Comments on: Ineffective Government

By: Rollory

Rollory — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 18:00:48 +0000

Mr. Adams: I believe Mr. Johnson’s point is that large majorities of the public supporting or opposing a policy has no impact on what policies actually get implemented, because the people implementing policies are never affected by democratic processes; with the implication that the government of the USA is representative of the people and responsive to their preferences in pretense only.

By: Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 17:07:19 +0000

You could be making the point that there’s so much paralysis that the government can’t openly do even popular things, but at the same time there is no shortage of actual overt action on unpopular things like — just to pick one example — TARP.

That doesn’t worry politicians?

By: Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 16:54:23 +0000

You’d think that 80% of voters being in favor of something would mean that politicians wouldn’t fear their potential opponents exploiting that issue against them.

By: Scott Adams

Scott Adams — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 15:05:49 +0000

Steve Johnson:

What giant hole in my logic did you hallucinate?

By: RL

RL — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:17:19 +0000

Cf. the oft-cited factoid that 92% of NRA members support “universal background checks.” That the factual premise is obviously false isn’t the point.

By: Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 00:52:30 +0000

I mean, if something like 80% of voters agree on an issue, it’s a no-brainer. But our ineffective government couldn’t pass a law that had overwhelming support because, I suppose, it is bad for reelection if someone labels you pro-drug.

You'd think he'd rethink the who isn't budging and the why they aren't changing their position rather than making the silly assertion that supporting a policy that 80% of voters support could be bad for reelection. Maybe that giant hole in his logic will cause him to notice things, and maybe it won't, but the only interesting writers are those who mull over that particular why. Mulling over that why also gets you ejected from the public debate, unless you come to the "right" conclusions — that the religious right and Fox news have such a stranglehold on the country that they can keep an unpopular policy around.

By: Alrenous

Alrenous — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 22:44:26 +0000

Try attacking the government. You’ll find it functions quite well. It just isn’t a democracy in any sense except optically.