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When government worked - a couple examples

Craig234

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The basic theory of our republic is that the people are informed and want good policies, and elect people who serve their interests and have society have a powerful enough government to get things done.

It's very broken from that, but let's remember a couple times it sort of worked.

One was that government funded scientific research, which learned about harmful damage happening to the Ozone layer of our atmosphere. Scientists warned the public and while aerosols were popular, the government banned them, working with others globally, and successfully solved the problem.

Another was as our growing use of fossil fuels was creating great amounts of air pollution, covering our cities in smog and killing people. Again government science looked at the problem, and government supported significant improvements to the problem, which was much reduced.

We could go on - to things like other environmental issues, such as the extinction of animals, leading to government actions from the creation of the EPA to the Endangered Species Act; to the earlier recognition of food safety problems and the government greatly increasing regulations to solve that. go to China and you have great risk of food and water poisoning, lacking the effective US government policies.

Unfortunately, our government has been greatly corrupted since those examples, with many Americans foolishly cheering the corruption unwittingly. We can contrast those examples like the Ozone threat with how we're reacting to scientists warning about climate damage. A bought and paid for Senator brings a snowball into the Senate and symbolizes the corruption and Republicans cheer him and call the scientists liars. We've largely broken our democracy.
 
The basic theory of our republic is that the people are informed and want good policies, and elect people who serve their interests and have society have a powerful enough government to get things done.

It's very broken from that, but let's remember a couple times it sort of worked.

One was that government funded scientific research, which learned about harmful damage happening to the Ozone layer of our atmosphere. Scientists warned the public and while aerosols were popular, the government banned them, working with others globally, and successfully solved the problem.

Another was as our growing use of fossil fuels was creating great amounts of air pollution, covering our cities in smog and killing people. Again government science looked at the problem, and government supported significant improvements to the problem, which was much reduced.

We could go on - to things like other environmental issues, such as the extinction of animals, leading to government actions from the creation of the EPA to the Endangered Species Act; to the earlier recognition of food safety problems and the government greatly increasing regulations to solve that. go to China and you have great risk of food and water poisoning, lacking the effective US government policies.

Unfortunately, our government has been greatly corrupted since those examples, with many Americans foolishly cheering the corruption unwittingly. We can contrast those examples like the Ozone threat with how we're reacting to scientists warning about climate damage. A bought and paid for Senator brings a snowball into the Senate and symbolizes the corruption and Republicans cheer him and call the scientists liars. We've largely broken our democracy.
If we are more corrupted, then we have only to look in the mirror for the cause and the solution (both)
 
I think there are many, many, many more and better examples, and they go way back. One can start with Hamilton's national bank and the economic system it spawned. The 14th and 15th Amendments. The FDA, EPA, OSHA, FLSA, FDIC, Social Security, the GI Bill, Medicare - the list is incredibly long.

"Once we begin to look at the actual performance of major government programs, we see that the vast majority of them have produced substantial improvement in the problem areas that they are addressing – they have produced successful results. This is not the conventional wisdom, but it is what the evidence shows if you bother to look at it." Government is Good: The Forgotten Achievements of Government (Opportunity Institute).

"Congress passed more than 500 major laws between 1944 and 1999 to improve the quality of life in the nation and world. Judged not as individual programs but as part of larger endeavors, these statutes speak to the enormous range of federal engagement since World War II." Government’s Greatest Achievements of the Past Half Century (Brookings) "This report—based on survey responses from 450 history and political science professors—suggests that the federal government did more than aim high, however. It also suggests the federal government often succeeded in changing the nation and the world. Although many Americans still believe that the federal government creates more problems than it solves, this report suggests that government deserves more credit than it receives."

I particularly recommend the latter report. It's eye-opening and well organized.
 
An oversimplification I posted in another thread:
Party-ists are insane; how in the world do 'they' expect any legislation to hold more than a term when the proposals are intended (presented) to quash the liberals or conservatives and win the country back, when they are by default going against 1/2 the country with a vengeance? Sorry folks, no one will ever vote the 'opposing' party off this island.
 
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