Us vs. Them

[thaen]

Fascinating. Economist on planet money just said, about stimulus packages, that he was concerned that the government was deciding where this money goes, rather than "us" deciding.

Is it just me, or does this seem backward? The government is, in my eyes, way more "us" than the giant corporations that dot the modern economy.

Comments

[nplusm]

I'm guessing the core of his concern is that the general thoughts regarding many current politicians is that they are in the pockets of various corporations for campaign contributions.

However, I certainly trust our government to do the appropriate research and investigation to make a reasonable assumption of what needs to be done, rather than the people.

Mama sez...

[anonymous]

Hmmm... isn't part of your question at the heart of the lobbyist issue Obama talked about during the campaign? That is, does a people-centered government exist when lobbyists serving corporate interests exert such influence on those elected officials who ought to be serving a broader public interest

the people

[anonymous]

Sorry everyone, but "the people" are, frankly, too stupid to be able to make a good decision about this. The government MUST decide,i.e., not the people that the government represents. We can't (mostly) even manage our own pocketbooks (don't think I'm the only financial idiot out here), how in the world would I trust half of the people I know to even have a small say in this! Yikes ! Scary. most of them are lucky they can get up and brush their teeth every morning. And if by government we end up meaning, really, the Big Corporations, then I say, ohwell. They are still smarter than I am.