What do you like about the US Federal Government?

[Gunner Recall]

Since I might be working for them in a few months I won't say anything...i've probably already said too much

[Ghost Hip]

Uh, I live in Michigan....

[sadzoo]

The US federal government refers to the current reigning government of the united states, including the constitution, bill of rights, president, three branches of power, ability to vote, the whole shebang. Do you want to be more specific? Maybe federal laws vs state laws, or federal agencies infringement on state independence?

I like that we have the ability to vote, even though it's corrupt. It's better than some other places. I think the principles that the government was built on were noble, but haven't played out as they were intended to.

The fed's involvement in overriding state laws on medical marijuana might be against the 10th amendment from what I've read. It's tricky though. Not sure about it.

[smile_man]

I don't like the fact that Obama is Hitler and or the Antichrist.

[K2000]

I don't believe that big corporate entities like RJ REynolds, Exxon or ENRON (ad infinitum) care about the public's best interests (certainly not more than their bottom line). When the federal government is working with competence and efficiency (forget about the last 8 years, and think back... it's possible) then the federal government can provide some oversight and consumer protection. Think EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), FDA, OSHA etc. Yes these agencies can have problems (FDA) but often it's a result of understaffing (underfunding, in essence). The FDA in particular has some issues (they are swamped) but do you think Merck can be trusted to operate without any restraints ? (they already proved that they can't, IMO)

Also, the federal government exists (IMO) to provide services that private interests cannot (or should not) provide... for example, our national highway system, dams bridges levies railroads... "infrastructure" . There is also the social safety net... make sure that people are not freezing to death, or starving to death... the 'social safety net'.

Because the government does not have a profit mandate (as corporations do) they are well-suited to fill these roles, IMO.

Some people will say that private companies can do things more efficiently than the federal government... it's not necessarily true - I'd even say it's "not often true." And very few private companies can harness the resources that the federal government can, which translates to lower prices due to their buying power, and so on.

We have a representative government... we "are" the government, ideally. If you don't like the political direction things are going, the answer is to get more involved. The problem with politics in America is that not enough people are paying attention, outside of election time. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, I believe that is how the saying goes. People often use that saying in a military sense, but I believe it refers to much more than that.

[Antero]

The feds maintain certain interstate infrastructure, keep state laws from interfering with each other unfairly, maintains a justice system that can reach some of the worst offenders without being concerned for jurisdiction, maintains a court system that is historically one of the most effective checks on the government's power and on attempts to infringe upon the rights of citizens, and can wield funds with greater scope and range than states - see science and research, higher education, social safety nets, etc.

Also, the federal government exists (IMO) to provide services that private interests cannot (or should not) provide... for example, our national highway system, dams bridges levies railroads... "infrastructure" . There is also the social safety net... make sure that people are not freezing to death, or starving to death... the 'social safety net'.

Because the government does not have a profit mandate (as corporations do) they are well-suited to fill these roles, IMO.

This is a key concept, and a large part of the reason why we should federalize/socialize/izeize health insurance. For something so integral to our society, and which weighs so heavily on those in greatest need, we should not and cannot place our trust in an industry that is fundamentally in conflict with its customers. Health insurance is one of the only industries where maximizing profit means actively working to destroy your customers' lives.

[korvis]

i like that the feds are such a great target to rail against with my anarchist tirades, they fuck up so much, it's easy for me to use them as a scapegoat so that i don't have to examine my own life so closely and acknowledge that my problems are self created. it enables me to stagnate and keeps away unwanted, though beneficial, change. thank you government. thank you very much.

p.s. people like me better when i hate the government, how cool is that!!!


p.p.s. seriously though, i tend to sit of the fence with this one, being a leader, i.e. politician is a hard job, but i'm not convinced that it's necessary, it's just "easier" to elect someone to institute public policy, ehem, :cough: tell us what to do :cough: but ultimately, what we do, and how we live our lives is up to us, not the government, it's easy to hire someone to do your job for you, but in the end, we have to decide if the price is worth paying.

[Mudfuzz]

I like it when they uphold my rights and don't infringe on the way I want to live and the beliefs I have..................... oh wait....................never mind

[CliffBass]

if the GI Bill hadn't passed, I, along with millions of other people, would probably be living in poverty, and the country as a whole would be an aristocracy.

Now... what its done for me lately... i dunno. We elected somebody pretty cool for once, though, so thats a start.

Word, being a crazy vet I appreciate how the VA takes care of me, and our Gov'ts GI Bill increase this august. After being in Iraq for about a year and a half of my life I really do appreciate the FREEDOMS we have and, often take for granted. Try to explain the notion of an ilovefuzz.com forum to someone who doesn't have running water...

[Enoch-Fox]

well...

the base system is, as systems go, pretty good.
too bad there are too many ways to circumvent it. Current buzzwords like "earmarks" or whatever are just the beginning... aside from lobbies, earmarks, and all the ways that money can be channeled into votes, the system we have serves as a pretty solid abstraction of direct democracy (which would be pretty absurd considering our numbers)

uh

yeah. I dunno. It's too complicated, there is too much bureaucracy, but all the systems rely on eachother so we can't simplify or everything will fall apart. *sigh*

I like the idea. The principles are magnificent. The constitution and all our early Government documents (barring some interesting compromises) are great. Life, Liberty, The Pursuit Of Happiness. Fuck yeah. Back then, moral and religious tyranny was inflicted at the local level, so the actual GOVERNMENT was pretty free of all that nonsense. Too bad everyone had to take a great idea and muck it up.

[Another]

Basically everything you've ever bought has in some way been subsidized by the government to make it more affordable, which is pretty cool, all things considered.

PS major here, I can go on forever if you want me to.