This can be a catch all for highlighting the nonsense of the government, at all levels, when it's not specific to progressives, conservatives, Biden, Trump, etc.
Lets start with what parts of the Federal government should not exist:
Department of Education
The face/de-facto leaders of the respective parties are basically AOC and Trump.
/thread
posted by gutThe face/de-facto leaders of the respective parties are basically AOC and Trump.
/thread
To add onto that: For years, we've mentioned from time to time that the problem with Washington is that it's populated with cynical career politicians like Pelosi and McConnell, who are more concerned with cementing their power and keeping things revolving around them, regardless of whether they are actually even remotely good for the country. The general opinion tended to be that it'd be nice to disrupt that shit and get new blood in that isn't happy to be bought, paid for and serving mainly to enrich themselves and impede the other party.
And so we have AOC/the Squad on one side and we have Trump and his QAnon followers on the other. Uh, when I said I didn't want career politicians, I wasn't suggesting to replace them with the over-the-top aggressively stupid, guys!
Every single alphabet agency should be disbanded. Yes, even that one. Given that they all write their own laws in the form of "regulations", we're essentially ruled by unelected bureaucrats. And given that their budgets are of the "use it or lose it" variety, they have ZERO incentive to not waste tax dollars at an absurd level.
posted by justincredibleEvery single alphabet agency should be disbanded. Yes, even that one. Given that they all write their own laws in the form of "regulations", we're essentially ruled by unelected bureaucrats. And given that their budgets are of the "use it or lose it" variety, they have ZERO incentive to not waste tax dollars at an absurd level.
Walk me through that.
Would you enact a law of Congress to effectively disband every single agency in the Government at a certain date? Would the workers then be placed on pause/ hold until that date, say the start of the Fiscal Year, 10/1?
Would some of them come back in some form if their budgets have more direct oversight by Congress?
Or, would it be more, every agency will be disbanded on 10/1 and we will be starting for scratch?
How would ensure that some aspects for national security and cyber security are not disrupted, or would those also be placed on pause?
How would coordinate this across branches as you have to have the President and the Congress in lockstep? Otherwise, one branch would try and control/ limit the other.
I get what you are trying to say, but I think it is just too impractical and a libertarian fantasy.
I'm under no illusion that this will actually happen.
But Thomas Massie has the right idea with his bills to end the DoE.
https://massie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395319
Representative Thomas Massie announces that he has introduced H.R. 899, a bill to abolish the federal Department of Education. The bill, which is one sentence long, states, “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2022.”
We'll just slowly grind ourselves down into an authoritarian shithole.
posted by ptown_trojans_1I get what you are trying to say, but I think it is just too impractical and a libertarian fantasy.
No shit?
posted by justincredibleI'm under no illusion that this will actually happen.
But Thomas Massie has the right idea with his bills to end the DoE.
https://massie.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=395319
Representative Thomas Massie announces that he has introduced H.R. 899, a bill to abolish the federal Department of Education. The bill, which is one sentence long, states, “The Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2022.”
The only thing with getting rid of Education is the DoE is in change of student loans. So, what happens to those? Private sector? Because, the private sector loans are even worse than the feds. Or, does the student loans go under a different aspect of government?
Student loans are actually a rare area where I think the government is better than the private sector, and that is my own personal experience with private and public student loans.
The government should not be involved in student loans.
posted by justincredibleThe government should not be involved in student loans.
They are more trusted and better than the private sector. Interest rates are better, payment options are better, and overall experience is better.
I'd take the DOE loans over Sallie Mae/ whatever it is called now, any day of the week,
posted by justincredible
I agree with the sentiment of the article, that college is not for everyone. Trade school/ vocational schools should be more popular. But to suggest that colleges should offer their own loans is not financially feasible nor realistic. They would most likely turn into copy cat private sector sharks like Sallie Mae.
If anything, the for profit college mess shows that institutions cannot be trusted.
posted by ptown_trojans_1I agree with the sentiment of the article, that college is not for everyone. Trade school/ vocational schools should be more popular. But to suggest that colleges should offer their own loans is not financially feasible nor realistic. They would most likely turn into copy cat private sector sharks like Sallie Mae.
If anything, the for profit college mess shows that institutions cannot be trusted.
Exactly. Instead of figuring out how Americans are going to pay for things like student loans and health care. Start focusing on why these things cost what they do. I understand initial costs of items, but when colleges force text books that cost hundreds of dollars, and the book is never used, there is a breakdown in the process. Additionally, paying a huge markup for simple drugs that have been around forever is also stupid. Yes, it costs millions upon millions to develop a new drug, but that is why drug manufacturers have a window of exclusivity before a generic version can be made. This allows for the companies to get their investment back. However, paying more than a few cents for a tylenol or motrin during a hospital stay is straight robbery.
Government red tape is commonly a major factor in prices going crazy, as well, thanks to the alphabet agencies.
How about civil asset forfeiture? If the feds cared about American citizens in the slightest, they would have banned this practice at the federal level before it started. But they don't, so many states rob their own citizens for profit. And cops are incentivized to partake in the practice because they get to keep a lot of the toys they steal. Sure, some of it is taken from drug dealers, but a lot of innocent people get wrapped up in the process with almost no recourse. The claim that you have due process but your possessions do not so we can take them without charging you with an actual crime is one of the most absurd distortions of rights I have ever heard.
posted by ptown_trojans_1They are more trusted and better than the private sector. Interest rates are better, payment options are better, and overall experience is better.
I'd take the DOE loans over Sallie Mae/ whatever it is called now, any day of the week,
Guaranteed government student loans are why college educations worth little cost $30k per year. Had government never gotten involved, it is reasonable to think college education would have been attainable to those who wanted it without loans (perhaps with a job during college to help pay). This is how college worked for many decades. It was a privilege but it was affordable to anyone determined to go without the baggage of years of debt. Once easy money came into the picture, colleges started jacking up tuition and building shit at a ferocious rate. Meanwhile, the entire population was brainwashed into this idea that everyone should go to college.
So I disagree that government student loans are done well. I see them as part of the overrall racket.
posted by Dr Winston O'BoogieGuaranteed government student loans are why college educations worth little cost $30k per year. Had government never gotten involved, it is reasonable to think college education would have been attainable to those who wanted it without loans (perhaps with a job during college to help pay). This is how college worked for many decades. It was a privilege but it was affordable to anyone determined to go without the baggage of years of debt. Once easy money came into the picture, colleges started jacking up tuition and building shit at a ferocious rate. Meanwhile, the entire population was brainwashed into this idea that everyone should go to college.
So I disagree that government student loans are done well. I see them as part of the overrall racket.
This is ultimately how I look at the situation as well. College costs when crazy when the govt got involved. Healthcare costs went crazy when the govt got involved. The housing market went crazy when the govt got involved. It's like there's a pattern...
posted by ptown_trojans_1They are more trusted and better than the private sector. Interest rates are better, payment options are better, and overall experience is better.
I'd take the DOE loans over Sallie Mae/ whatever it is called now, any day of the week,
Schools should fund student loans from their endowments. The days of $75K per year for Underwater Basket Weaving majors would end immediately.
Your argument that schools couldn't take this task on is simply "Argumentum ad Governmentum". They can, but of course don't want to give up the golden egg.
All states should be "at fault" states in dissolution/divorce.
posted by brutus161Exactly. Instead of figuring out how Americans are going to pay for things like student loans and health care. Start focusing on why these things cost what they do. I understand initial costs of items, but when colleges force text books that cost hundreds of dollars, and the book is never used, there is a breakdown in the process. Additionally, paying a huge markup for simple drugs that have been around forever is also stupid. Yes, it costs millions upon millions to develop a new drug, but that is why drug manufacturers have a window of exclusivity before a generic version can be made. This allows for the companies to get their investment back. However, paying more than a few cents for a tylenol or motrin during a hospital stay is straight robbery.
Concur. College text books should be simple PDFs, which I think more and more are now a days. I get the rest of your point as well.
My point is for profit colleges have preyed on and screwed over many people simply looking for higher education. That is an example of where trusting colleges to do the right thing does not work well.
posted by Dr Winston O'BoogieGuaranteed government student loans are why college educations worth little cost $30k per year. Had government never gotten involved, it is reasonable to think college education would have been attainable to those who wanted it without loans (perhaps with a job during college to help pay). This is how college worked for many decades. It was a privilege but it was affordable to anyone determined to go without the baggage of years of debt. Once easy money came into the picture, colleges started jacking up tuition and building shit at a ferocious rate. Meanwhile, the entire population was brainwashed into this idea that everyone should go to college.
So I disagree that government student loans are done well. I see them as part of the overrall racket.
The flip side of that is states and the feds have been gutting the federal aid and grant portion to fund colleges. The price of a Pell Grant has actually decreased and many states, like Ohio, have dramatically cut the money that goes for grants. Once the grants dry up that colleges have been using, they have to fill in the gaps someone....and tuition is increased. I think that is one reason why we have seen the increase in prices since the days I went to school in the early 2000s.
It may be easy for people to say, well the endowment can cover the cost, and for some schools, they are tapping into that: Ohio St being one of them, with their announcement a month or so ago. But, most schools do not have an endowment large enough to cover the costs alone, without the grant funding. This leads to higher tuition over the years.
On your last point Federal backed student loans are also better than the private sector as usually interest rates are lower, they are more forgiving if you to go into forbearance, their customer service is usually better, and the last year or so interest has not accrued. Whereas, Sallie Mae has higher interest rates, shitty customer service, little concern for forbearance, and if you do not have federal backed student loan, you have been accruing interest since last year.
I had both federal student loans, through Fedloan, and private loans through Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae fucking sucked at every turn.
posted by ptown_trojans_1The flip side of that is states and the feds have been gutting the federal aid and grant portion to fund colleges. The price of a Pell Grant has actually decreased and many states, like Ohio, have dramatically cut the money that goes for grants. Once the grants dry up that colleges have been using, they have to fill in the gaps someone....and tuition is increased. I think that is one reason why we have seen the increase in prices since the days I went to school in the early 2000s.
It may be easy for people to say, well the endowment can cover the cost, and for some schools, they are tapping into that: Ohio St being one of them, with their announcement a month or so ago. But, most schools do not have an endowment large enough to cover the costs alone, without the grant funding. This leads to higher tuition over the years.
On your last point Federal backed student loans are also better than the private sector as usually interest rates are lower, they are more forgiving if you to go into forbearance, their customer service is usually better, and the last year or so interest has not accrued. Whereas, Sallie Mae has higher interest rates, shitty customer service, little concern for forbearance, and if you do not have federal backed student loan, you have been accruing interest since last year.
I had both federal student loans, through Fedloan, and private loans through Sallie Mae. Sallie Mae fucking sucked at every turn.
What is different about colleges now versus 25 years ago? Their campus physical plant is about twice as big - filled with fancy classroom, residence, recreational, food and other buildings. Ohio State, as an example, is like a fucking resort today compared to 1990. Is the education twice as good today than it was then? No way. Like most places, it markets the shit out of itself to score well on rankings so that it can whore itself to out of state tuition payers at the expense of it's land grant mission. OSU is not unique in this way.
Easy student loans make the decision to pay these exorbitant fees mindless because the loan comes easy and "well that's just the way it goes now". Is state funding less than it used to be? Yes and I think that should be changed. But it isn't less by a factor or three - the way tuition has risen. On top of it, places like OSU fuck over their state residents who support the place with taxes by chasing out of state payers in order to more than cover their funding gap. Drive around virutally any college campus today and I defy you to find anything that resembles, "Boy, this place sure doesn't look like it gets the funds it used to." It's a racket and cheap loans are the primary culprit. Ask the VP of or dean or whatever the head of one of the 27 "offices" at Ohio State to explain their $300k salary and how it relates to the academic mission of the school. Good luck interpreting that rationalizing.
It is like Milton Friedman said, "Is political self interest nobler somehow than economic self interest." When government bureaucrats are inefficient, incompetent, or power hungry shitbags their revenue stream does not suffer from the consequences of their actions. You can't even decrease the baseline rate of growth or the cries of impending human suffering will go out. Many times the purported reason for their failures is a lack of sufficient revenue.
When there is a "government shutdown" all we hear about is the pain and suffering these noble public servants are enduring. Little ends up changing and in the end an any financial burdens for them are erased. No one's life ends up in ruin.
I watched over the past year many of these same bureaucrats and politicians run to microphones demanding shutdowns of many small businesses. Restrictions causing massive decreases in their revenue. Did their lost revenue get restored? No. They got pittance. Nearly all of the aid package passed in the name of their relief went to political self interests. If that does not make you disgusted with your government nothing will.
posted by Dr Winston O'BoogieWhat is different about colleges now versus 25 years ago? Their campus physical plant is about twice as big - filled with fancy classroom, residence, recreational, food and other buildings. Ohio State, as an example, is like a fucking resort today compared to 1990. Is the education twice as good today than it was then? No way. Like most places, it markets the shit out of itself to score well on rankings so that it can whore itself to out of state tuition payers at the expense of it's land grant mission. OSU is not unique in this way.
Easy student loans make the decision to pay these exorbitant fees mindless because the loan comes easy and "well that's just the way it goes now". Is state funding less than it used to be? Yes and I think that should be changed. But it isn't less by a factor or three - the way tuition has risen. On top of it, places like OSU fuck over their state residents who support the place with taxes by chasing out of state payers in order to more than cover their funding gap. Drive around virutally any college campus today and I defy you to find anything that resembles, "Boy, this place sure doesn't look like it gets the funds it used to." It's a racket and cheap loans are the primary culprit. Ask the VP of or dean or whatever the head of one of the 27 "offices" at Ohio State to explain their $300k salary and how it relates to the academic mission of the school. Good luck interpreting that rationalizing.
Who the fuck are you and what did you do with Dr. Boogie?