I'm thinking that only passing about 70 laws has to be a good thing. With the minutia of the hundreds of laws passed every session in California, one breaks laws merely by existing.
There is something particularly tacky about dropping the benefit on Christmas; they could at least wait until January. But I guess it shows a really strong stand on principle, as they will not be badgered by sentiment.
Honestly you haven't thought it through. I realize there's a fair segment of people who think everything the federal government does is bad and hence, gridlock saves us from more but this is a country, not a loose federation of 50 fiefdoms.
There are issues that affect all of us and a locked-down government does nothing but degrade our economic power.
Actually, my thoughts were along the lines of he governs best who governs least. (there is a great Will Rogers quote in there I can't remember).
It has nothing to do with everything the fed gov't doing is bad, sheesh, you know I'm not a libertarian.
"There are issues that affect all of us and a locked-down government does nothing but degrade our economic power." What Laws were not passed that caused our economic power to be degraded. (other than not extending unemployment bennies, which could be debatable, but I am willing to give you).
Existing on the wrong side of an arbitrarily-drawn geopolitical boundary sure can. Especially if said person chooses to willingly go to the wrong side of said line without following the proper channels.
Well, look - the Republicans in Congress were elected on a platform to do something about growing and expensive government. The only thing that they've managed to accomplish has been to ensure that existing laws are inadequately implemented due to underfunding, are run by an increasingly hermetic and power-grabbing White House, and impose mandates upon the marketplace whose scope is unclear and whose enforcement. Their only "success" on the budget from came from the "sequester," a broad and unprincipled reduction of discretionary spending that leaves entirely unaddressed the long-term systemic budgetary problems that they were elected to fix while at the same time imposing shocking the economy at precisely the same time it is struggling to create jobs. After electing a class of representatives and senators who were supposed to shake up the Washington establishment, we now have Republicans in Congress that are even more highly focussed on keeping their jobs (or on obtaining "promotions") than the previous establishment politicians were.
It is simply wrong to think that "doing nothing" is a means toward accomplishing your policy preferences in the current environment in Washington. "Doing nothing" has simply ensured that bad law continues to be bad law, that bad budgets continue to be bad budgets, and that an establishment whose agenda had previously been driven by special interests and machine politics is now wholly preoccupied by its own self-perpetuation. You and your compatriots could have elected competent politicians who could look at a beast like Obamacare and find bipartisan solutions to specific, identifiable problems with that legislation, but instead you and your compatriots have elected politicians who only know how to make pie-in-the-sky demands from which they will not budge, while they focus their energies on fundraising and publicity. How that better serves your interests - assuming, I suppose, that bad governance has not been your goal all along - I don't understand.
I appreciate your intensity (and even agree in principle), but I feel it is a bit misdirected toward my comments; which was more aimed at for example, California passing it's typical 800 laws a year.
(I realize this is old, but I took a few days off lj and found it to be so relaxing, it was a chore to start commenting again :D)
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 03:03 pm (UTC)With the minutia of the hundreds of laws passed every session in California, one breaks laws merely by existing.
no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 04:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 11:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 11:23 pm (UTC)they could at least wait until January. But I guess it shows a really strong stand
on principle, as they will not be badgered by sentiment.
no subject
Date: 2013-12-25 05:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 06:25 pm (UTC)There are issues that affect all of us and a locked-down government does nothing but degrade our economic power.
no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 10:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 11:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 11:16 pm (UTC)It has nothing to do with everything the fed gov't doing is bad, sheesh, you know I'm not a libertarian.
"There are issues that affect all of us and a locked-down government does nothing but degrade our economic power."
What Laws were not passed that caused our economic power to be degraded. (other than not extending unemployment bennies, which could be debatable, but I am willing to give you).
no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 10:31 pm (UTC)Nobody is illegal, and existence, should not make one a criminal.
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Date: 2013-12-24 11:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 11:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-25 05:20 am (UTC)That is kind of how immigration laws work.
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Date: 2013-12-25 03:16 am (UTC)Are you taking into consideration all of the laws that Congress could have fixed or repealed, if it were functioning properly?
no subject
Date: 2013-12-25 07:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-25 01:32 pm (UTC)It is simply wrong to think that "doing nothing" is a means toward accomplishing your policy preferences in the current environment in Washington. "Doing nothing" has simply ensured that bad law continues to be bad law, that bad budgets continue to be bad budgets, and that an establishment whose agenda had previously been driven by special interests and machine politics is now wholly preoccupied by its own self-perpetuation. You and your compatriots could have elected competent politicians who could look at a beast like Obamacare and find bipartisan solutions to specific, identifiable problems with that legislation, but instead you and your compatriots have elected politicians who only know how to make pie-in-the-sky demands from which they will not budge, while they focus their energies on fundraising and publicity. How that better serves your interests - assuming, I suppose, that bad governance has not been your goal all along - I don't understand.
no subject
Date: 2013-12-25 01:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-08 04:03 pm (UTC)(I realize this is old, but I took a few days off lj and found it to be so relaxing, it was a chore to start commenting again :D)
no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 03:20 pm (UTC)They gave us a perfectly good government shutdown for no discernible reason.
no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 04:34 pm (UTC)to pass some fresh, brand new abortion restrictions.
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Date: 2013-12-24 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-24 05:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-25 12:09 am (UTC)*crickets*
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Date: 2013-12-25 07:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-25 08:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-12-27 05:08 pm (UTC)