January 4, 2012   40 notes

Squashed: State responsibilities and irresponsibilities

zigziggityzoo:

squashed:

zigziggityzoo:

It’s not exactly that he wants them to be cut - it’s that he believes that it’s the states’ responsibility to be doing many of the things the Federal government is doing.

And it’s not that I don’t want to take out the trash, it’s just that I believe it’s the dog’s job to do…

But don’t you think there are some things that the Federal government is doing that the states could do, or have done better?

Like Massachussetts and their healthcare program. States that do something better than the fed still have to pay the Federal taxes to pay for the respective Federal program, even if they’re doing something that supersedes it.

Of course there are (some) things that states do or could do better. And in those cases, I have no problems with giving a block grant back to the state to do the good thing it’s doing. But it seems disingenuous to cut the federal program before a credible state alternative is in place. Setting these things up is monstrously difficult.

I think, for example, that some sort of single-payer system would be the simplest and most efficient way to handle health care. However, that’s awfully rough to construct. It was a heck of a lot easier to patch together what we have. And the transition is going to be less messy.

If we were to cut, say, the EPA, the state environmental protection agencies would step up their act. But the transition would be a nightmare, enforcement would be haphazard, and we’d get a lot of messiness when two states couldn’t agree on what to do.

(Source: muppetpants)

  1. other-stuff reblogged this from squashed and added:
    I already rebloged this once, but it was worth reading again.
  2. other-stuff reblogged this from squashed
  3. squashed reblogged this from muppetpants and added:
    My mail goes out pretty faithfully. Much to my dismay, so do my taxes. (While I understand our dislike of the IRS, I...
  4. muppetpants reblogged this from squashed and added:
    Are you suggesting...Federal government should also take out the trash? You leave your...
  5. squashedcomments reblogged this from zigziggityzoo and added:
    Of course there are (some) things that states do or could do better. And in those cases, I have no problems with giving...
  6. squashedcomments reblogged this from muppetpants and added:
    against… We’re not going to agree on...Obama as president—so I’ll set that one aside for...
  7. zigziggityzoo reblogged this from squashed and added:
    do… But don’t you think there are some...Federal government is doing that
  8. joswilson81 reblogged this from squashed and added:
    you understood Paul’s point……its...would do anything...who’s...
  9. squashed reblogged this from zigziggityzoo and added:
    And it’s not that...want to take out the trash, it’s just that I believe it’s the dog’s...
  10. muppetpants reblogged this from zigziggityzoo and added:
    This is also true, but it’s not that it’s a State’s responsibility, it’s that they have the jurisdiction to do so. Paul...
  11. zigziggityzoo reblogged this from squashed and added:
    It’s not exactly that he wants them to be cut - it’s that he believes that it’s the states’ responsibility to be doing...
  12. muppetpants reblogged this from squashed and added:
    people who try to make Ron Paul (the man) look a lot more fringe than he is: when matched up against Obama two weeks...
  13. squashed reblogged this from jasencomstock and added:
    In response to Muppet Pants’ colorful but reasonably good analysis...what will happen in...
  14. zombiecuddle reblogged this from jasencomstock and added:
    and… Which part of the ACA makes...people? I do not think I
  15. jasencomstock reblogged this from muppetpants and added:
    Do hospices have any patients left after the killing-field-death-panels of 2009? Barack Obama is literally death. Ask...
  16. jasencomstock reblogged this from muppetpants and added:
    badgers. This makes me wonder why most...don’t like him,
  17. muppetpants posted this