Thursday, May 22, 2008
Ride on mom....
I've heard some people complaining about soccer moms using so much gas in their big SUV. To me it seems nuts for a 130 pound person to be riding around in a 4,000 pound truck. But the suggestion that somehow government should stop these people from wasting fuel is misguided. Some folks who are looking for Big Brother to get involved in this problem; as if government could get something or anything right. [IF ANYONE OUT THERE CAN TELL ME SOMETHING THE GOVERNMENT DOES WELL, PLEASE DO.] Anyway, I say let the free market take care of the problem. When gas get high enough the soccer moms will be driving a Fusion and have the kids walking home from school. Who knows, maybe bicycles will become popular?
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Maybe we are not too far away from one lane of traffic reserved for cyclists. Cut energy consumption, reduce emissions, get a handle on obesity, and probably a decrease of average blood pressure as road rage subsides...let the price keep on climbing...
# posted by 
: 5:17 PM
: 5:17 PM 
Fire protection. Utilities. SC DVM is really good now... the National Hurricane Center and the NWS are good. I like public libraries. Roads are nice. The common defense is inefficient, but I'd rather have government doing that than private industry... My kids can go to college because we have state-sponsored universities. That's how I went to school, too.
Thank goodness for the CDC. And the National Archives. And the National Parks Service. The EPA is a problem, but on the bright side, because of the Clean Water Act we no longer have shrimp in Shipyard Creek that burst into flames when exposed to oxygen.
Hampton Park is a great place. I'm glad my tax dollars help pay those people who do the gardening and landscaping there. And you know, the Manhattan Project and the Apollo Program were not only great public sector projects that harnessed the genius of the people, they also paid off with real benefits for our economy.
I'm sure I could think of some more. The point isn't that government is so great. It isn't. But sometimes it's the right tool for the job.
By the way: I'm a bike commuter. It's the way to roll, baby.
Thank goodness for the CDC. And the National Archives. And the National Parks Service. The EPA is a problem, but on the bright side, because of the Clean Water Act we no longer have shrimp in Shipyard Creek that burst into flames when exposed to oxygen.
Hampton Park is a great place. I'm glad my tax dollars help pay those people who do the gardening and landscaping there. And you know, the Manhattan Project and the Apollo Program were not only great public sector projects that harnessed the genius of the people, they also paid off with real benefits for our economy.
I'm sure I could think of some more. The point isn't that government is so great. It isn't. But sometimes it's the right tool for the job.
By the way: I'm a bike commuter. It's the way to roll, baby.
Danial, glad to hear from a fellow biker.
You are right, government does good things. How can anyone argue with libraries, roads and public health? Also, I agree that we don’t want private industry doing governments JOB ONE, national defense
Having agreed with you that government does good things... let me say that I don’t believe the government does any of these functions well. The government accounts for 42% of our GNP, my 18 month old grandson’s portion of the national debt is $175,000.00. I saw an estimate the other day that unfunded government programs will cost $500,000.00 for everyone of us–mainly social security, medicare, medicaid and other social welfare programs associated with baby boomers. So yea, government has done some good things but in the process bankrupted our children. We can’t tax our self out of this problem. At some point raising taxes means less revenue because people simply won’t pay.
To me the welfare program was the perfect example. Everyone one bitching and moaning about welfare moms when 60% of the cost was administrative.
Government could use a little of the free enterprise system–produce goods and services that people want, at a price they are will to pay. School vouchers. If a school doesn’t produce a service that people want, at a price they are will to pay, the school goes away.
How about this, a social welfare program run by the IRS? The more you make the more you pay the IRS and the less you make the more IRS pays you –this was actually proposed by Richard Nixon as away to reduce the large administrative costs associated with government run programs.
I think we need to go back to a 30% of GNP for government and make it work–a good start would be to eliminate the federal departments of agriculture, commerce and education.. If some have to step up and take personal responsibility for their lives it would be a good thing for them and for the rest of us.
Got to run, I’m tired from lots of miles on the bike taxi yesterday.
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You are right, government does good things. How can anyone argue with libraries, roads and public health? Also, I agree that we don’t want private industry doing governments JOB ONE, national defense
Having agreed with you that government does good things... let me say that I don’t believe the government does any of these functions well. The government accounts for 42% of our GNP, my 18 month old grandson’s portion of the national debt is $175,000.00. I saw an estimate the other day that unfunded government programs will cost $500,000.00 for everyone of us–mainly social security, medicare, medicaid and other social welfare programs associated with baby boomers. So yea, government has done some good things but in the process bankrupted our children. We can’t tax our self out of this problem. At some point raising taxes means less revenue because people simply won’t pay.
To me the welfare program was the perfect example. Everyone one bitching and moaning about welfare moms when 60% of the cost was administrative.
Government could use a little of the free enterprise system–produce goods and services that people want, at a price they are will to pay. School vouchers. If a school doesn’t produce a service that people want, at a price they are will to pay, the school goes away.
How about this, a social welfare program run by the IRS? The more you make the more you pay the IRS and the less you make the more IRS pays you –this was actually proposed by Richard Nixon as away to reduce the large administrative costs associated with government run programs.
I think we need to go back to a 30% of GNP for government and make it work–a good start would be to eliminate the federal departments of agriculture, commerce and education.. If some have to step up and take personal responsibility for their lives it would be a good thing for them and for the rest of us.
Got to run, I’m tired from lots of miles on the bike taxi yesterday.
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