A major theme of this blog is the undeniable deterioration of service at the Social Security Administration. However, Social Security's problems are just one example of a larger issue which is being addressed by Democrats.
Thomas Frank wrote in The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule that conservatives actually want poor government service because to them "effective government [is] somewhere between impossible and undesirable." For them poor government service just "leads to "another sour truckload of the mother's milk of conservatism, cynicism toward government."
Barack Obama, in his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, echoed this theme telling us that:
... if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.You make a big election about small things.
And you know what — it's worked before. Because it feeds into the cynicism we all have about government. When Washington doesn't work, all its promises seem empty. If your hopes have been dashed again and again, then it's best to stop hoping, and settle for what you already know.
4 comments:
That sound great, except the Democrats aren't doing anything about Social Security. They want the to be able to use the failure of SSA as an issue against the Republicans. It is all politics. And SSA is sliding inexorably toward the abyss.
Thomas Frank wrote in The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule that conservatives actually want poor government service because to them "effective government [is] somewhere between impossible and undesirable. For them poor government service just "leads to "another sour truckload of the mother's milk of conservatism, cynicism toward government."
Real conservatives such as Ron Paul believe that the Federal government should not be doing these things and would be better run at the state or local level.
Was the nation's education better after the Department of Education was created. Would the SSDI program be such a mess if each state ran their own program, I think not. States would be free to make changes faster and states could borrow from states that tried things that worked and stop things that didn't.
SSI used to be a state program--aid to the aged, blind, and disabled--until the feds took it over in the 1970's. It is now a multi-billion dollar, out-of-control disaster. Fraud is rampant but is rarely addressed let alone remediated, and incorrect payments are the norm rather than the exception. SSA has nowhere near the staff to even begin to address it. Give it back to the states, with block grants, and good riddance. SSA's current staff numbers would then be sufficient to take care of Title 2, as it should be and always was supposed to be.
"If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from."
Was Obama talking about his strategy here? What's his record? Isn't he the one painting McCain as someone people should run from? Hypocrisy comes in all flavors...
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