Thread: The Nanny State

You know, it is not the government's role to regulate personal choices like salt in food, smoking and so on. That is the role of the insurance companies.

James.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

This is truly one of my pet peeves. Young folks today have no idea of the USA as a manufacturing economy where a man could support his family, have a home with two cars, wife who had the option of staying home and taking care of the kids ... made enough to support all that and send the kids to college and had a viable retirement through pension plans. It is as Gary Oldman's character in Dracula says in disgust, "Only a tale to be told."

Indeed Jimmy....indeed. A tale I'll never forget.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

You know, it is not the government's role to regulate personal choices like salt in food, smoking and so on. That is the role of the insurance companies.

James.

That really is not the insurance companies role either to regulate personal choices. They are personal choices. It really does not matter who does the regulating, the government directly or the insurance companies indirectly. It all amounts to the same thing in the end and it has always puzzled me why people object to one and not the other. One thing for sure you will be regulated one way or the other.

Bob

Jimmy

You got guys in the US have company, that has happened to a few countries in the last 20 or more years. It was done by corporations, allowed to happen by governments and most people slept through it waking up too late. It did not happen over night but over an extended period of time. Yea, a bed time story for future generations to dream on.

Bob

Well, in the first case a representatively elected entity is controlling your behaviour through regulation and law. So it ceases to become a personal choice (apart from the whole voting thing) and of course people (not of the same political persuasion as the elected entity) don't like that. The objective function is re-election, and so if the majority of people don't like it the govt. don't get another crack at it next time.

In the second case, an unelected and unrepresentative entity is controlling your behaviour through money and through lobbying for regulation and through direct or indirect control of the legislators and the world's financial markets. The objective function is making money, so if the majority of people don't like it, tough cookies. The only people that matter are the share holders, where more money = better.

James.

Speaking of Nanny State and the government generally just inserting themselves into places they have no business in, this guy Bloomberg (NYC mayor) is just off the chain with government controll of everything. First it was saturated fats, then it was salt, then there was the large soda prohibition, now this:
Mayor Bloomberg's infant formula plan aimed at promoting breast-feeding in NYC hospitals - HealthPop - CBS News

Now let me see if I understand this. It's OK for a woman to kill an unwanted child and anyone who says otherwise is a right wing nut job but somehow it's the government's place to make sure that said woman is breast feeding any children she allows to live. No wonder Flah ri da is full of refugees from the PRNY (Peoples Republic of New York) No doubt if Bloomberg was my mayor, I'd be leaving town on the first thing smokin'. It's absolutely disgusting to follow up a class act like Rudy Guliani with an ass clown like this guy.

Originally Posted by BobH

Jimmy

You got guys in the US have company, that has happened to a few countries in the last 20 or more years. It was done by corporations, allowed to happen by governments and most people slept through it waking up too late. It did not happen over night but over an extended period of time. Yea, a bed time story for future generations to dream on.

Bob

I want to write a paper on that one day Bob. I am going to call it "How Globalization killed Capital D Democracy."

America has been the single largest player when it comes to influencing international business and policy. Free trade and globalization are fantastic ways to make educated nations corporations extremely powerful and rich!! The problem is (and this will be disputed hard as people still believe in trickle down economics), is these company's aren't giving back proportionality and the country's aren't built on a system where such a large amount of wealth is so concentrated.

As these company's take more and more wealth and become more and more efficient (read kill off the middle class), they become the sole providers of information (who owns the media?) and more importantly... the sole source of cash for government!

I truly believe that! If that wasn't the case - why is it no one seemingly wants to talk about the Libor scandal?

Originally Posted by BobH

Jimmy

You got guys in the US have company, that has happened to a few countries in the last 20 or more years. It was done by corporations, allowed to happen by governments and most people slept through it waking up too late. It did not happen over night but over an extended period of time. Yea, a bed time story for future generations to dream on.

Bob

Paraphrasing, they came for the blue collar jobs and I didn't say anything because I wasn't a blue collar ..... they came for the textile workers jobs and I didn't say anything because I wasn't a textile worker ..... they came for the communications workers jobs..... and on and on. And some people accuse me of being a nationalist .... I guess if the shoe fits ..... and it does, I gotta wear it.

Aw stop yer bellyaching. There's plenty of opportunity at Mc Donalds and yer local landscaping outfit and the good old U.S Army.

And remember, crime pays.

James

The point is not really who does the regulating or how but that it will be done one way or the other and in some cases both ways. You really have not much choice in the matter. Does it really make a difference if you are directly told you can or cannot do something or are made an offer you can/have to refuse because you can't afford it financially? It is simply a matter of which way you prefer to get the bad news.

David

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind capitalism at all, but globalization is a particularly unsavory and virulent form of capitalism run completely a muck. People still think in terms of nations and what is good for their nation while corporation have not thought this way in a long while. They owe allegiance to themselves alone and the bottom line exclusively. You could possibly even say that there is a defacto form of world government and it is not elected by anyone. The Libor scandal got about 2 days worth of air time here and then just disappeared. If you ever get around to writing that book it is going to be pretty thick or multiple volumes.

Jimmy

I was a blue collar worker all my life and watched it all unfold in slow motion with nothing I could do about it. I was one of those damned over paid union workers, some people have been known to think unions imply communism, and am probability a dinosaur now near the last of a generation. I had a good life, have a modest paid for house, drive 2 yr old car and retired early at 56 on a reduced pension. Got out just barely in time. As a high school drop out I have to chuckle when I hear people that are far better educated whining about being out of work and not being able to find meaningful employment. Nobody is untouchable, just higher up the food chain. Your paraphrasing works very well.

Bob