The 2016 Presidential Election Trainwreck

[frank ryan]

Disclaimer: JL may claim he already posted this but who reads his expressions of love for Hillary anyway (other than '71)?


http://www.politico.com/story/2016/0...al-risk-220887

https://gfs.eiu.com/Article.aspx?art...articleId=2866


I bet there is a professor of economics at Trump University that will state otherwise.

But he's not Hillary!

[Uncle Ted]

All Uncle Ted cares about are alleys.

Where else would you put your garbage and drink your favorite beverage?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I've heard that one of the demos that loves Trump are old people, which is why Florida has been is best state so far.

I saw a tweet yesterday that made me laugh -- "For the umpteenth time Baby Boomers have figured out a way to screw Generation X."

[Nakoma]

These labels--like atheist, libertarian--are not helpful. Some of us just have an instinctive loathing and mistrust of government--really, authority in general--that is reaffirmed over and over again. For example, if a road construction bottleneck causes a traffic jam, I presume it's being executed incompetently--or even dishonestly executed--and that if the people in charge were a private enterprise, and we the drivers were customers, it would be done differently and a lot better. I'm always sure of that down to the soles of my feet.

I agree with your general sentiment on the efficiency of the private sector over the public sector; however, most road construction projects are completed by private corporations who competitively bid for the opportunity to do the project. Next time you experience that bottleneck, look around for the construction vehicles and you'll likely find the name of the contractor(s) doing the job. Call that private contractor and complain about its inefficiency.

[Northwestcoug]

Harsanyi makes the case that the GOP should do everything in its power to keep Trump from being the nominee:

Voters don’t decide the nominations; delegates do and preferably in smoke-filled rooms where rational decisions about the future of a party can be hashed out. The Republican Party is not a direct democracy. It crafts its own rules, and it can change them. And Republicans would have to ask themselves: “Is it worth upsetting a bunch of angry, marginally conservative voters who often have a minor fidelity to the doctrines of your party, or are you prepared to put your political infrastructure and full weight behind a cartoonish, George Wallace-like character who’ll probably inflict more damage than you could ever hope to repair?”

http://thefederalist.com/2016/03/16/...is-nomination/

[Nakoma]

I'm sure this is just what Trump wants. The list of sponsoring entities is interesting. I'm sure it will end well.

http://www.democracyspring.org/

[SeattleUte]

Good call, SU. Let's privatize all of our public roads and highways.

While we are at it, let's privatize the military and law enforcement. What could possibly go wrong!?

This is not what I said. Some activities have to be public. But in my alternate universe where whatever is privatized it's done better and more honestly. Government is a necessary resource with t a lot of adverse side effects to be used as sparingly as possible.

[USUC]

Probably not.

That's the classic problem with libertarianism. It is a compelling theory, but it breaks down when you start applying it to real-world issues.

Libertarianism is certainly difficult for some people to imagine because many aspects of our lives are completely monopolized by government. It's the only thing they know. For example, public roads sure have been convenient but they've also allowed urban sprawl, immense misappropriation of tax payers dollars, and grossly inefficient planning and design.

I am not for the immediate privatization of public utilities but I do believe that markets are the best way to fairly and efficiently allocate resources. I am a Cato Institute libertarian. I don't expect a quick revolution, I just hope to influence the current political system to move in that direction.

[Bo Diddley]

Libertarianism is certainly difficult for some people to imagine because many aspects of our lives are completely monopolized by government. It's the only thing they know. For example, public roads sure have been convenient but they've also allowed urban sprawl, immense misappropriation of tax payers dollars, and grossly inefficient planning and design.

I am not for the immediate privatization of public utilities but I do believe that markets are the best way to fairly and efficiently allocate resources. I am a Cato Institute libertarian. I don't expect a quick revolution, I just hope to influence the current political system to move in that direction.

I'm with you. And I've been a government employee for 25 years.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Just a hunch, but I don't think SU is in favor of privatizing roads.

Uncle Ted, are you against public roads, courts, police and firefighters?

...yeah...didn't think so.

Hold on. We've got a live one.

Libertarianism is certainly difficult for some people to imagine because many aspects of our lives are completely monopolized by government. It's the only thing they know. For example, public roads sure have been convenient but they've also allowed urban sprawl, immense misappropriation of tax payers dollars, and grossly inefficient planning and design.

I am not for the immediate privatization of public utilities but I do believe that markets are the best way to fairly and efficiently allocate resources. I am a Cato Institute libertarian. I don't expect a quick revolution, I just hope to influence the current political system to move in that direction.

So if the government has screwed up roads so badly, why not privatize?

Probably because deep down you recognize that pointing out the existence of imperfections in a system doesn't even come close to proving that it would be improved by complete privatization (as someone pointed out, most of the construction associated with highways is contracted out to private firms).

Look, I think just about all of us here understand and are in favor of limited government. But there has to be a realistic balance. The problem with the Libertarian party/movement is that it is oversaturated with idealogues.

[Uncle Ted]

Hold on. We've got a live one.



So if the government has screwed up roads so badly, why not privatize?

Probably because deep down you recognize that pointing out the existence of imperfections in a system doesn't even come close to proving that it would be improved by complete privatization (as someone pointed out, most of the construction associated with highways is contracted out to private firms).

Look, I think just about all of us here understand and are in favor of limited government. But there has to be a realistic balance. The problem with the Libertarian party/movement is that it is oversaturated with idealogues.

In Texas we have private roads all over the place. They are called toll roads developed under public-private partnerships (that uses private investment capital) and they are great! Now there is a lot of talk of doing the same thing for high speed trains in Texas. Compare that to the California high speed rail project in which the tax payers would be on the hook for the investment capital, not to mention hundreds of millions for operating costs each year. With more libertarian minded folks in government we might be riding that high speed train here in Texas by now!

[YOhio]

This story is a microcosm of Trumps campaign.

http://gawker.com/pbs-news-story-on-...y-f-1765284316

[Uncle Ted]

This story is a microcosm of Trumps campaign.

http://gawker.com/pbs-news-story-on-...y-f-1765284316

Maybe it is hard to find good help these days with unemployment being so low. It is too bad Drumpf can't just hire some illegal immigrants, like members of his wife's family, instead of these skinheads.

[Moliere]

53033096.jpg

[Moliere]

http://www.theblaze.com/contribution...-us-for-trump/

Oh no, the Cruzites are starting to get ticked!!!