That sounds like the government being run like a business.
No. That is using the government for someone else's business.
That sounds like the government being run like a business.
Yes. The purpose of government is to support and enable the prosperity of everyone. Obviously the most prosperous half of society doesn't need as much support as the least prosperous half. Do you see any sense in the notion that an Olympic weightlifter should receive exactly the same amount of assistance in carrying groceries as a frail grandmother receives?
No. That is using the government for someone else's business.
Yes. The purpose of government is to support and enable the prosperity of everyone. Obviously the most prosperous half of society doesn't need as much support as the least prosperous half. Do you see any sense in the notion that an Olympic weightlifter should receive exactly the same amount of assistance in carrying groceries as a frail grandmother receives?
Who's business should the government be used for? You said the military was used for the business of government insiders. If the government was a business, those insiders would basically be the owners and shareholders.
A lot of it is a matter of timing - the Olympic weight lifter isn't necessarily an Olympic Weight lifter for ever! He'll likely need help too when he gets to be a doddering old f**ker. In exchange he helps pack the groceries while he can.
You have zero concept of business.
Interesting concept.So what you're saying is people should give according to their ability and receive according to their need.
Interesting concept.So what you're saying is people should give according to their ability and receive according to their need.
Interesting concept.So what you're saying is people should give according to their ability and receive according to their need.
lol doesn't seem like you do either. Why can't you explain how government should be run like a business? The idea sounds impressive and people who don't want to think about difficult concepts just toss it around, but you ask them to explain it and they can't. Go ahead and tell us how and why this would work.
Agreed, however, what you have described is the moderate position of what should be the role of gvt.
Where we are at present is no where near that moderate position.
in terms of the prosperity issue, there does come a time when the (ever) increasing costs and reliance on that demographic breaks the camels back and they, well, leave... Case in point, look to France's marginal tax rate of 75% on income over 1 million Euros... Didn't increase the tax revenues in the nation's accounts but did a helluva job of driving out those individuals and businesses that were subject to the increase
Interesting concept.So what you're saying is people should give according to their ability and receive according to their need.
lol doesn't seem like you do either. Why can't you explain how government should be run like a business? The idea sounds impressive and people who don't want to think about difficult concepts just toss it around, but you ask them to explain it and they can't. Go ahead and tell us how and why this would work.
Of course. It's the eternal struggle. How much is too much? How much is too little (for example, education spending or old-age pensions) to enable people to live well (kinda the sine qua non of civilization), and how much is too much, stifling the work ethic and creativity?
That's the whole damn point. What irritates me about this board is that everybody with a shred of sense knows this, but people spend so little time discussing the question of how much is too much/too little, and so damn much shrieking their extreme positions.
Even you. Even me. We're smart, sane, educated, informed individuals, yet both of us (me as much as you, and possibly more) retreat into snark and extremism rather than seriously discussing what's important. I'm willing to commit to a sincere effort to try to do more of the latter and less of the former. Care to join me?
The IT dept for any company doesn't make a profit either.
Any thoughts on why companies still fund these money losing depts?
I'm still trying to understand how you make government departments profitable.
I think that the problem is the metrics that some use to measure profitability. How does the military show a profit? ... by giving us the physical security to go about our business and do profitable things. How do you measure the profitability of public education? ... by measuring the vast increases in GDP and standard of living that accompany a well-educated populace. How can public health care be profitable? ... by having a healthy and long lived population, we can all produce far more without as much down time due to sickness.
Bean counters miss the big picture which is why the "run the government like a business" analogy fails.
You fukked up the thread... Fix it DB
The IT dept for any company doesn't make a profit either.
Any thoughts on why companies still fund these money losing depts?
I'm still trying to understand how you make government departments profitable. I think that the problem is the metrics that some use to measure profitability. How does the military show a profit? ... by giving us the physical security to go about our business and do profitable things. How do you measure the profitability of public education? ... by measuring the vast increases in GDP and standard of living that accompany a well-educated populace. How can public health care be profitable? ... by having a healthy and long lived population, we can all produce far more without as much down time due to sickness.
Bean counters miss the big picture which is why the "run the government like a business" analogy fails.
Interesting . So it is business as usual EXCEPT that all the warts are fully exposed.Trump is the establishment. May not be the old establishment but establishment none the less. Packed his cabinet with Wall street cronies, evangelical crooks and his own family. He is doing out in the open what every party in power has ever done under cover.