Things the government runs well

[ClosedCaption]

Oh this is one of those threads that purport to show how Government cant run anything because it isnt perfect.

911 happened that means our National Defense SUCKS
Some Veterans had problems so that means our Hospitals SUCK

If that is the case, either everyone here is perfect or they really hate their imperfect lives and therefore their lives should be scrapped

That's a strawman argument.

Our defense doesn't suck. But no one is going to argue it is run efficiently or cost-effectively.
Our hospitals in the VA system suck, not because of some isolated incident but because VA hospitals regularly have issues delivering quality care at reasonable prices to patients.

Every hospital has issues delivering quality care at reasonable prices....so what now? By these standards Honda should go out of business because the Civics were killing people.

EVERY single business or government program can be run 'more efficiently' even the most efficient hospital could stand to be 'more efficient'. So I dont understand the issue. Should we say the entire government sucks at providing services because someone, somewhere hit a pot hole and had car damage?

I hear it all the time like small time complaints being blown up to mean something greater like:
"The lines at the DMV are so long....Government cant Run anything right"
"The Post Office isnt as effcient as Fed Ex...Government cant run anything right"
"This food is tainted....Government cant run anything right"

Pretending that until there is perfection in Government, Government sucks

 

[RDD_1210]

And yet 90% of us on this board are products of those gubmint run schools

And boy does it show!

Oh the irony is amazing.

 

[Tom Clancy]

6%

 

[JBeukema]

Currency is one of the few things gov't has done right.

That's funny.

 

[JBeukema]

The only thing the Fed is allowed to run is the DoD. Everything else is unconstitutional.

Try reading the Constitution sometime.

There's a reason they sold the interstate as enabling the postal system.

 

[JBeukema]

And yet 90% of us on this board are products of those gubmint run schools

In many cases we got eddicated in spite of rather than because of

Pretty much all I learned in school was how to read the books at the library.

The rest I mostly learned at the library.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

You understand the Dewey system you can find answers to everything.

They aren't necessarily the right answers though.

 

[JBeukema]

You understand the Dewey system you can find answers to everything.

They aren't necessarily the right answers though.

The best/most extensive libraries don't use Dewey.

Library of Congress Classification Outline - Classification - Cataloging and Acquisitions (Library of Congress)

 

[The Rabbi]

Currency is one of the few things gov't has done right.

That's funny.

Go read a history of money in the U.S. prior to about 1900 and see what a mess there was, with banks and other entities issuing their own currency. It created huge inefficiences.

 

[actsnoblemartin]

my post was not about the government isnt perfect, so lets disband it.

My post was about the government chronicly mismanages, runs programs poorly and screws people intentionally by not caring about them

so, yeah, let the private sector with minor oversight do it

Oh this is one of those threads that purport to show how Government cant run anything because it isnt perfect.

911 happened that means our National Defense SUCKS
Some Veterans had problems so that means our Hospitals SUCK

If that is the case, either everyone here is perfect or they really hate their imperfect lives and therefore their lives should be scrapped

That's a strawman argument.

Our defense doesn't suck. But no one is going to argue it is run efficiently or cost-effectively.
Our hospitals in the VA system suck, not because of some isolated incident but because VA hospitals regularly have issues delivering quality care at reasonable prices to patients.

Every hospital has issues delivering quality care at reasonable prices....so what now? By these standards Honda should go out of business because the Civics were killing people.

EVERY single business or government program can be run 'more efficiently' even the most efficient hospital could stand to be 'more efficient'. So I dont understand the issue. Should we say the entire government sucks at providing services because someone, somewhere hit a pot hole and had car damage?

I hear it all the time like small time complaints being blown up to mean something greater like:
"The lines at the DMV are so long....Government cant Run anything right"
"The Post Office isnt as effcient as Fed Ex...Government cant run anything right"
"This food is tainted....Government cant run anything right"

Pretending that until there is perfection in Government, Government sucks

 

[rightwinger]

Our government has...

Built the strongest military in the history of mankind
Put a man on the moon
Pushed medical research
Kept our food and medical supplies safe
Built the worlds best National Parks system
Constructed an interstate highway system
Managed our communications infrastructure to include satellites
Managed a peaceful transition of power every four years
Kept the worlds oceans open for transportation and commerce

 

[JBeukema]

Currency is one of the few things gov't has done right.

That's funny.

Go read a history of money in the U.S. prior to about 1900 and see what a mess there was, with banks and other entities issuing their own currency. It created huge inefficiences.

Huge what?

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FiaUpeJxcA[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbyQB8e-rQg[/ame]

 

[antagon]

there's some things that only government can/will do and which are essential for our standard of life. for a country our physical, economic and popular size, the effectiveness of our government in achieving these objectives is more impressive than lots of other country's governments i've witnessed or learned about. nearly every country in the world with over 100million residents is a shithole which ignores many of these functions -- the US defies this trend with three times the population.

 

[antagon]

That's funny.

Go read a history of money in the U.S. prior to about 1900 and see what a mess there was, with banks and other entities issuing their own currency. It created huge inefficiences.

Huge what?

inefficiencies. your austrian gold-standard dollar is just as retarded now as it was 6 months ago.

 

[JBeukema]

A dollar backed by bombs and bullets is a dollar backed by nothing as the American Empire continues to prove itself an empty shell incapable of subjugating the rest of the world.

 

[antagon]

the idea of 'backing' currency is silly to start with independent from its influence on demand. currencies are valued by demand which could be entirely independent from this idea of backing.

i have no idea what you are thinking with this backed by bombs and bullets bit.

 

[JBeukema]

the idea of 'backing' currency is silly to start with independent from its influence on demand.

A piece of paper has no value. Things are good as a common good of exchange because they're considered universally valuable. A huge part of value is rarity. Do you not comprehend that inflating the money supply devalues the currency? Do you not comprehend the most basic tenets of economics? The only reason people originally recognized the dollar as having any value was because it could be exchanged for gold or silver- things already recognized as having value. Being tied to no physical assets means the only reason the dollar is treated as having any value is because you get put in prison for using anything else (see: Liberty Dollar) and the supply is easily inflated, thereby devaluing the the currency and fueling rampant inflation- while also enabling massive deficit spending in the form of spending the money right after it's printed and before the inflationary effect hits, thereby hiding the true cost of the expenses.

i have no idea what you are thinking with this backed by bombs and bullets bit.

Americans are threatened at gunpoint to use the dollar. The rest of the world has only been using it because we had the only nukes and we kill anyone who resists.

We began plotting the end of Saddam soon after he announced his wish to switch to the Euro.

 

[antagon]

the idea of 'backing' currency is silly to start with independent from its influence on demand.

A piece of paper has no value. Things are good as a common good of exchange because they're considered universally valuable. A huge part of value is rarity. Do you not comprehend that inflating the money supply devalues the currency? Do you not comprehend the most basic tenets of economics? The only reason people originally recognized the dollar as having any value was because it could be exchanged for gold or silver- things already recognized as having value.

there's no such thing as objectively or universally valuable in economics. value is determined at the point of transaction, such that any and every thing is valued based on supply and demand. for this reason, if you inflate the supply of fiat, you degrade the value. in the end, a piece of paper which is printed up as legal tender has the ascribed value in the marketplace, making your claim that paper money has no value sound ridiculous. the idea that it is backed by rocks, no matter how rare, has little impact on its demand vs supply: hence, that is what determines the value of currency nowadays.

before this system was adopted, demand for currency would increase, but supply was tied to a ratio with gold. this non-sequitur relationship caused stagflation in the money supply for the first decade of the great depression.

reserves are still used, of course, but they are not the determinants of the value of money. this remains in the purview of the market's disposition informed by the amount and specie of reserves, among the necessity to acquire currency for commerce or investment, among other reasons. the greenback is mined at the treasury and is as rare and precious as monetary policy prescribes.

i have no idea what you are thinking with this backed by bombs and bullets bit.

Americans are threatened at gunpoint to use the dollar. The rest of the world has only been using it because we had the only nukes and we kill anyone who resists.

We began plotting the end of Saddam soon after he announced his wish to switch to the Euro.

the primary reason why the dollar is used is because it is useful. all of this about gunpoint and nukes takes a back seat to the fact that it is an international and domestic currency, by far the most popular, and it is backed up by our economy to a greater extent than by our military might. our economy indicates the solvency of our government, the issuer, and at once constitutes a major target for dollar-based investment, hence dollar acquisition.

what will you have us use, alternatively?

 

[JBeukema]

for this reason, if you inflate the supply of fiat, you degrade the value

No fucking shit. I just said that.

the idea that it is backed by rocks, no matter how rare, has little impact on its demand vs supply

That each note is tied to a set amount of a given thing (eg: a set amout of gold or silver per the Coinage Act) means that the money supply cannot easily be inflated, hence stabilizing supply and, in turn, the value of the currency and prices.

This is monetary inflation 101, guy.

before this system was adopted, demand for currency would increase, but supply was tied to a ratio with gold.

Most everyday transactions involved silver, actually.

It worked for thousands of years.

the greenback is mined at the treasury and is as rare and precious as monetary policy prescribes.

That's high-larious.

backed up by our economy to a greater extent than by our military might

Really? You really think the American economy is something you want to back anything with? Do you realize how fucked up the American economic condition has been since before I was born. We can't keep delaying things forever, and every time we try, we make the next crises- and the ultimate collapse- worse.

Here: go learn something

Literature :: Mises Institute

 

[antagon]

That each note is tied to a set amount of a given thing (eg: a set amout of gold or silver per the Coinage Act) means that the money supply cannot easily be inflated, hence stabilizing supply and, in turn, the value of the currency and prices.

This is monetary inflation 101, guy.

this is not how currency works anywhere that's not ass backwards, beukema. fixed reserves? this is stupid, like steam powered motorized coaches.

again, economies demand currency, and if a system is available whereby this demand determines the price of the currency against its supply, that system would prevent monetary stagflation whereby scarce reserves are required to justify the tender put into market. there is no fixed relationship between rocks and money unless it is arbitrarily declared. this silly idea is deprecated in favor of free-floating currencies which operate more efficiently albeit in ways which you think are high-larious.

the comedians at the mises institute haven't schooled you on the way the world works prior to convincing you that the way it worked in 1860 was better. they are wrong, and you are only an extension of that ignorance beholden to a myth that cash and silver or gold or oil have a real, fixed relationship.