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140 sats \ 17 replies \ @kepford OP 3 Dec 2024 \ on: Bailing out a Sinking Ship with a Thimble - The Perils of Reforming Government Politics_And_Law
I have many thoughts about talking about the negative effects of incentives on things progressives claim to care about. Taking care of the needy. Charity and that sort of thing. The reality is that the state is terrible at caring for people for many of the same reasons I stated above.
So if you care about the homeless, the poor, and helping people that are on the margins the worse thing you could do is not nothing. Its to get the state involved.
What I usually hear from my progressive friends is that they don't think the public would care for the poor and sick if the government didn't do it...
This contradicts the lie we are told that the government has our consent. Both of these can't be true. If the public would not choose to help those in need so we need the government to do it. That is a round about way of saying we need a bully to steal from the public and use that money to do things the people wouldn't do.
I would love to see my fellow humans acknowledge reality. The state is violence. Period. Its not legitimate. Its at best a shared delusion we all are fed from birth to the grave. We can't really move forward if we are living lies. If we lie to ourselves we can't grow.
Anyway....
NGOs have become so corrupt and venal, vehicles for money laundering
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My sense is that the heads of DOGE, and many of the other nominees, fundamentally do not get it. This isn't the kind of problem where a group of heroes can swoop in and save the day.
Fix the incentives -> fix the problem.
One thing that would make an immediate and dramatic impact would be implemented financial bonuses for managers who reduce costs. Make it 1% of whatever savings they found, but still hold them accountable for whatever outputs they're responsible for.
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I think they may get it. Vivek at least. But are just looking for wins where they can get them. I respect that for what it's worth.
But I agree, on the whole conservatives do not get how deep the rot is. They don't understand the fundamentals and the incentives.
Maybe this next four years will open more eyes to the level of rot.
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I agree that Vivek seems to get it, at least intellectually. I doubt he really grasps how intractable these agencies are, though. If he did, I think all of the efforts would be geared towards eliminating departments, agencies, and programs.
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Heads need to roll
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100%
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This contradicts the lie we are told that the government has our consent.
Yes, furthermore one of the most perverse aspects of the state is that it "crowds out real charity"
Imagine a "progressive fantasy" state. Everyone is taxed at 75% and those taxes are redistributed according to need. In such an environment, there will be no charity (and thus no care) for the less fortunate. Everyone has already given all that they can be asked to give....
The perverse outcome of this is it produces a less compassionate and less tolerant society.
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The age of the so called robber baron was also a time of great philanthropy
More colleges and hospitals and schools were created between 1870 and 1914 than any other period in American history
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So called is right.
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I know... it is really absurd.
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I was talking about this issue with my sister recently and she mentioned how the Catholic Catechism guides that all charity should be done on the smallest possible scale.
Its better for you to help someone in need, then for your neighborhood to help them.
Its better for your neighborhood to help them, then the local parish church
Its better for your church to help them, then your local city
etc...etc...
There is a lot of wisdom in that idea, and its telling that the State always opts for exactly the reverse.
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This is deep wisdom. As anyone that has ever done something for someone in need. The giver is rewarded in ways that you would not expect.
100% co-sign that.
In my view the progressive movement's desire to even care about the marginalized comes out of Jesus impact on humanity. Yet, they hate Him.
I also think that followers of Jesus have really allowed the state to come into a role they should not have. Individuals and churches do a lot to help the needy but the fact that the state is so massive and overpowering, they have ceded ground that should have never been given.
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In my view the progressive movement's desire to even care about the marginalized comes out of Jesus impact on humanity. Yet, they hate Him.
I'm always amazed by this. It is mind-bending to me. Jesus was the perfect progressive. He taught that we are all children of God and thus all brothers/sisters. We should love our neighbor as ourselves....
Yet, they seem to have a revulsion to Jesus. They visibly cringe and pull back if you mention any of this.....its almost as if they are possessed.
they have ceded ground that should have never been given
Precisely.
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And the hate is reserved for Christianity and Judaism. Other religions have immunity
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Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
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To be fair, plenty of progressives say they love Jesus. Its Christians they hate. And as a Christian that's fair. But they sure don't like all the things Jesus said. Nor does anyone really. Jesus offends us all.
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Jesus offends us all
Yes, the Sermon on the Mount is an impossible commandment for us flawed humans to live up to. But we must strive to....
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