[quote=meadandale]eavesdropper…my post was simply meant as a tongue in cheek response to the original post on this thread: that government is the solution to all of our problems–that money confiscated by the government from the private sector is ALWAYS spent more wisely and more productively by the government than those that it was confiscated from.

CLEARLY this isn’t the case…

However, even as a conservative, I see the danger in unfettered free markets where externalities are ignored.

I do find it ironic, however, that the very people that advocate larger and larger governments seem to dance around events like the gulf oil spill (we had regulations and bureaucrats to enforce them that were corrupt or incompetent) or the continual problems with the food supply (ecoli in spinach and salmonella in eggs, recently) even though IT is also heavily regulated and we supposedly have an army of bureaucrats and inspectors policing the industry. These are examples of this awesome government that some want more of at work. Of course, some will argue “we just need more regulations and more inspectors”; these are the same people that, in spite of every increasing budgets and flat or declining test scores argue that the solution to declining education efficacy is more money…and of course, more laws and government involvement.[/quote]

I can’t find anything here that I disagree with, meadandale. And I concur that we don’t need more government regulation in many places. I think we need more regulation enforcement. It seems to have escaped the attention of those in charge that regulations aren’t any such thing – unless they’re backed up by enforcement.

I was listening to the congressional hearings on the egg E.coli mess last week. Freakin’ unbelieveable. I was thinking that if the Federal and state inspectors don’t want to do their jobs – and that means the entire job, which isn’t simply issuing citations – they should resign. There are plenty of people who are ready, able, and – thanks to across-the-board high unemployment rates – more than qualified to step in their shoes.

And while we’re at it, can we outlaw Congressional hearings? They’re an exercise in vanity, a heaven-sent opportunity for publicity to be used at campaign time, and the way in which Congressional members attempt to show the folks back home how hard they’re working. They waste several days lobbing “tough” questions and disingenuous claims of outrage at whatever poor slob is behind the microphone, and then proceed to do nothing further. Seriously, what do you want to bet that we have another E.coli and salmonella outbreak at another egg producer within a year?

What does worry me these days is the level of polarization among our citizenry. My belief is that most people in this country, when you get right down to the basics, want the same things and are worried about the same things. But that’s gotten lost in all the insane infighting and namecalling and false accusations, which, for the most part, has been incited by those with something to gain from it: politicians who want to stay in office, lobbyists who want something from them, and pundits/political commentators who want high ratings and advertising revenue and worshipful fans. We’re destroying ourselves for the sake of these asswipes.