Head Rush
June 12th 2009 22:23
As a rationalist, you might expect me to have a tight reign on my emotions. Let's face it, most rationalists just don't know how to have fun. But I do. And one of the things that gives me the greatest pleasure is cars. Talking about them, reading about them, driving, whatever. When I was three, I wanted a Corvette. I had my Mom write a letter to Santa when I was four. The first thing I asked for? A "race car". As you can see, my infatuation with cars goes way back. And during these last few years, I have been literally drooling over some of the hot new sheetmetal coming out of Detroit. The best of these cars- Dodge Viper ACR, Ford Mustang GT, Cadillac CTS-V- have the whole package: brute power, sweet handling, and of course, for you Milton Freidman types, fuel economy that hovers safely outside the single digits.
So, what happened? With all these excellent cars, you would think the Motor City would be riding high. Instead, they've been driven into the waiting arms of our government, who fired the best CEO GM has ever had, and brought back the beancounters who helped kill the company in the first place. Short-sighted? Certainly. Not that the public notices. They're worried about where their money is going; The politicians notice what the people are thinking. That starts their brains working through the following thought process: cutting costs by moving production out of the country, the only way to really bring prices down to competitive levels, would be political suicide. Refusing the unions anything they ask for would be political suicide. "Green" is good. Yes, it pumps up prices. Solution? Tax credits. Giving people money to buy "green" cars is proactive. Hopefully, the relentless advance of technological progress (in China) will someday make these vehicles more affordable, so we can tout this measure as temporary. Federal budget defecit? what are you talking about? Can't you see how urgently this program is needed? The ice caps are melting, and if we don't do something soon, New York will be underwater.
Therein lies the problem. Practically every bill proposed in Congress has some worthy cause as its motivator. How do we choose which to support? Some of the smarter people in Congress compare the costs with the benefits; But if we do that, some deserving person somewhere gets left behind, and that seems, well, heartless. To avoid potential "image problems", therefore, the decision is simple: don't choose. Simply borrow money, and hope that, at some later date, there aren't so many worthy causes. Not that that's ever happened, but that's not their problem... yet.
*Whew*. I'm all sweaty (and I sound like Rush Limabaugh). I guess this is why I call myself the Frustrated Rationalist. Heck, if I don't stop now... well, its best not to contemplate such a hideous fate. I'm outta here.
Therein lies the problem. Practically every bill proposed in Congress has some worthy cause as its motivator. How do we choose which to support? Some of the smarter people in Congress compare the costs with the benefits; But if we do that, some deserving person somewhere gets left behind, and that seems, well, heartless. To avoid potential "image problems", therefore, the decision is simple: don't choose. Simply borrow money, and hope that, at some later date, there aren't so many worthy causes. Not that that's ever happened, but that's not their problem... yet.
*Whew*. I'm all sweaty (and I sound like Rush Limabaugh). I guess this is why I call myself the Frustrated Rationalist. Heck, if I don't stop now... well, its best not to contemplate such a hideous fate. I'm outta here.
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