Tornado Alley (PROG)

[wbmw]

Hogsgeteaten, all of what you are saying is common sense, but it does not contradict what I've been saying.

I assume you have an income, you spend less than you make or you have to borrow to enhance, right? Gov gets x in revs and then spends y. If y is more than x, it is a deficit, right? I am not spouting some philosophy here, it is basic math. And history. No matter how much revs the govs get they always spend more. I am not saying gov spending is all bad or even deficts bad, just saying the govs are good at some things and not so good at others.

All true, but if this implies that the government should spend money like you and I spend money, then I disagree. Just like another person responded, if you understand the Keynesian economic model, you'll know why many progressives believe the government should be spending their way out of a an economic downturn, and tightening the belt when things are going smoothly.

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

Govs created the internet in the military and what a boom to mankind. Please get the gov to work on what to do next, I am all for it, that will grow our nation's abilities and effeciencies.

The next big thing is alternative energy. Other nations are moving on it in a big way, while the U.S. is still largely oil and coal based. That will put us far behind later this century. If we had invested early with Jimmy Carter, we might have a leadership position today. It was Reagan who reversed Carter's investments, and put our tax dollars back towards subsidizing oil.

I'm not trying to point fingers, but we should be able to learn from this, and not repeat the same mistakes. Obama is investing in alternative energy. We as Americans should support that, because it will be a source of premium jobs in the future.

But a nanny state replacing the decision making process for millions of people is not productive or "progressive", it is regressive. And we can always count on fraud, waste, good ol' boy payoffs, when any gov gets their paws on the money. It has always been and will always be.

And the same goes for the private sector, when the corporations become "Too Big to Fail", and they kill their competitors by using the power of their money and lobbies. I can tell you which sectors are having problems with this right now:

- Investment banking
- Oil
- Agri-business farming
- Health insurance
- Pharmaceuticals

In each of these categories, there are a small hand full of mega-corporations with tons of "fraud, waste, and good ol' boy payoffs." Just like the government can cause us aggrivation if we let it control too big of a piece of something, so can the private industry.

So I have to confront your cynicism again. Not that I claim you shouldn't be concerned about big government, but you should know the difference between an administration that's out of control, and one which is very sincere about changing the direction of the country.

Obama's administration is the latter, they were voted in to change things, but due to the obstructionist minority party, that change isn't happening, and people are frustrated. Obama has good ideas that even the Republicans agree are good ideas, when the Republicans aren't blocking those ideas because it's good politics.

Again, it's not about pure blame, but you need to know what's going on, and you need to know how to direct your voice to make sure the right things happen. Obama needs support from the American people that the change they voted for in 2008 is something that they are willing to ask for again now. The state senators and representatives that are blocking legislation need to either come up with a better solution, or get out of the way and let the rest of Congress do the will of the American people.

And it's up to us to let the majority party know that while we do want change, we also want responsible change. Fortunately, Obama is being very transparent with his administration, and making sure that much of what goes on is done in the open. Legislation is online, and he's been consistent with his high level objectives since the beginning. We could be getting health care reform, clean energy reform, education reform, banking reform, and so many other things that can move this country forward, but it's all getting blocked by the obstructionist minority party.

And it's obviously intentional partisan politics, because when the votes do come to the floor on some issues, the measures usually pass with large numbers. Now, try to figure that out. A senator is willing to fillibuster something, but then he votes for it later...? That's not genuine concern - it's intentional obstructionism, and it's time America knows what these guys are doing.