US Politics Mega-thread - Page 4075

Bureaucrats in America, we will argue, are so incompetent and inept that it is far better to have everything at as local level as we can possibly imagine, because then only a few people get fucked by the local incompetence, while if we were to deal with this at a higher level, the incompetence would affect more people, just look at the national debt ceiling debacle!

Now just as an aside, I don't think home owner organizations are something unique to the US. They may be even more awful in the US than elsewhere, but we were met by a surprise similar in kind if not in scale when we bought our apartment a few years ago. In fact, one of the selling points was that the community contributions were (and still are) very low. Those low quarterly contributions are because we (and with we, I mean the first home owners) decided that the monthly contributions cover the cost of basic maintenance and cleaning, and everything else will be paid for ad-hoc. That includes retiling the roof at whatever point that will become a necessity, and has already included replacing the sump pump that pumps our sewage out of the tank we have and into the muncipal sewer. Now I've lived here for a few years and I've come to terms with the fact that at some point our roof will need retiling for a few thousand euros, but if I were to be hit with that bill the moment I bought the place I would be quite upset. At the last home owners meeting, I argued for increasing the community contributions (ahem, taxes), so that eventually we'd build up funds to cover this kind of thing and it was voted down. So mostly my take-away message is that we need to move out before the roof needs retiling

But from having seen the John Oliver bit about HOAs, they sound particularly malicious in the US, where it seems that for every instance of Tocqueville's lauded association, there is a corporation behind it squeezing a buck out in whatever way they can, because while you may want to associate for any little thing, either nobody wants to, or if Ren is right, nobody is capable of, actually running the association and performing its basic tasks, so a corporation is pulled in to manage it, and then the fun really starts!

Anyway, coming back to the main point: I don't think the US is exceptionally incompetent, and obviously there are things that are better run at hyperlocal level (such as having a building association that is in charge of retiling the roof when it is needed) and there are things that are better run at national level. I don't think pointing at taxes and saying "for every $1 we pay in Illinois, we only get $0.6 back, so the federal government is shortchanging us" when that is kinda the whole point of a national tax: the rich people of Delaware, Massachusets and apparently Illinois, pay for the social security of poor people in New Mexico and Mississippi. Now I'm sure New Mexico and Mississippi have other redeeming qualities, but having a functioning economy is apparently not one of them, but they are part of the USA, and thus you need to buckle up and ensure that they aren't left by the roadside. If you don't want to do that, then what you probably actually want is to secede.

That's what Brexit did. The Brits said they were tired of paying for Poland. Or something. And left the EU. It dumped them seriously in the shitter, that did. And the British economy is far less entangled with the EU overall than Illinois's economy is with the USA, so good luck with seceding! I tell the same to my Catalan colleagues who still want independence from Spain.

Now there is clearly an argument to be had about whether it's fair Illinois only gets 60 cents back for every dollar of federal tax. Maybe it should be 80 cents. Or $1.20, or only 40 cents. I don't know. In theory that's what you elect your conressmen for, to figure that shit out. Of course, I'm also happy to agree that your congress is in a particularly deplorable state right now and couldn't figure their way out of a wet paper bag, but I don't think that is due to exceptional American incompetence. Rather it is due to an archaic constitution and an inordinate amout of faith placed in people who already hold a position for the simple fact of holding it. I really cannot imagine that anybody in Georgia is benefited by MTG representing them, but there's a good chance she will keep her seat merely because she already has it. And her presence (or if you prefer a similarly problematic Democratic example, Steve Manchin) has an inordinately large effect on national policy.

Once again, not a uniquely USian problem. We currently have a kingmaker situation here in Spain, where a small independentist Catalan party can play kingmaker to either a left-wing or a right-wing coalition. It's ironic, because they align politically with the conservative and populist policies of the right, but the Spanish national right are fascist, and absolutely LOATHE Catalan nationalism. Meanwhile, the left are open to at least discussing the idea of granting a blanket pardon for everybody involved with the 2017 referendum, including the political leader of aforementioned Catalan independentist party, so he gets to hold the government hostage until he is given a pardon. But at least the other parties have the option of saying "nope, fuck it, we'll risk new elections", and that's why relying on a 250-year-old constitution probably isn't the best idea either.