Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The poverty of liberalism: poor levy inspection.

Just a quick update on the most recent example of the Democrats’ irresponsibility in government, and the dead end that finishes almost all liberal thought.

It turns out that
Iowa doesn’t have adequate levy inspections. We have unlimited money for the failing educational system, the bankrupt human services system, the engrossed law enforcement system but insufficient money for things like bridge and levy inspection.

One will notice that the beneficiaries of Democrat largesse are largely government and labor union who employees and the systems they service. Those systems themselves exist only largely increase government power over individuals and business enterprises.

That, readers, is the poverty that liberalism ultimately imposes on the populations that liberals manage. The unpleasant core functions of government, like levy inspection, don’t lead to the acquisition of greater dependency on, and servility to, government itself inevitably are be sacrificed to the more glamorous promises of greater government. Always.

When a government can no longer provide for the common good by providing things like levies, that only the government can provide, then it’s time to rethink the individual’s need for and relationship to, government.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2517

well well well, another tax payer funded do nothing produce no results bleeding heart liberal experiment that is desparately searching for a reason to exist.

Maybe it's time to shut it down.

"He and Funchess are "about trying to improve the lives of black Iowans," he said.

The commission has experienced problems, including a delay in hiring project coordinators, communication issues, low public attendance at an annual summit, past difficulties in securing a quorum for meetings and budget snafus, according to those interviewed by Iowa Independent."

The commission accomplished a "milestone" with its budget, which begins July 1, 2008, Reed said. The total budget is about $376,266, he said. The commission had requested $400,000 for the OCBI initiative, but was allocated $200,000, he said.

Of that, $150,000 was slated for OCBI work, and $50,000 was earmarked for the disparity study. Jones, who is from Davenport, sought an additional $25,000 for the study, which brought the total to $75,000, Reed said. The city of Davenport also matched the $75,000.

Anonymous said...

"Abdul-Samad said he had no comment about whether Funchess should be fired and whether it was a mistake for the commission to spend $75,000 on the disparity study.

Blackwell said carrying out the goals of the OCBI will take time. He said blacks "have been neglected and marginalized for so long in this state that it's going to take time to really make a dent" in making improvements."

Anonymous said...

Here's how to save $400,000. Here's how to improve the lives of blacks in 10 cities in Iowa.

1) Finish school
2) Get a job
3) Get married at an appropriate age
4) Have children at an appropriate age while married to the same person
5) Don't do drugs
6) Don't commit crimes

There you have it. No need to send me a check.

Anonymous said...

Sporer,

So it’s liberals' fault again. What a surprise. It seems to me that it is the R’s in the IA legislature who are consistently opposed to any kind of extra spending, no matter what the purpose (abstinence education being the obvious exception, of course). Very recently you were praising McCain’s proposal to suspend the collection of gas tax. What would be the effect of that on our aging highway infrastructure? What will you and McCain say when the next bridge collapses due to lack of money for maintenance? Is that not a core function of our government?

Anonymous said...

An Iowa Bystander commentary has called for the ouster of the top official at the Iowa Commission on the Status of African Americans, citing concerns with his leadership and role in the commission spending $75,000 on a disparity study in Davenport.

The commentary's headline read "Time for a change: Fire Abraham Funchess." It slammed the commission's division administrator for his "lack of leadership" in the commission's Ongoing Covenant with Black Iowa (OCBI), which is a five-year project to improve the lives of blacks in 10 cities."

http://www.iowaindependent.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2517

I think we have a status on african americans. an african american ( a real one really from Africa) is on the democrat ticket for president.

I know most people don't know that Barack is black so thought I'd point it out.

The 60's are over. The war has been won. There is no need for this agency.

The Deplorable Old Bulldog said...

Anon 9:14-great commentary.

rf-I'm not opposed to government spending, I'm opposed to the government spending more.

For example, all of the money that gets pissed away in these CIETC, Creative Visions type job training programs would be a good place to start. Iowa employers are starved for help. Its the employers responsibility to provide whatever job training doesn't come from HS and JUCO.

The Civil Rights Commission, and a whole slew of other absurd monuments to the 60s would be another good place to start. Give legitimate victims a private cause of action, believe me, there are armies of lawyers waiting to take those cases, and impose the cost of enforcing civil rights laws on the people who are affected by them, for good or ill. (e.g. why should your tax money investigate some non-criminal wrong against me?)

My point is not anarchy or some silly libertarian utopianism, my point is in our desire to create perfection for everyone we are, instead eroding the extremely important, and universally beneficial, attributes that cause the formation of government in the first place.

Anonymous said...

One good thing about blogs is that Sporer can link to those old posts of his wherein he agitated for more money for levies. He knew the squeaky wheel would get the grease and he's foresighted enought to have said so way back when it could have helped.

So, where's the links, Sporer?

Spotlight wonders.

Anonymous said...

Sporer,

I agree with your basic premise. There are government programs we should get rid of. But we all know how difficult it is to get rid of programs that have been established. Neither D nor R executive or legislative branches have a good track record of getting rid of such programs. Because of that, I believe sunset provisions are the most effective way of ensuring that programs are periodically evaluated and possibly eliminated.

However, there is one aspect to the growth of government discussion I seldom hear mentioned. With our ever-advancing society and technology, the demands for valid government involvement increase continuously. If nothing else, government needs to play the neutral referee role to ensure a level and predictable playing field. In order to do that in our evolving society, government needs serious, and growing, resources. People, usually R's, who talk about the way government used to stay out of many issues 200 years ago never acknowledge this fact. We are not in the 1780's no mo'.

Anonymous said...

There is a lot of complaining about Democrats on here...

Weren't the Republicans in charge for a very long time? It isn't like the river just appeared.

Anonymous said...

That makes it difficult to play partisan politcs with a natural disaster doesn't it.

Anonymous said...

Sporer was smiling when this flood came.

He is a ruthless head hunter. If a bolt of lightening struck someone, If a man slipped and fell in the bathtub or if the condom broke and you knocked up your girlfriend...

Have no fear, Sporer will be there to blame democrats and offer no real solution

The Deplorable Old Bulldog said...

Some reality for the various anons.

Republicans haven't run DSM or Polk County for 60 years. We've had a lot government come and go since then kids.

Republicans haven't run Iowa for 10years. I think Terry Branstad and the post 94 Republican GA did address flood control and protection.

My special response is to the potentially illiterate who posted at 7:10. I say potentially because the flavor of your prose does not betray general illiteracy but your content does. I can be accused of a lot of things but lacking solutions isn't one of them. Did you read the post, jack ass?

The solution that I offered was getting the government out of the business of doing for citizens what they can do for themselves, stop trying to pick or create winners in society and try and do a credible job of providing the things that only government can provide for us, like freakin flood control and levy inspection.

this isn't des moines debate novice league for the freshman, my friend. you'll have to come up with something a little better than that childish ad hom if you want to wear your spurs around here, tenderfoot.

Anonymous said...

Hey: Tuesday, June 24, 2008 8:32:00 AM CDT

Go tell that rant down to the Monkey Cage at the zoo. You'll get the same response from them as you would from your targeted audience. In fact you might make more of an imprssion on the monkeys. Monkeys typically have more on the ball than your intended audience ever has.

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