Why do you guys think the country is so divided?

[MMMMMM]

Thanks, John.

I think Talk Shows are to Journalism what Pro Wrestling is to Sports [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]


*except larger

[John Cole]

M,

I'd rather leave it in the hands of Rupert Murdoch.

[MMMMMM]

Well, I must agree (even if you were being facetious), because I trust corporations and the marketplace more than I trust government. That's not saying a whole lot, though.

It might be correct to categorize my views as supremely distrustful of government. Maybe that's a view I have in common with our Founding Fathers, and I think it is a view that is well-merited when looking at the course of human history throughout the ages. The greatest evils have almost invariably been perpetrated by governments.

Government is a necessary evil, but the less governing the government actually does, the better, in my opinion. So while I don't really trust corporations, I think they are more trustworthy, and less pernicious, than excessive governance. Also, the marketplace keeps corporations in check to some extent, but what keeps the government in check? That is why I believe so strongly in the Constitution, and in a minimalist approach to government.

[John Cole]

M,

I was being a bit facetious. I'm not so enamored of corporations, however. Now, let them dismiss their lobbyists . . .

[MMMMMM]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not so enamored of corporations, however. Now, let them dismiss their lobbyists . . .

[/ QUOTE ]

That's just it. Lobbyists exist because they can wheedle money from legislators. If federal funding to states and special interests were to be removed from the federal budget, most lobbyists would disappear overnight. To truly get rid of pork and influence peddling, cut the pursestrings. Now that might be worthy of an Amendment.

[lastchance]

Which was sort of my point in the first place. People are not exactly voting based on principle, on "freedom." Many vote based on praticality, and try to do what is best for them, for example, teachers always vote for people who will support higher pay for them, but also many people vote based on morality instead.

A person who votes based on economy and jobs or terrorism or Iraq is making a stab in the dark, because you don't know who's really the best for the job. You can only try to get your chips in with the best of it. In those situations, you push and pray.

[TomBrooks]

[ QUOTE ]
why do you think [issues] divide us so much?

[/ QUOTE ]Americans exhibit such widely varying opinions on issues because of the widely disparate beliefs they hold. This disparity is brought about by the widely varying influences they had in their upbringing. I.e. mainly parents, teachers, religion, and also politicians, social, economic and cultural factors.

They divide us so much largely due to people falling into the so called "Burning Issues" trap, which is a belief that certain issues are actually important and urgent. The fact is most issues are neither important nor urgent. See Chapter 11 of How I Found Freedom In An Unfree World by Harry Browne for more about this.

Regards,
-TomBk

[scalf]

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]..

the real issue is how to share the tremendous wealth derived from technological gains...whole subcultures in u.s. believe they are entitled to a "piece of the pie" even though they did nothing to earn it. the struggle will center on paying them off enuf; which will keep these subcultures even more subservient and helpless..

yup; that's the truth

happy new year

gl

[img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

[zaxx19]

Actually the real issues of the future will be the contiual squeeze of the Middle class both lower middle and upper middle. Alot of kids I see in universty today have VERY VERY unrealistic expectations of making a guaranteed 80k a yr in a cushy white collar job...sngineering...accounting etc etc.. these jobs will simply not materialize for most of them IMHO. One of the dumbest things someone can do right now is get a bachelors in Business at a school other than Stanford Harvard or Penn. Most kids have been misled as to which skills will be $$ makers in the future and are gonna have a hard cold reality to deal with in about 10 yrs. Outsourcing will be the biggest issue of the next 20 yrs mark my words. The whole ex burbs reality of 100k dollar household incomes basically guaranteed any moron who can just "do what is expected" is a thing of the past and there will be alot of upset white "upper middle class types" looking for their piece of the pie. How the country reconciles this with the balooning wealth of the rich and rampant nepotism in the upper stratii of American life will be key in sustaining our nations wealth and power.

Remember a white male with 1400 SAT and 3.7 GPA but without the means to pay 35k a yr simply cannot gfo to a top University anymore in the USA. That is a tremendous handicap for him long term in the job market(believe what you will but it simply is at the highest reaches of many fields) Social mobility is wilting and expectations and the imp[ortance of money are continually raised in this society, the mixture of these 2 forces creats a powder keg of political change possibilities in the future.

[TheMichiganMan]

[ QUOTE ]
Actually the real issues of the future will be the contiual squeeze of the Middle class both lower middle and upper middle. Alot of kids I see in universty today have VERY VERY unrealistic expectations of making a guaranteed 80k a yr in a cushy white collar job...sngineering...accounting etc etc.. these jobs will simply not materialize for most of them IMHO. One of the dumbest things someone can do right now is get a bachelors in Business at a school other than Stanford Harvard or Penn. Most kids have been misled as to which skills will be $$ makers in the future and are gonna have a hard cold reality to deal with in about 10 yrs. Outsourcing will be the biggest issue of the next 20 yrs mark my words. The whole ex burbs reality of 100k dollar household incomes basically guaranteed any moron who can just "do what is expected" is a thing of the past and there will be alot of upset white "upper middle class types" looking for their piece of the pie. How the country reconciles this with the balooning wealth of the rich and rampant nepotism in the upper stratii of American life will be key in sustaining our nations wealth and power.

Remember a white male with 1400 SAT and 3.7 GPA but without the means to pay 35k a yr simply cannot gfo to a top University anymore in the USA. That is a tremendous handicap for him long term in the job market(believe what you will but it simply is at the highest reaches of many fields) Social mobility is wilting and expectations and the imp[ortance of money are continually raised in this society, the mixture of these 2 forces creats a powder keg of political change possibilities in the future.

[/ QUOTE ]

For accounting majors, these jobs do materialize. Accounting is a hot field right now, and it does not fluctuate with the market nearly as much as other fields... undergrads with slightly above average resumes are making 40K coming out of school