Of course, politics! Always a fun topic! The obvious answer being "neither", but that's not really what this thread is about.
It seems to me that there has to be a 'right' way to do things. A way that is the correct way to respond in times of economic disaster, in times of boom times, in times of war, in times of peace, etc., and these things are theoretically proven in academia and in some cases proven in the 'real' world to work, but neither party really gets to institute their beliefs because half the country thinks they're wrong and the other half is just trying to get in their policies before their 'guy' is out of office.
Seems absolutely destructive to me. Like nothing can ever get done because we keep flying from one extreme to the other. There's no stability at all. Is this really a good way to run the country? Do people really think a bi-party system, or a party system at all, is still a good idea? It would seem so, but why? Poorly educated, selectively educated, or they just don't give a **** because they're too busy worrying about No. 1 at the moment, and aren't concerned with the overarching intricacies of politics and how they are affected by private interests, religion, etc.?
But back to the beginning: how are we ever to figure out which way to run things if we sway back and forth between each extreme every 4 or 8 years? Fiscal conservatism at one point, then spending like it's going out of style at another. It takes a while for such large scale spending to affect the economy to a palpable scale (every 7 years I believe) and by the time it does have an affect, the other party is in office. So if we're doing good people go "I ****ing love this guy! Vote X!", if we're doing bad "**** this guy, I can't afford a new Y, I'm never voting X again!" but I'm not sure 'the masses' know to look back further than the present. Maybe I'm just not giving the masses enough credit.
Anyhow it's frustrating to see politics constantly swung by religion (which should have NO bearing on anything IMO, but that's another 'fun' topic), private interests (bailouts being exploited for personal gain, then the cutting and running with no accountability), foreign interests/investments/wars when our own country is going to **** (did you see the new transportation budget? Reduced by a quarter IIRC). I mean, what the ****? Are we just doomed?
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried", so maybe it's just time for a new system entirely? But I can't imagine people deviating much from their set ways. I guess when things get *really* bad there may be uprising but it's a question of whether the country is run into the ground (and we get invaded/taken over) before any revolution can take place. And during a revolution, what's to say that China or Russia or whomever doesn't just jump at the opportunity to declare war and conquer while we're in-fighting?
We seem very doomed in the long run - extraterrestrial events not even being taken into account.
It seems to me that there has to be a 'right' way to do things. A way that is the correct way to respond in times of economic disaster, in times of boom times, in times of war, in times of peace, etc., and these things are theoretically proven in academia and in some cases proven in the 'real' world to work, but neither party really gets to institute their beliefs because half the country thinks they're wrong and the other half is just trying to get in their policies before their 'guy' is out of office.
Seems absolutely destructive to me. Like nothing can ever get done because we keep flying from one extreme to the other. There's no stability at all. Is this really a good way to run the country? Do people really think a bi-party system, or a party system at all, is still a good idea? It would seem so, but why? Poorly educated, selectively educated, or they just don't give a **** because they're too busy worrying about No. 1 at the moment, and aren't concerned with the overarching intricacies of politics and how they are affected by private interests, religion, etc.?
But back to the beginning: how are we ever to figure out which way to run things if we sway back and forth between each extreme every 4 or 8 years? Fiscal conservatism at one point, then spending like it's going out of style at another. It takes a while for such large scale spending to affect the economy to a palpable scale (every 7 years I believe) and by the time it does have an affect, the other party is in office. So if we're doing good people go "I ****ing love this guy! Vote X!", if we're doing bad "**** this guy, I can't afford a new Y, I'm never voting X again!" but I'm not sure 'the masses' know to look back further than the present. Maybe I'm just not giving the masses enough credit.
Anyhow it's frustrating to see politics constantly swung by religion (which should have NO bearing on anything IMO, but that's another 'fun' topic), private interests (bailouts being exploited for personal gain, then the cutting and running with no accountability), foreign interests/investments/wars when our own country is going to **** (did you see the new transportation budget? Reduced by a quarter IIRC). I mean, what the ****? Are we just doomed?
“It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried", so maybe it's just time for a new system entirely? But I can't imagine people deviating much from their set ways. I guess when things get *really* bad there may be uprising but it's a question of whether the country is run into the ground (and we get invaded/taken over) before any revolution can take place. And during a revolution, what's to say that China or Russia or whomever doesn't just jump at the opportunity to declare war and conquer while we're in-fighting?
We seem very doomed in the long run - extraterrestrial events not even being taken into account.
