Sad but accurate. The real tragedy is that I don't think people are feeling any more secure now than they were after 9/11. After that terrible day, the US embarked on a disastrous course of spending both internationally and domestically in the name of security and that was bound to have impacts sooner or later. War's and such drive up the costs of resources, and although they stimulate economic activity in the short term are seldom conducive to long term financial well being. The crows have come home to roost and it is going to get much harder before it gets easier. Even if this bail out package goes through, a 700 billion dollar hit to government coffers is going to do little to help the overall situation if the basic habits don't change as well. The maxim is "Don't spend more than you've got". The US Gov. and Wall Street has been encouraging just that for some time. Their woes are our woes as well since so much of our fate depends on the overall health of the United States. Yet again the reason that this country should be working extra hard to diversify its customer base. It is never healthy to have too many eggs in one basket.Jason Jiménez wrote:
I don't disagree with you, however, education and healthcare are not enumerated anywhere in the US Constituion. None of the brilliant minds that congregated in Philadelphia could've have envisaged an era with HMO's, insurance companies, and rising costs of healthcare. The amendment process takes far too long to produce any real results which would allow citizens access to publically supported healthcare. Healthcare, imo, is tantamount to national security, which we're huge on. Everything we do these days is in the sacrosanct name of national security...
I'm a firm believer and proponent of Aristotle's belief that "the purpose of the state is to educate the people -- to make them virtuous. Virtue is the life principle of the state. The goal of the state is to educate with a view toward its own institutions (to preserve them) - political education of all citizens...[A]ll who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth
The Founders believed in limited government and were weary of government intrusion in the lives of its citizens. Fast foward a few centuries and we see that the (US) government has developed a cancer, and a financial pesitience to the consternation of the taxpayer: bureaucracies. There are over 200 bureaucracies in the US government today, many of which are unaccountable to the People.
As far as Healthcare or any other contentious issue south of the border, the system seems very hamstrung in terms of accomplishing anything. Between all the high powered lobbies, regional differences etc, you have as much chance of getting health care as gun control. Some people think that the Canadian system is unwieldy but compared to our neighbours, it looks almost positively sensible.