FDR was not Ozymandeus...

[acroyear]

Two Boston Area Zoos to Close Due to State Budget Cuts : Mike the Mad Biologist:

I know I'm going to sound like a broken record, but, once again, a major part of the stimulus should have been to make up state budget shortfalls, which stemmed from the economic recession. Not only is it good economic policy (what's the point of the federal government putting people to work, only to have state governments fire other people), but those state budget cuts reduce services:

Franklin Park Zoo, a Boston institution that has drawn generations of city and suburban families, may be forced to close its doors and possibly euthanize some of its animals as a result of the deep budget cuts imposed by Governor Deval Patrick, zoo officials said yesterday.

Without more state funding, those zoo officials said, they will run out of money by October and have to close both the Franklin Park Zoo and its smaller counterpart, Stone Zoo in Stoneham. The zoo would lay off most of its 165 employees and attempt to find new homes for more than 1,000 animals, the officials said.

I'm increasingly agreeing on this - the whole country would be a lot better off if the stimulus reached more than just banks, autos, a few (already funded) road construction projects, and a handful of mortgage holders who still will likely foreclose anyways.  Making up for the major shortfalls caused by the recession, especially in drastically hit states like California, keeps more people on the payroll, which in turn MAKES UP FOR SOME OF THE SPENDING by having them 1) employed and paying taxes as opposed to solely living on welfare, and 2) employed and making purchases (incurring both tax revenue and corporate fiscal survival).

This, you "socialism sucks" idiots out there is key: FDR's plan finally worked because PEOPLE WORKED FOR A LIVING.  Didn't matter what they did - they did something useful, they collected a paycheck, stuff they did IS STILL AROUND and being used in communities and parks all across the country (I know: I climbed one of his little projects, the 400 steps of Moro Rock paved in 1937).  The cost-efficiency of some of those projects has so reached "infinity" (as the time in use continues to grow, with the cost long since paid for) as to be unimaginable.

You want a government to really challenge itself: look to that example of cost-effectiveness in FDR's legacy, 'cause nothing the stimulus packages, or anything else on the budget right now, is going to come close.

Comments

[thatliardiego.livejournal.com]

Much of California's problems are of their own making, starting back with Prop 13 in the 1970s, where the post-Reagan governorship freeloader attitude ("I shouldn't have to pay taxes for ANYTHING") caught hold. Don't bring them into this.

[acroyear70.livejournal.com]

good point, of which it is also indicative of the greater problem of "democracy" and why a republic is always better. the majority vote of the people, without the benefit of experience and education (and on matters for which the vote comes up, they are NOT educated) will be a vote for that which seems to benefit the individual voter the greatest in the shortest term possible, without any regards for long term impacts, constitutional issues, or even actual adherence to reality - a vote entirely based on gut instinct.

the ideal of the Socratic vote required people actually being educated on the issues which came up to a vote (one of the reasons it was a free-men's only club, of course), and on the issues today, no "plumber" or any other day-job could possibly be educated to the extent possible. (hence, the requirement of a free, educated, and active press, which we've lost in this country, too, as they've become tools for business...but that's yet another rant).

2 changes I would like to see the collective states take on:
1) no more simple majority votes on issues of importance (like any of the California props, nevermind Maryland using ballot issues as a means to dodge responsibility for crap like slots)
2) 50% *plurality* (yeah, that requires turnout) or 2/3rds majority to change a state constitution.

a LOT of the crap the states are in, either socially or financially, would be non-issues under those conditions, and governments might actually get on with governing instead of posing.

[thelongshot.livejournal.com]

Appropriately enough, I'm reading Heinlein's "Friday" right now. In his description of California, truth really IS stranger than fiction.

[ladyaelfwynn.livejournal.com]

One of the things at work which we keep track of is which artists did work on Federal Art Projects, whether it was through the WPA or any numerous other programs. I'm truly surprised at how many big named, 20th century artists got a start through the FAP.

These programs provided a lot of work for a lot of people and left lasting legacies. Even if the art doesn't exist any more, other work by those same artists do.

I don't quite understand how so many people, who regularly tell me they're the experts and know what's best, keep screwing up so badly. (And why so many people keep listening to them.)