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Title: Barry's ex-Budget Boy: Too Much of a Good Thing-Why we need less democracy.
Source:
The New Republic
URL Source: http://www.tnr.com/article/politics ... N2UyMjM2MTNhZGZjNDE2MjE2NjE2Nj
Published: Sep 28, 2011
Author: Petey Orzag
Post Date: 2011-09-28 08:57:12 by Happy Quanzaa
Keywords: Obama-doma-ding-dong, Obamanomics in Action, Corruptocratic Party
Views: 3019
Comments: 6
In an 1814 letter to John Taylor, John Adams wrote that “there never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” That may read today like an overstatement, but it is certainly true that our democracy finds itself facing a deep challenge: During my recent stint in the Obama administration as director of the Office of Management and Budget, it was clear to me that the country’s political polarization was growing worse—harming Washington’s ability to do the basic, necessary work of governing. If you need confirmation of this, look no further than the recent debt-limit debacle, which clearly showed that we are becoming two nations governed by a single Congress—and that paralyzing gridlock is the result. So what to do? To solve the serious problems facing our country, we need to minimize the harm from legislative inertia by relying more on automatic policies and depoliticized commissions for certain policy decisions. In other words, radical as it sounds, we need to counter the gridlock of our political institutions by making them a bit less democratic. The full contents of this article are available to subscribers only. GET TWO WEEKS FREE!
Too Much of a Good Thing
Why we need less democracy.
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#1. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
It's not as counter intuitive as it "sounds". We were never meant to be a democracy, but a republic, and a perusal of Adams' letter underscores this belief. "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide. The jaws of power are always open to devour, and her arm is always stretched out, if possible, to destroy the freedom of thinking, speaking, and writing. Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the People, who have... a right, an indisputable, unalienable, indefeasible, divine right to that most dreaded and envied kind of knowledge, I mean the characters and conduct of their rulers. There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free 'government' ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty. Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among people." This political polarization has rendered consensus, which is the true nature of a republic, moribund.
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
True, but to return to a republic we'll have to take the vote away from the parasites, and that'll never happen. The U.S. probably sealed it's fate when it allowed them access to the ballot box. Democracy is mob rule, and that never works out well.
I don't believe that it's the bums but the bucks. We allow politicians to be bought while never sold. Money has become the new majority. That's the point of Orzag's article here. Ad hoc commitees and commissions are not immune from the influence of money.
America...My Kind Of Place... "I truly am not that concerned about [bin Laden]..." "THE MILITIA IS COMING!!! THE MILITIA IS COMING!!!" I lurk to see if someone other than Myst or Pookie posts anything...
how many times did you call bush43 a boy? 8D As many times as you've typed 'fukushima'....8D "a bit less democratic" Because a Master/Slave Society and Nuclear Science will work O so well together. Tepco: 'Go ahead and cut that pipe. We'll worry about what's in it later.' 8D
With Zero, you don't need to count. It's there for all to see....8D
--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#2. To: war (#1)
(Edited)
#3. To: Happy Quanzaa (#2)
True, but to return to a republic we'll have to take the vote away from the parasites, and that'll never happen.
--GW Bush
--Sarah Palin's version of "The Midnight Ride of Paul revere"
#4. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
a bit less democratic.
#5. To: mcgowanjm (#4)
how many times did you call bush43 a boy?
I don't know, I didn't keep count. Barry's White House reminds me of Romper Room though, I'm sure I've used adjectives that portray them as naive, immature, and childish far more often.
#6. To: Happy Quanzaa (#5)
I don't know, I didn't keep count.
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