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I’m going to look at the entire budget, trust the people who put this together and reserve judgment. There are so many complicated factors in “just” a county budget of $1.5 billion with which I have experience, let alone a federal. More than ever, and especially because we need our children raised with clean air and water, a peaceful wor…
I’m going to look at the entire budget, trust the people who put this together and reserve judgment. There are so many complicated factors in “just” a county budget of $1.5 billion with which I have experience, let alone a federal. More than ever, and especially because we need our children raised with clean air and water, a peaceful world, and a world actually resilient from climate change, we have to accept Democracy’s inevitable imperfection. Trickle down economics started us down the path of this amplified income disparity. and the Citizen’s United ruling further amplified. Humbly stated, as someone who grew up in a double union household, steeped in FDR values, then JFK’s, I am trusting DEMOCRATS and our Biden/Harris team. Doing anything else enables Trump and the other truly malevolent forces that prey upon people whether homeless in California or NYC, or disabled in Ohio or West Virginia. The centabillionare’s can afford this. And, it gives us moral equivalency for what we are doing in foreign policy. IMHO
@Paula. I love the way you made your points! There seems to be a reality that many "public servants" and ALL political systems exact a certain "cost of doing business" that takes the form of graft, fraud, exploitation, corruption, actual waste and personal enrichment for some of those office holders. Governments, including ours is rated on various international scales (e.g. https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/most-corrupt-countries). On this particular scorecard, the USA ranks 67 with 100 being perfect. There are 26 countries on this chart with better scores, but most of them are small countries with racially and culturally homogeneous people, and they are all democracies.
Thank you, Benjamin. I will take a look at your ratings link. I wrote my comments after reading the NYT and Am Prog links Robert provided, and based on my own experience. For sure, we can do much better...it’s the arc of justice bending in a positive direction that matters. Emotions of anger and sadness can paralyze and make matters worse. I played softball growing up. Getting up to bat, then swinging is a start, right? Can’t get to first base, otherwise. That is NOT to say we, and especially those in current public service, should UNDULY compromise. And no corruption! People’s lives depend on that.
I must say the NYT article made my stomach churn...for those of us who have undoubtedly been sickened, afflicted by mercury, etc., in that neck of the woods. I understand the jobs issues, too. Let’s just keep doing our best. For me, that’s as a Democrat.
@Paula. Me too!