Usdk wrote:
China's government is efficient because human life means dick when you have 1.5 billion people and you don't have to worry about running over the little guy.
I don't find much common ground with Usd about the world outside America, but he's right on here.
Another lame (but true) Churchill quote about democracy: "Democracy is the worst system of government, except for all the others."
America, believe it or not, has one of the most efficient and corruption-free governments in the world. While there is a great deal of corporate influence, overt bribery and graft is very rare, because our country went to enormous lengths to stamp it out back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. China, on the other hand, hasn't gone through that historical process, nor has Western Europe.
The Chinese government doesn't have the breadth of responsibility and accountability the American government has. American corporations commit abuses but these pale comparison to what can be easily done in China.
Americans are widely seen, by both foreigners and themselves, as a wild, violent, gun-loving frontier people, but the truth is Americans are some of the most law-abiding people in the world. Stereotypes aside, we resolve our problems with lawsuits and through the legal process, not bribes to public officials and family influence. If you doubt this, look at China, Mexico, Italy, hell, even Britain (class society) or France.
I made friends with some Chinamen last semester. I asked them about their homeland, about their government, and they seriously kept looking over their shoulders while discussing it in halting terms. "You can't really disagree, because...yeah, the army...and people who are in families with people in the army...they get ahead..." They thought America was a breath of fresh air, that this country's freedoms and opportunities are great - and they are from the best part of China, the urban East Coast. The next semester, one of them was volunteering to get people to register vote, and he approached me in the cafeteria and asked if I was registered. I laughed and said no, I wasn't interested. He looked at me as if I was insane.
Jubbergun wrote:
The only thing these assclowns need to "get done" is cutting the fucking budget, pulling their grubby fingers out of everyone's pies, and [/color][color=yellow]taking care of the business of government, which is most cases isn't much more than necessary regulation, operating a military, maintaining diplomatic staff and services, preparing for large scale emergencies/disasters, and maintaining "post roads."
The "faceless bureaucracy" that sucks the budget dry is a myth.
The overwhelming majority of the federal budget goes to:
1. The military
2. Welfare
3. Social Security
4. Highways
The FDA, FCC, FBI, etc etc etc, is only a tiny percentage of the budget, and it's not why the country is drowning in red ink.