Travis Pahl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in part: >> "I voted for X to restrain gov't spending. I didn't want the whole goddamn >> gov't shut down! So now I'm voting for Y, who won't pull that stunt."
>Translation: I got more than I asked for so next time I am going to >ask for the opposite of what I truly want. You completely mischarcterize the situation. They want X amount of spending rather than 1.1 times X. However, given a choice between 1.1 times X and 0.1 times X, they'll take 1.1 times X. >> What makes you think representatives aren't representative, at least in >> general terms? Anyone can be a politician. There's no religious test for >> office. By what freakish bad luck did this irrepresentative sample get in >> office? And the irrepresentative sample that preceded them, etc., all the >> way back to ancient Greece? >1/4 of it is that power currupts. The other 3/4 can be accounted for >the fact that power attracts the currupt. Then don't complain. If it's a law of nature, then obviously there's nothing you can do about it, and you're a fool to even bring it up. >> They were just volunteers interested in civics. They were told, here are >> various desiderata (possible spedning items), confer and make a budget >> based on whatever values you have. >So then they have none of the responsibility of representing people >that have specifically chosent them to reduce spending as real >representatives do. They also were in a hypothetical world where >income was not really coming from anyone. They could increase >spending and no one complains. Of course you end up with big budgets >if you have none of the pressures that real ones have to keep budgets >small. They were trying to play it as realistically as possible. They could increase spending, and the complaint would come from their own sense of its being too much. Or too little, or too whatever. >In your opinion, what is the point of getting elected to office? There could be different motivations for different people. It presents all sorts of attractions: a job a chance to collect bribes a chance to feel important fame doing good padding a resume nobless (or family, or friends) oblige influence for friends However, if you ask them, they'll practically all say, "doing good" in some form or other. >> Then you were suckered. >So you are still denying that the vote has real world implications? THAT vote? (Raising the debt ceiling.) Yes. >> What would a vote of "no" actually do? Everybody would >> honor Treasury checks as if the account weren't overdrawn. In effect, >> they'd be borrowing from their creditors. >Why do you beleive that banks would dispence money to people with >checks from the Treasury when they got no money from the treasury to >do so? Because they're an excellent risk to cover the overdrafts! In Your Sly Tribe, Robert in the Bronx _______________________________________________ Libnw mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] List info and subscriber options: http://immosys.com/mailman/listinfo/libnw Archives: http://immosys.com/mailman//pipermail/libnw
