Democratic Party.

[Enthusiast]

9. "the Republican Party swallowed the Democratic Party."

Corporations swallowed them both.

[No Elephants]

10. True, but Republicans are up front about it.

[Enthusiast]

11. We must continue with the

"good cop - bad cop" illusion (mostly). With the help of the media this is one illusion that is difficult to dispel.

[No Elephants]

12. As I see it, the Democrats have no choice but to do that.

Republicans have the luxury of honesty. They were always openly the party of the wealthy--the coupon clippers who had inherited their money and big business. Well, maybe not always. I don't know about Lincoln's era. At least one time, he mocked the Democrats for being rich.

But, certainly by Truman's day, Democrats were portraying themselves as the party of the little "guy" ("the little woman" having a whole other meaning).

And how can you gin up anti "the other side" emotions enough to GOTV if people perceive both parties as too similar? As it is, huge amounts of Americans don't show up at the polls, especially if the election does not involve the Presidency.

Soon, the vote will cease to matter. Maybe it already has.

After all the brouhaha over "stolen elections," Democrats get Congress and the White House and do what, exactly, to help prevent more "stolen" elections? Well, Waxman held hearings to prove just how easy stealing elections was. No doubt that impressed all three regular viewers of C-Span. Having proved that, Democrats, who supposedly owe their jobs, power and ability to make money outside their day jobs, to clean elections fought for those things by doing what?

Meanwhile, when asked why he did not pursue his claim of a stolen election, Kerry said "I did not want to look like a sore loser."

:wtf:

The guy lived his whole life trying to follow in JFK's footsteps into the Oval Office; and he thinks that he finally won the Presidency, but he just let it go out of some elementary schoolyard concern about what?

Child, please.

(Well, there's another "all over the map " post that proves I have ADD. Too bad I didn't know it while I was in school.)

[Enthusiast]

13. Yeah, I was disappointed in Kerry.

Still am.

They are going to put you at the top of "the list". It's the list for when they start up the ovens again.