Quote from OldTrader:
I favor a smaller, less obtrusive government (not that we have that right now obviously). I don't want national health care. I don't want the government meddling with our energy. I think you'll find out that when the government gets involved, they become part of the problem. They don't solve anything.
It's true that government agencies tend to be inefficient wastes. However I doubt we can say government doesn't solve anything, its simply that the things that they do solve pass us by as common place. For example, freedom. The fact that our country even exists as it does today, the greatest country on earth, we owe to government. The fact that we choose our leaders. The fact that women and blacks can vote, the fact that if I have a heart attack in the middle of the street I will be rushed to the nearest hospital and treated by some of the best doctors on earth. The fact that a mother of 3 whos husband dies in Iraq can apply for federal aid, so her children can grow up to me what ever they want. I could go on and on, but I think you catch my drift. We owe a great deal to our government.
With Obama you going to see an expansion of the federal government, over what it already is. I'm not for that. I don't want the government programs, I don't want my taxes raised, I want to cut spending...because there is huge bloat at all levels of government.
To put it bluntly: Who does? Not me. However we have to find solutions for the problems we have, and as of now, they are many. If you don't want taxes raised, how can we pay for all the programs we need to move forward? No one likes to pay more taxes, the fact that only the top 5% have to deal with the increase (which btw is less than they paid under clinton) is a compromise. We all want to cut spending, however we can't just cut spending on everything all at once, the gov employs a lot of people. It's a process. We have to provide reasonable solutions to our problems. It's really not about what we like or dislike, or what we would want the country to be like. We have to take into account the country as a whole and it's problems and then attempt to deal with them effectively, assuming we have an effective way of dealing with these problems (not saying we do) then they may or may not be ideal for you, but thats ok. It's about solutions.
So Jon, we're going to have to agree to disagree. I'm as dissatisfied with government as you are...but I want less of it, not more of it.
Of course, and I can live with that. However, as per your response, its not about what you or I like personally (in fact I hold pretty much the same opinions as you in those regards), its about what we have to do to confront our nations problems.
OldTrader [/B]